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The Grand Central Baking Book: Breakfast Pastries, Cookies, Pies, and Satisfying Savories from the Pacific Northwest's Celebrated Bakery
Mention Grand Central Bakery to a Seattle or Portland native and they’ll light up as they tell you about gooey, jam-filled buttermilk biscuits, insanely flaky pies and pastries, and flavor-packed whole wheat cinnamon rolls. Now these much-loved recipes are available to home bakers for the first time, accompanied by easy-to-follow pointers on baking breakfast and brunch, cookies, fruit desserts, cakes, pies, and more.
This collection of more than 100 recipes draws on a treasury of Grand Central staples and family favorites. The Grand Central Baking Book offers detailed, delicious recipes for some of the bakery’s best-loved goodies, along with technique-driven workshops offering in-depth explanations of baking methods and helpful shortcuts from seasoned bakers. On page after page, Piper Davis, the daughter of Grand Central’s founder and now the company’s cuisine manager, generously lets home bakers in on all the family secrets that have made Grand Central the first morning stop for locals since 1972.
Distilling more than thirty-five years of innovation, experience, and genuine love of good, fresh food into simple, accessible recipes, Piper Davis and award-winning pastry chef Ellen Jackson invite you to make popular Grand Central Bakery goods in your own kitchen.
This collection of more than 100 recipes draws on a treasury of Grand Central staples and family favorites. The Grand Central Baking Book offers detailed, delicious recipes for some of the bakery’s best-loved goodies, along with technique-driven workshops offering in-depth explanations of baking methods and helpful shortcuts from seasoned bakers. On page after page, Piper Davis, the daughter of Grand Central’s founder and now the company’s cuisine manager, generously lets home bakers in on all the family secrets that have made Grand Central the first morning stop for locals since 1972.
Distilling more than thirty-five years of innovation, experience, and genuine love of good, fresh food into simple, accessible recipes, Piper Davis and award-winning pastry chef Ellen Jackson invite you to make popular Grand Central Bakery goods in your own kitchen.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published September 8, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 3, 2009
ME:
Here's the thing. I want to be a good dancer. I want to be a good singer. I want to be a musician. I want to be an artist. I'M NOT ANY OF THESE THINGS! I want my body to have a "sense", to "hear" stuff and do stuff with out my brain getting in the way. BUT IT DOESN'T. My damn brain will not leave me alone, my brain is always providing me with commentary and contradictory messages. It is saying, "what now", "how is this supposed to be/sound/look", "where did this come from", "why do people do this", "Isn't it ridiculous to indulge in these things while other people are dying", etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.
Except for when I'm baking. When I'm baking my brain says this, "
" or maybe a little of this, "ahhhhhhhh" but that's it and I love it! This is one of the few areas where my body (or more specifically my hands) know what to do. My brain and my body are in agreement, we all know what dough should look and feel like. Baking is my comfort zone. You can pretty much measure the level of stress in my life by the amount of baked goods I'm producing (over Thanksgiving weekend I made: sourcream coffee cake, molasses cookies, whole wheat bread, scones, dinner rolls and pumpkin bread - not counting what I brought to the Thanksgiving table, if that tells you anything about my life right now).
THE BOOK:
I really, really adore this book! There are not a ton of pictures but there are enough and I can't pin point what it is about the narrative that is compelling but there is something that drew me in and keept me reading. Maybe it's the structure (short paragraphs with clear headings and very practical tips) - ? I have a friend that is wanting to learn some baking things and I told her about this book, she said she doesn't "read" cookbooks and I sympathized but noticed a few minutes later she had picked up and read the entire section on pie baking and declared, "I've been doing it all wrong".
The down fall of this book is - NO BREAD RECIPES! what in the what? Bread is my favorite thing to bake. Grand Central Bakery certainly sells bread but there isn't even ONE in the book. I suppose they can't give away all their secrets and I'm grateful enough for the yummy scone recipe to overlook the bread thing.
YOU:
Hey guy on page 123(?), the one dropping the apples from the basket, please find me and marry me. We can wake up early and read together and drink coffee while the baked goods finish in the oven, we can tear pieces off the egg bread and watch the steam rise while everyone else is still sleeping. You bring the standing mixer, I'll do the dishes!
Here's the thing. I want to be a good dancer. I want to be a good singer. I want to be a musician. I want to be an artist. I'M NOT ANY OF THESE THINGS! I want my body to have a "sense", to "hear" stuff and do stuff with out my brain getting in the way. BUT IT DOESN'T. My damn brain will not leave me alone, my brain is always providing me with commentary and contradictory messages. It is saying, "what now", "how is this supposed to be/sound/look", "where did this come from", "why do people do this", "Isn't it ridiculous to indulge in these things while other people are dying", etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.
Except for when I'm baking. When I'm baking my brain says this, "
" or maybe a little of this, "ahhhhhhhh" but that's it and I love it! This is one of the few areas where my body (or more specifically my hands) know what to do. My brain and my body are in agreement, we all know what dough should look and feel like. Baking is my comfort zone. You can pretty much measure the level of stress in my life by the amount of baked goods I'm producing (over Thanksgiving weekend I made: sourcream coffee cake, molasses cookies, whole wheat bread, scones, dinner rolls and pumpkin bread - not counting what I brought to the Thanksgiving table, if that tells you anything about my life right now).
THE BOOK:
I really, really adore this book! There are not a ton of pictures but there are enough and I can't pin point what it is about the narrative that is compelling but there is something that drew me in and keept me reading. Maybe it's the structure (short paragraphs with clear headings and very practical tips) - ? I have a friend that is wanting to learn some baking things and I told her about this book, she said she doesn't "read" cookbooks and I sympathized but noticed a few minutes later she had picked up and read the entire section on pie baking and declared, "I've been doing it all wrong".
The down fall of this book is - NO BREAD RECIPES! what in the what? Bread is my favorite thing to bake. Grand Central Bakery certainly sells bread but there isn't even ONE in the book. I suppose they can't give away all their secrets and I'm grateful enough for the yummy scone recipe to overlook the bread thing.
YOU:
Hey guy on page 123(?), the one dropping the apples from the basket, please find me and marry me. We can wake up early and read together and drink coffee while the baked goods finish in the oven, we can tear pieces off the egg bread and watch the steam rise while everyone else is still sleeping. You bring the standing mixer, I'll do the dishes!
January 5, 2011
I am in love with this book! I love baking, I love new recipes, I love Grand Central and I love books that cover baking tips and long passed down baking secrets, and this book covers all these areas!
So far, I have made Grand Central's famous "Jammers" (similar to a scone with a dollop of jam in the middle...like a giant Jam Thumb print cookie) and the Blueberry muffins. The Jammers are identical to the ones served at the bakery (and super easy to make!), and although the muffins were a little different they are still very, very good blueberry muffins.
This book would be great for both the novice and experienced baker. It is not intimidating and has great pictures and really down to earth advice about what kitchen gadgets are worth purchasing vs what is a waste of money and not needed. When I first received the book, I spent an hour reading through their baking tips and was super excited to find out some really useful info on butters (I didn't know the difference between European style butters and other, but the bakery seems to prefer European for most baked goods) and other baking ingredients, as well as how to "stocking the larder" in order to bake at home on a regular basis.
Oh yeah, and if all of the above praise isn't enough to convince you: the book gives out Grand Central's baked good recipes!! In addition to the ones I already mentioned: Cinnamon Rolls, a variety of their Tea Cookies, Pie Crusts, Quick breads, Coffee cakes...and on and on!
So far, I have made Grand Central's famous "Jammers" (similar to a scone with a dollop of jam in the middle...like a giant Jam Thumb print cookie) and the Blueberry muffins. The Jammers are identical to the ones served at the bakery (and super easy to make!), and although the muffins were a little different they are still very, very good blueberry muffins.
This book would be great for both the novice and experienced baker. It is not intimidating and has great pictures and really down to earth advice about what kitchen gadgets are worth purchasing vs what is a waste of money and not needed. When I first received the book, I spent an hour reading through their baking tips and was super excited to find out some really useful info on butters (I didn't know the difference between European style butters and other, but the bakery seems to prefer European for most baked goods) and other baking ingredients, as well as how to "stocking the larder" in order to bake at home on a regular basis.
Oh yeah, and if all of the above praise isn't enough to convince you: the book gives out Grand Central's baked good recipes!! In addition to the ones I already mentioned: Cinnamon Rolls, a variety of their Tea Cookies, Pie Crusts, Quick breads, Coffee cakes...and on and on!
November 6, 2022
came for the jammer recipe and now want to bake a zillion pies and cakes
August 10, 2014
Great overview of baking techniques, including basic biscuit doughs, pie crusts, cakes, and a few savory dishes. I love the cookies at Grand Central, so I checked this out of the library just for that, but decided to read it cover-to-cover because why not. (I kind of skimmed the cake section, because I'm kind of meh about them ... )
Some of the recipes are a bit redundant (but also, that's why you don't read cookbooks cover-to-cover), e.g. two tarts with different fillings would have the same basic recipe and technique instead of having one basic recipe with a sidebar of different fillings, but I think that's what would make this a great reference for someone who's just getting into baking.
There are also a few "workshop" spreads that go in-depth into technique and tips, which I think would also be great for a beginning baker. I do wish there were more leavened bread recipes, since Grand Central's is awesome, but there are a handful of recipes for rolls and biscuits.
Some of the recipes are a bit redundant (but also, that's why you don't read cookbooks cover-to-cover), e.g. two tarts with different fillings would have the same basic recipe and technique instead of having one basic recipe with a sidebar of different fillings, but I think that's what would make this a great reference for someone who's just getting into baking.
There are also a few "workshop" spreads that go in-depth into technique and tips, which I think would also be great for a beginning baker. I do wish there were more leavened bread recipes, since Grand Central's is awesome, but there are a handful of recipes for rolls and biscuits.
February 5, 2010
I love this cookbook. Not only does it have the recipes for some of my favorite Grand Central treats, the instructions are detailed and geared for someone who is not a consummate baker. I feel like I'm in the kitchen with the author, learning all her trade secrets.
I've only made jammers so far (the reason I wanted the book) and they are delicious!
I've only made jammers so far (the reason I wanted the book) and they are delicious!
March 23, 2010
this is a really really good cookbook. we go to grand central bakery all the time and everything there is delicious (except the french macarons, strangely), and every recipe I've tried so far from this book has been very good. a great resource for simple but delicious desserts like cookies and cakes.
June 2, 2010
A wonderful book, the rescipes work, need samll adjustments,, I just round sugar down and butter down, watch bake time. I make the gallettes and savory pies and freeze them. I do not use their pie dough directiosn, I use my family one which has worked for years, itsnot french.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews