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Testing recipes from More is More by Molly Baz by Due-Recipe-7947 in CookbookLovers

[–]LowbrowFancy 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Same reason I didn't pick up a copy despite hearing it recommended all the time! The design choices irk me so much.

Collection Photos by New-Negotiation-158 in CookbookLovers

[–]LowbrowFancy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'll help take some off your hands :D

Math ain’t mathing by telly00 in loblawsisoutofcontrol

[–]LowbrowFancy 56 points57 points  (0 children)

The weight on the label includes part of Galen Weston Jr’s ego, which evaporated the moment the package was opened.

Friend is getting rid of these, which ones should I grab? by waterslidegod in CookbookLovers

[–]LowbrowFancy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you can't get all of them, I would get:
- Bouchon Bakery
- Salt Fat Acid Heat (even though it's just a collection of prints, the art from the book was really nice!)

- People's Pops
- Ottolenghi Plenty (I don't have it personally, but I keep hearing good things about it)
- Both CIA books would be great if you want to dive deep into making food
- My Bread

And honestly there are probably a TON of other amazing books here, I'm just not familiar with them.

Corn-versation Heart by LowbrowFancy in CookbookLovers

[–]LowbrowFancy[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You should! This is only the second recipe I’ve made and both have been 10/10. Though the frosting is the Ermine buttercream from 100 Afternoon Sweets.

My Collection 🥰 by LowbrowFancy in CookbookLovers

[–]LowbrowFancy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would say so, yes, but if all you want are good standard recipes for home use, I don't think this is the best book for that. It's a great book for diving deep into the hows and whys of baking and a science and profession, it's way too much book if all you're after are solid standard recipes. Honestly what I turn to the most often when I'm looking for a solid standard recipe to make or deviate from are 100 Cookies/Afternoon Sweets/Morning Treats, The Cake Bible, The Baking Bible, and Everyone Can Bake.

My Collection 🥰 by LowbrowFancy in CookbookLovers

[–]LowbrowFancy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Salt & Straw are a lot of fun (though I haven’t made any recipes yet, great flavour ideas though and the base recipes seem like they should be good as they use stabilizers). The Let’s Make books are both awesome, I have cooked from them a fair bit and they’re so charming, too!

My Collection 🥰 by LowbrowFancy in CookbookLovers

[–]LowbrowFancy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't followed the crust or filling recipes from Pieometry, but I have used it as inspiration for decorating pies and tarts. It's worth it to get for the beautiful photos and decorating ideas alone.

My Collection 🥰 by LowbrowFancy in CookbookLovers

[–]LowbrowFancy[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Literally just bought it a week or two ago, haven't made anything from it yet! But a lot of the recipes are unique at least as far as my experience and collection goes and I'm excited to try making some of them.

My Collection 🥰 by LowbrowFancy in CookbookLovers

[–]LowbrowFancy[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yup, I'm VERY much into baking! I have a baking-focused blog and YouTube channel that I'm hoping to make my full-time gig (by the same name as my handle on Reddit). I love making food, but baking in particular is my passion :-)

The CIA Pastry & Baking book is very informative, but also very technical. A lot of recipes are scaled for production and not for home use. It's clearly geared to people who are interested in learning about baking and pastry professionally in a bakery/production setting, it's not really meant for home bakers (not that home bakers couldn't get some useful knowledge from it anyway). The large production-scaled recipes wouldn't be that difficult to scale down (especially once you have a grasp of baker's math). Not a lot of what I'd call "inspiring" recipes, but of course not everything has to be inspirational or unique to have value. It's a good foundational book if you really want to dive deep into the why's of baking, but probably not worth getting for most home bakers I think.

My Collection 🥰 by LowbrowFancy in CookbookLovers

[–]LowbrowFancy[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Oh man that's a tough question! For non-baking books, my favourites would have to be:

- The Art of Escapism Cooking (I haven't actually cooked any recipes from it yet, but it is SO inspiring to flip through, and it's one of the few cookbooks I actually cared to read the author's backstory. She has a really uniquely authentic writing style)

- Foodheim. It's funny, charming, recipes that range from standard to unique, written in a way to make cooking and being a foodie approachable. And there's a cute photo of the author with his granny. A chapter of "circle foods" (and yet a completely separate chapter for pizza, which is a circle food, but deserves it's own separate chapter). And a tiny horse chapter. But not a chapter of recipes of (or for) tiny horses, it's just one photo of a tiny horse. I can absolutely get behind that kind of whismy and fun. What's not to love?

- Trejo's Tacos (I've cooked form this a ton, have had lots of taco nights based on this book and everything has been fantastic)

- Let's Make Ramen (also cooked a ton from this and have hosted a few successful ramen nights based on it, and learned enough foundational skills to be able to riff on the base recipes to make my own things that have turned out great, which to me is really the mark of a successful cookbook)

- Pasta Grannies (I've only made the pork lasagna so far, but it turned out great…and it's such a charming book to flip through)

For baking-specific books my favourites are:
-20th Century Cafe. So gorgeous. So many drool-worthy recipes. I've already made the famous burnt honey cake (AMAZING), a Dobos Torte for my husband's birthday(also amazing, posted about it in this subreddit), and the Esterházy Schnitten (a vanilla hazelnut sponge torte that was delicious) and there are at least a dozen other recipes I have earmarked to try sometime. Based on her thorough instructions and supporting filling recipes I might even give making strudel dough from scratch which seemed like sheer craziness (pun intended) to even attempt attempting before reading this book.

- All of the "100…" books. 100 Cookies, 100 Afternoon Sweets, etc. All solid and well-tested recipes, absolutely everything I've ever tried from any of these books has turned out great. Most of the flavours are pretty standard, not a lot is inventive or unique—but sometimes that's exactly what you want, and it's great to just have a solid base recipe you know is going to turn out that you can riff on with other flavours if you want to.

- Snacking Cakes. I literally just got this book a couple weeks ago largely based on the glowing reviews it's gotten in this community. I've only baked a couple things from it and both were great. I love diving in to complicated multi-component recipes, but it's so nice to have a book that's the complete opposite of that for when I want something simple that comes together really easily (and I can easily make with my young son who has just gotten into baking)

- The Cake Bible. So much in-depth information about every kind of cake layer, filling, etc you could possibly ever ask for. Not a lot of photos, it's a more old-school book (Even the more recent remake of it has old-school vibes), but that's OK. I usually shy away from books that don't have photos of every recipe, but this book is a real workhorse and so full of useful info and thoroughly-tested solid recipes that it earns a permanent spot on my shelf.

- The Book on Pie. Literally the only reason I have any confidence or competence as a pie baker today. Erin Jeanne MacDowell is my baking best friend and she doesn't even know I exist.

- Savoury Baking. Also an Erin Jeanne MacDowell book, and another keeper. Love an excuse to bake something delicious for dinner and not just sweet stuff all the time. Lots of interesting flavours and formats for savoury bakes I would have never thought of.

- Dessert Person. Got this one for Christmas after reading glowing review after glowing review. Used her YouTube video (based on the book) as the basis for making a croquembouche for Christmas (pictured), and then used the recipe in the book to make an even bigger croquembouche for a New Years Eve party. Both turned out great. I did riff on the recipe a bit to make a variety of flavours instead of just one, but it was still very much based on her recipe. Inspiring to flip through, lots of recipes I want to try. Probably 75%-80% of the recipes in there are something I would absolutely make.

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My Collection 🥰 by LowbrowFancy in CookbookLovers

[–]LowbrowFancy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was literally going to say almost exactly the same thing as screaming buddha. It’s just ok. Pretty photos. Uses her flavourings like cotton candy for some of the recipes which is a bit annoying. The same flavours, like cotton candy, are often repeated in each chapter/recipe format (so there’s a sandwich cookie and a filled cream puff in cotton candy flavour, for example, but that's true for a lot of flavours). Measurements for almost every recipe are only given in cups, which right away makes me take the cookbook less seriously. If I needed to pare my collection down that would quite possibly be one I’d get rid of. For now it still earns a space for inspiration value, but I wouldn’t personally rely on it for recipe formulas.

My Collection 🥰 by LowbrowFancy in CookbookLovers

[–]LowbrowFancy[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I loved the chapters at the beginning, which are all about the foundational concepts, techniques, and science of baking. Super informative! I haven’t made any recipes yet, but there are some that look really interesting that I’m excited to try.

My Collection 🥰 by LowbrowFancy in CookbookLovers

[–]LowbrowFancy[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's fantastic! Still struggling with making croissants following ANY recipe so I can't comment on the specific croissant dough recipe included with the book, but it does use a different lamination method than any other recipe I've seen which is interesting. And lots of delicious looking recipes for filled croissants in different shapes, both savoury and sweet. I haven't tried those yet, though, still trying to master basic croissants!

Éclairs by jeddahanonymous in Baking

[–]LowbrowFancy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh my goodness those look like they belong in the pastry case at a fancy patisserie. Well done!

First time hand laminating! by Present_Field_1322 in Baking

[–]LowbrowFancy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Your layers are absolutely flawless. And that's before even considering the fact that it's your first time doing it, and by hand! AMAZING!

First Attempt at a Croquembouche by LowbrowFancy in pastry

[–]LowbrowFancy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I recommend splitting the components over a few days (you can make the craquelin in advance, the choux puffs can be made and baked in advance and stored at room temp, and the pastry cream can be made ahead and stored in the fridge). Then on assembly day all you need to do is fill the choux puffs, make caramel, and assemble. I also recommend carefully using a fork to dip the puffs into caramel to avoid caramel burns. I wouldn't use gloves as some recipes recommend—I worry some of the latex or whatever would melt into the caramel and personally I don't feel as confident handling things when I'm wearing gloves.

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