"The Art of Baking with Natural Yeast", by Caleb Warnock & Melissa Richardson

 

"The Art of Baking with Natural Yeast" is a very informative book.  Natural yeast is just another term for sourdough and the authors do a good job of defining what sourdough is.  The book is laid out in an easy to read format and offers relevant information about wheat and yeast with easy to find sources.  I enjoyed the journey described by Melissa Richards that led her to love baking with natural yeast and was struck by her candid confessions involving some of her failures as she honed her bread baking skills.  Anyone baker, either home cook or professional, is always working towards the perfect loaf.  Each batch of dough is a little different getting us closer to that "slice" of heaven. 
The recipes are easy to follow and her description of how to create your own natural yeast was informative.  The only thing I found myself questioning is whether a mason jar was really the best container to keep the starter in.  I have found a 1 gallon plastic bucket to be easier to work with because it has such a large opening and can hold more starter.  Other than that, it was a good read.  I highly recommend it for anyone starting on their journey of learning about natural yeast baking.  It is easy to locate on any internet search engine and reasonably priced at the $6.15 price point for an e-book and goes up to about $18.99.  If you are ordering it online be prepared to pay shipping or tax or both on some sites.  I was able to check out a copy from my local library to read before making the financial investment.  If your library doesn't have it you can request they get a copy and place you as the first one to check it out when they get it. 

The King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook

I love all aspects of cooking, but baking is my first love.  Many years ago I had the opportunity to attend a free seminar put on by the King Arthur Flour company and it was a spiritual experience.  The baker was demonstrating how to make a baguette and I was on the edge of my seat throughout her entire show.  It is hard to describe the joy I get from working with dough and knew afterwards I was a changed woman and needed to get home and bake.

As with most sponsored events such as this, there were door prizes!  I hoped and prayed, yes prayed, that I would walk away with the cookbook.  The universe smiled upon me and God just knew he had chosen wisely by allowing my name to be plucked from the canister of hopeful attendees names' scratched onto tiny pieces of paper.  When my name was called out, I shrieked like I had just won the Showcase Showdown on "The Price is Right".  It was mine!

Upon first inspection I found I was overwhelmed with its size.  I flipped through the pages of my new treasure and enjoyed reading about the history of King Arthur Flour in the opening pages.  As I worked my way through to the end I found I was holding a resource that was going to help me become the home baker I had always wanted to be.  It has been at least 10 years and I am happy to say that I haven't stopped using it.

I have accumulated other baking cookbooks over the years but find myself returning to the King Arthur Flour cookbook.  It is a comprehensive educational manual that helps the home baker create wonderful creations through simple to read recipes, easy to understand scientific explanations of how baking works, and a complete guide to tools and ingredients at the end of the book.  Some of my favorite recipes are whole wheat bread, scones, and sourdough english muffins.  I have learned how to be a better baker by utilizing this resource and continue to return to it for some of my favorite recipes.  

I highly recommend adding this cookbook to your collection if improving your baking is what you desire. 

Recipes from the Root Cellar, by Andrea Chesman

"270 Fresh Ways to Enjoy Winter Vegetables"

I found this book at the library last week and have fallen in love.  In my part of the world gardens are bursting with zucchini, yellow squash, pumpkins, tomatoes, beets, cabbages, turnips, and more.  These recipes help to break the home cook out of  the cooking ruts we sometimes find ourselves in.  You know one or two ways to prepare squash and that is what you stick with.  Squash is pretty easy to ruin.  They become runny, slimy and overcooked.  Does anyone know what to do with pumpkins except make pie or the occasional pumpkin loaf?  What do you do with a giant head of cabbage?
Andrea Chesman does a wonderful job of creating recipes that are easy to follow and the outcome is remarkable.  Her recipes are full of flavor and include easily obtained ingredients.  This book is also dedicated to the winter vegetable harvest which makes it a must have for gardeners.  I love that it allows me to feed my family foods in season and always serve them in new and interesting ways. 
I highly recommend adding this book to your cookbook collection!

Recipe Sample:
Winter Squash with Caramelized Apples
Serves 4-6
1 large buttercup, butternut, or red kuri squash, or 1/2 small baby blue Hubbard squash
4 T butter
2 large apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t freshly grated nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2.  cut the squash in halves if small, or into quarters if large.  Remove an discard the seeds and fibers.  Place skin-side up in a baking dish and add about 1 inch of water to the dish.
3.  Bake for 60-90 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces, until completely tender when pierced with a fork.
4.  Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Saute until the brown sugar is disolved and the apples are tender and coated in the sugar syrup, about 5 minutes.  Set aside.
5.  When the squash is done, drain off the water.  Turn the pieces flesh-side up, and allow to cool until they can be handled easily.  Scrape the flesh from the skins into a mixing bowl and discard the skins.  Mash or beat until smooth.
6.  Fold in the apples and their syrup.  Season generously with salt and pepper.
7.  If desired, reheat in a microwave or in the top of a double boiler set over boiling water.  Serve hot.

The Best of Basic Cookbooks

I have many cookbooks and enjoy some more than others.  I tend to look for cookbooks that specialize in a particular type of cooking rather than all purpose cookbooks which tend to cover a broad range of disciplines.  I find most of the recipes in those books to be easy to follow and are a great starting point for creating your own recipes that have your personal touch.  Most of us look in the fridge and try to figure out what to cook with what we have.  If you have a well stocked kitchen with the basics, having basic cookbooks makes coming up with the right recipe easier. 
There are some all purpose cookbooks that I really like and go to when I need to brush up on a cooking technique or want a beginner recipe that I can play with.  The following books I recommend having in your collection as go to multipurpose cookbooks.  They are especially helpful if you are trying to locate a particular recipe or technique and don't want to mess with the internet.
I also like to borrow books from the library before I commit to purchasing them.  Some well advertised cookbooks have fallen flat for me when I get my hands on them because there are only a few recipes in them I would make.  I have saved a ton of money by borrowing before I buy.  








1.  Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook-great all purpose cookbook and great gift for newly married people.  Each section has a great guide to whatever the food is, i.e. meat, seafood, cheese, vegetables, etc.  There is also a freezing and canning guide with beginner recipes.  Overall it is a great way to get started cooking and learning about foods.  This book is printed just about every year and has been updated since mine was published in ......1989!    









2.  America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook-really great recipes that have been tested thoroughly.  Excellent resource for techniques and they have some great product ratings too.  I have found the equipment ratings very helpful when I need to purchase a particular item for my home kitchen.  The food product ratings do not take into account organic foods or preservatives in foods.  They simply rate what their panel thought was the best tasting/texture.  I match the product ratings up to what I have learned about food quality and go from there.  I have found I rarely utilize this feature after putting the foods up against my own standards which include the food source and product ingredients.
The recipes are easy to follow and I have had great success with most of them.  They really have tested the recipes and found the best way to make my family's favorite foods.  I have found the information on the science involved in cooking to be the most helpful as I have learned to cook.  I use this cookbook quite a bit. 








3.  The Joy of Cooking-there is so much in this book it is hard to not have it on the list.  I use this when I don't know where else to look for cooking non-traditional foods or especially for how to make things that I would normally buy in the store like marshmallows.  This is not an easy read and previous cooking knowledge is helpful.  The beginning of each chapter has very good definitions and descriptions to help prepared the recipes.  There aren't very many pictures but is comprehensive.