baking

Six contestants compete to win the Golden Spoon in a baking competition TV show, but nobody can guess the outrageous events in store for them. There's an unspoken rivalry between the established baking judge Betsy Martin (and owner of the grand Grafton Manor house where the TV show is filmed) and the smarmy new judge, Archie Morris. Tensions rise as the pressure to create the best bake and keep the show relevant are all on the line. Some contestants have secret reasons for wanting to be on the show, and someone seems to be tampering with competitor's ingredients (Gasp! Sabotage!). I was

I'm going to start off with a confession: I have absolutely no talent as a baker or cook of any kind. At best I can boil water and at worst... well. Let's just say I have a bad habit of leaving out key ingredients and forgetting that I left food in the oven until the smoke alarm goes off. My completely inedible, rock-hard Rice Krispie treats are still something of a legend among my family.

One of my New Year's resolutions, however, is to get more comfortable in the kitchen. So this week I decided to try something that terrifies me (and my entire family) - baking my very first pie. When I

Fans of Mary Berry, Paul Hollywood and all of the season 5 contestants will enjoy the “bakes” outlined in this photo-filled cookbook. The Great British Bake Off Big Book of Baking will show you, step-by-step, how to make the breads, pastries, biscuits, and cakes from the show, including some of the showstoppers and signature bakes. In between the recipes are short interviews with the contestants, hosts, and judges. It appears that the recipes have been modified to be easier, since they were under a huge time crunch while baking on the show. Also of note is that many of these recipes use

Titling anything the "bible" of its subject is long overdone--in fact, we have several "bread bibles" in our collection--but I'm in the market for what this book claims to be: a reliable, go-to recipe book for all things bread. The introduction has several overarching tips on bread making, including instructions on the basics of bread, different methods of mixing a variety of doughs, an analysis of each basic ingredient and what role it plays in the process, and some in-depth explanations behind the science of bread. I found this section very useful, and read it in its entirety. Several things

Being a public librarian with access to an unending supply of books, it takes something really special to make me want to part with $27.00 just so I can call it my own. Ruhlman has found the secret in Ratio and my copy should be in my mailbox by tomorrow. It's a weird format for a cookbook in that Ruhlman buries his recipes in parts or chapters that explain the basic ratios for, for instance, doughs and batters. By explaining the how and why of the most basic dough, Ruhlman opens up doors for experimentation and adventure, over the execution of a perfect recipe. After reading part one, I made

“Betty Crocker’s Just cupcakes: 100 Recipes for the Way You Really Cook” has an eye catching cover with baking and decorating ideas for every holiday or just because you want to make them. Most of all each page lists how long it will take to create these delicious bits down to the very minute. It includes 160 colorful pages and great ideas in this hardcover-spiral book. The step by step page turner is quick and easy to use. They have a nifty page on Halloween designs on pages 98-103 and one of my favorites is the Reindeer cupcakes. My family and I added the pretzels for the antlers, mini