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Cookbook Project, Books #182 and 183
Jul. 18th, 2010 09:40 pm"The Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook," Tom Lacalamita
This is the last of my bread machine cookbooks, and, admittedly, the hardest to use. I'm not sure where I got it - it doesn't have a written price from a secondhand store inside it, and I know I wouldn't have bought it at full price; the recipes, while decent, aren't exciting enough to intrigue me, and I have enough bread machine books. This means it's probably a hand-me-down from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
umbran's mother - I know we inherited a bunch of books from them when they moved, including at least one bread machine cookbook.
There's nothing wrong with this book, exactly, it's just not very interesting either. It's not as well organized as most of the others, and doesn't really seem to understand bread machines, or suit the ones I've had very well. Plus, all the recipes call for nonfat milk powder, which is just irritating. Not as bad as the book where all the recipes call for added gluten, but still a pain in the butt, and it meant I had to go out and buy a box of the stuff just to knock this book off the to-do list.
I've found that the loaves a standard bread machine makes are just the wrong size for sandwiches to take to work, so I wanted to make bread just for plain eating - not as sandwiches or anything else, just to eat on its own. Luckily, I had an occasion to get together with friends early in the day, so I narrowed my choices down to sweet breads, and wound up making Orange Cranberry Nut Bread. Except that I realized halfway through the first knead that we were out of dried cranberries, so it turned into Orange Cherry Nut Bread.
It wasn't bad. The recipe worked, which is more than I can say for a lot of bread machine recipes. It was a little on the dry side, and the orange flavor was.... well, subtle. But it was edible, and not bad. I'll use this book again, if only because I now have the rest of a box of nonfat milk powder that needs to be used up....
"Baking With Julia," Dorie Greenspan
This is one of my prizes - I've been saving it, with half a thought of using it as the finale to this project. But I'm down to the last half-dozen books or so, and I wanted a reward for myself, so I decided to break it out.
The book was a gift fromfilker0 and spiritdance - I had oohed and aahed over her copy enough that they decided that I needed a copy of my own. It's huge (large enough to maim small mammals), and shiny, and full of the most glorious pictures. It's based on Julia's series, but not written by her, so I still don't actually own a Julia Child cookbook, but the recipes are incredibly detailed and well-written, and the variety is amazing. This book covers everything from blueberry muffins to making your own croissants from scratch. And though I've had it for several years, and have often taken it down from the shelf to ogle it and sigh over it and daydream about using it... I've never actually baked anything from it.
I had high hopes for this book, as part of the project. I envisioned myself taking an entire day or two and making brioche or croissants or something else equally complicated and difficult and baroque. And when we were invited to a weekend-long gathering, I wanted to use it - it was a chance to make something special to share with new friends. But the more I looked through it, and tried to convince myself to make bread, the more my eyes were drawn to the sweet, dessert-y baked goods. I need to accept that, while I am a baker, my specific fondness is more for dessert than yeast doughs.
And so I wound up making berry galettes (a kind of free-form tart made without a pan), with blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. And it. Was. Amazing. Or so I gathered from the two bites I managed to lay claim to as the galettes (which were as beautiful as the pictures promised they would be) were rapidly devoured by a horde of gamers. The dough was incredibly easy to make - a little difficult to work with, since it was a bit soft, but easy once I got the hang of it - and had a wonderful flavor and texture from a little bit of cornmeal and sour cream worked into it. It complemented the flavor of the berries perfectly. And as I said, it wound up looking just like the beautiful, shiny, sexy pictures in the book.
I would make this again. I would make this every week. And I need to use this book more often. And someday, gosh darn it, I *will* make my own croissants. Just so I can say I did.
This is the last of my bread machine cookbooks, and, admittedly, the hardest to use. I'm not sure where I got it - it doesn't have a written price from a secondhand store inside it, and I know I wouldn't have bought it at full price; the recipes, while decent, aren't exciting enough to intrigue me, and I have enough bread machine books. This means it's probably a hand-me-down from
umbran's mother - I know we inherited a bunch of books from them when they moved, including at least one bread machine cookbook.There's nothing wrong with this book, exactly, it's just not very interesting either. It's not as well organized as most of the others, and doesn't really seem to understand bread machines, or suit the ones I've had very well. Plus, all the recipes call for nonfat milk powder, which is just irritating. Not as bad as the book where all the recipes call for added gluten, but still a pain in the butt, and it meant I had to go out and buy a box of the stuff just to knock this book off the to-do list.
I've found that the loaves a standard bread machine makes are just the wrong size for sandwiches to take to work, so I wanted to make bread just for plain eating - not as sandwiches or anything else, just to eat on its own. Luckily, I had an occasion to get together with friends early in the day, so I narrowed my choices down to sweet breads, and wound up making Orange Cranberry Nut Bread. Except that I realized halfway through the first knead that we were out of dried cranberries, so it turned into Orange Cherry Nut Bread.
It wasn't bad. The recipe worked, which is more than I can say for a lot of bread machine recipes. It was a little on the dry side, and the orange flavor was.... well, subtle. But it was edible, and not bad. I'll use this book again, if only because I now have the rest of a box of nonfat milk powder that needs to be used up....
"Baking With Julia," Dorie Greenspan
This is one of my prizes - I've been saving it, with half a thought of using it as the finale to this project. But I'm down to the last half-dozen books or so, and I wanted a reward for myself, so I decided to break it out.
The book was a gift from
filker0 and spiritdance - I had oohed and aahed over her copy enough that they decided that I needed a copy of my own. It's huge (large enough to maim small mammals), and shiny, and full of the most glorious pictures. It's based on Julia's series, but not written by her, so I still don't actually own a Julia Child cookbook, but the recipes are incredibly detailed and well-written, and the variety is amazing. This book covers everything from blueberry muffins to making your own croissants from scratch. And though I've had it for several years, and have often taken it down from the shelf to ogle it and sigh over it and daydream about using it... I've never actually baked anything from it.I had high hopes for this book, as part of the project. I envisioned myself taking an entire day or two and making brioche or croissants or something else equally complicated and difficult and baroque. And when we were invited to a weekend-long gathering, I wanted to use it - it was a chance to make something special to share with new friends. But the more I looked through it, and tried to convince myself to make bread, the more my eyes were drawn to the sweet, dessert-y baked goods. I need to accept that, while I am a baker, my specific fondness is more for dessert than yeast doughs.
And so I wound up making berry galettes (a kind of free-form tart made without a pan), with blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. And it. Was. Amazing. Or so I gathered from the two bites I managed to lay claim to as the galettes (which were as beautiful as the pictures promised they would be) were rapidly devoured by a horde of gamers. The dough was incredibly easy to make - a little difficult to work with, since it was a bit soft, but easy once I got the hang of it - and had a wonderful flavor and texture from a little bit of cornmeal and sour cream worked into it. It complemented the flavor of the berries perfectly. And as I said, it wound up looking just like the beautiful, shiny, sexy pictures in the book.
I would make this again. I would make this every week. And I need to use this book more often. And someday, gosh darn it, I *will* make my own croissants. Just so I can say I did.
