Baking Illustrated book giveaway
I think beginners are always intimidated by baking because of the warnings attached to this genre of kitchen-ness regarding precision.
I’m going to come out and admit that I’m an imprecise baker. I scoop in my measuring cups and often don’t finger sweep. I pour and pinch to my inaccurate-heart’s desire. I’ve only started writing down modifications and deviations since things started going so well gastronomically and people asked for the recipe. Granted I’ve taken much from Harold McGee’s brilliant oeuvre and made a point to understand why things will work or not work.
My kitchen journal is my go-to resource for remembering the trials, errors and mostly delicious successes that have happened in my oven. While I don’t make particularly finicky things that are likely the reason for all the precision-mongering, I think even you naysayers can learn to bake a slew of things without fears of failure harassing you along the way. Breads, muffins, pies and cookies have been forgiving to my speculative ventures.
The awesome folks over at America’s Test Kitchen have offered up a few books from their well-stocked library for me to give to you, my dear readers! I’m starting with one of my personal, all-time fave kitchen resource books.
What I love most about this book are the great illustrations and photos of wrong vs. right. I know ‘Illustrated’ is the title of the book and all, but seriously, what beginners need the most are visuals, if not a hands-on tutorial. This book is full of great input for whatever projects you dare undertake, plus fab tips and tricks to ensure success.
Enter to win a free copy for your kitchen bookshelf by leaving a comment on this post by midnight EST Thursday, April 7 answering the following question: What baking project(s) intimidates you the most?
Per shipping restrictions at ATK, we must extend this giveaway opportunity to US residents only (sorry my fine foreign friends)! One winner will be selected via Random.org on Friday April 8. If you don’t leave your email address in the little box that asks for it on the comment form, I’ll skip you and grant it to the next randomly-generated winner.
Kate
Thanks everyone for entering! Congrats to lucky number 98, Jen of Georgetown, TN.
Reader Comments (163)
All 65 comments before me
Cookies are my worst. I buen them or they are not cooked through
Is there possibly a book out there that can help me?
yeast free bread!
I have a really hard time baking bread! It is such a simple, wonderful concept--usually just flour, salt, and water--but I can't seem to get it right.
souffles, multilayer cakes, croissants... come to think of it, there are a lot of baked items that get me nervous if i think about making them! thanks for the opportunity to win!
I love to bake and I consider myself a pretty good baker; however, that being said, I do have problems with decorating my cakes and pies and cookies. I'm all thumbs when it comes to using a pastry bag of any kind. :-) And I have the utmost respect to anyone who can ice a cake/cookie/pie and have it look beautiful!!
Souffle is the most intimidating, for sure! Looks like a lovely book!
Breads and things that require yeast. I'm not sure but there's something about it that scares me!
French macarons have been daunting to me. I finally took the step to buying almond flour, though. The day for macarons is coming, just got to work up the nerves!
Anything where I need to fold whipped eggs into the batter. I'm never gentle enough with the folding.
Somehow, yeast is the most daunting recipe for this baker! I've killed my yeast before in my first/only attempt at no-knead bread. It was a hard rock of yeasty-smelling bread, not pretty.
The delicate things like croissants and puff pastries. I always seem to be heavy handed and destroy them. Pictures would be awesome so I know if it looks right ;) Thanks for the kickin' give away!
Croissants
Bread is definitely intimidating but souffles are pretty high on my list, too.
Pie crust! I have finally mastered biscuits, but pie crust is still scary to me.
Pie crusts are my nemesis -- no matter how often I tell myself to not fiddle too much with the dough, I do and end up with terribly tough crusts. I would never make a cake from a mix, but consistently end up buying pre-made crusts from my grocer's freezer.
Yeast breads!
I am intimidated by meats. I'm always so worried about cooking them enough so that no one gets food poisoning, while not cooking them too much that they are uneatable. I get antsy with the waiting, so more often than not my meats are slightly undone and I have to put them back in the heat to cook some more. Even after all that I manage to overcook them sometimes.
Pick me! Pick me! I'm just getting rolling with making homemade bread.
Baking is a whole new world to me now that I am attempting to bake entirely gluten-free. Bread scares me the most! I just can't seem to get it right! HELP!
Pie crust! Rich flakiness is so elusive for me.
Bread freaks me out a little ... I've managed to produce some decent loaves, but it always comes out a little denser than it should. Also fiddly-looking pastry items, tiny little tarts and the like ...
You show me a souffle and I will show you fear.
Would love to learn to make cream puffs!
Meringues. Oy.
Croissants. SO much work...turn, and turn, and turn, and turn... one of these days I will give them a whirl! I have made artisan breads, wedding cakes, cookies, and but never the classic croissant.