Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I am a very experienced home and personal chef. My general expertise is in cooking primary meals with proteins, vegetables, and other sides. I am, however, completely clueless when it comes to baked goods. I have never taken the time to learn the intricacies of working with dough, yeast, and associated items, with the exception of occasionally making various puff pastries from commercial frozen pastry sheets. I decided that I really needed to gain at least a basic grounding knowledge of essential baking skills, and when this book became available, I decided to see if it would meet my hopes and expectations. It certainly has! After a brief introduction, Part One goes into detail about items needed in your kitchen for basic baking, including essential equipment, essential ingredients, and perfecting your process. The next section is for teaching very basic skills and techniques which is well structured and easy to follow. The rest of this cookbook consists of 130 recipes and instruction broken down into specific types like cookies, brownies and bars, pies, breads, cakes and more. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy these items were to make by following the recipes and instructions. The book has clearly given me a base from which to build on. I am now excited to have the basic skills that will give me the opportunity to experiment and develop my own recipes. My only concern with the book is the virtual total lack of recipe pictures. From my experience and having reviewed a wide variety of cookbooks, I have found that pictures are really an essential component that brings the best cookbooks to life. All in all, I found this to be a very helpful beginners guide to baking, along with exceptional recipes that build skills. I rate it at FOUR STARS due to its lack of pictures. I do, however, give the content my honest and hearty recommendation. *If you found my review helpful to you, please let Amazon know by clicking the "HELPFUL" button below!