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A review by emmalita
Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple by Dorie Greenspan, Mark Weinberg
4.0
I have been playing with Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty, Simple for a few months. I collect baking books and I have high expectations for Dorie Greenspan. Overall, I quite liked this book and there are four recipes in here that have become a part of my regular repertoire, which is a lot for an individual cookbook.
My very very very very favorite recipe is the first recipe in the book – “The Daily Bread: White Bread Edition.” I first made it 4 months ago, and while it is not the every day bread in the house, it is the “I’m feeling a little fancy but still utilitarian” bread and has made many appearances in my house and has been gifted to a number of neighbors. I do one thing differently – I use powdered buttermilk instead of powdered milk. I haven’t yet made the braided ring loaf with this dough, because every time I suggest it, my housemates just want to toast this bread and make sandwiches with it. Maybe I’ll make it over the Winter holidays.
My second favorite recipe is the lemon curd. I’ve used it to top muffins, make lemon bars, support the fruit in a fruit tart. My housemate and I have eaten it with a spoon out of our individual jars.
I spread that lemon curd on a slice of that bread, toasted. I whispered a little prayer to all the gods of my ancestors and a tear trickled down my face. I am only exaggerating a little bit.
The “Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies” are very good. It isn’t my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, but when I had my extended household vote on it, Dorie Greenspan’s cookies won. I’m sorry Sarah Keiffer. Your cookies will still be my favorite.
The Almond-Herb Crust is amazing. It’s perfect for our bumper crop of tomatoes and cucumbers – for tomato parmesean tarts, or layered with goat cheese, cucumbers and salt. The crust is also great as a cracker.
That said, the Almond Herb Crust raises my biggest complaint about Baking with Dorie. Her recipes frequently require a standing mixer or a food processor. Greenspan is hardly the only author who does this, but it bothers me every time I see it. Not everyone has a standing mixer or a food processor, and there are many reasons not to have one. I don’t have a food processor and have made the crust without it just fine. But when I was still a newbie baker, not seeing by hand instructions would have made me feel like I couldn’t attempt the recipe.
My only other complaint is that I wish the savory section had been bigger.
Next year during rhubarb season, I’m going to try the “Dark Chocolate Rhubarb Tart” and perhaps reread Molly Harper’s How to Date Your Dragon, which features a pie shop claiming to have the world’s best chocolate rhubarb pie.
Don’t look here if you are looking for a lot of gluten free or dairy free recipes. That’s not what this cookbook is about, and that’s fine.
I received this as an advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
My very very very very favorite recipe is the first recipe in the book – “The Daily Bread: White Bread Edition.” I first made it 4 months ago, and while it is not the every day bread in the house, it is the “I’m feeling a little fancy but still utilitarian” bread and has made many appearances in my house and has been gifted to a number of neighbors. I do one thing differently – I use powdered buttermilk instead of powdered milk. I haven’t yet made the braided ring loaf with this dough, because every time I suggest it, my housemates just want to toast this bread and make sandwiches with it. Maybe I’ll make it over the Winter holidays.
My second favorite recipe is the lemon curd. I’ve used it to top muffins, make lemon bars, support the fruit in a fruit tart. My housemate and I have eaten it with a spoon out of our individual jars.
I spread that lemon curd on a slice of that bread, toasted. I whispered a little prayer to all the gods of my ancestors and a tear trickled down my face. I am only exaggerating a little bit.
The “Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies” are very good. It isn’t my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, but when I had my extended household vote on it, Dorie Greenspan’s cookies won. I’m sorry Sarah Keiffer. Your cookies will still be my favorite.
The Almond-Herb Crust is amazing. It’s perfect for our bumper crop of tomatoes and cucumbers – for tomato parmesean tarts, or layered with goat cheese, cucumbers and salt. The crust is also great as a cracker.
That said, the Almond Herb Crust raises my biggest complaint about Baking with Dorie. Her recipes frequently require a standing mixer or a food processor. Greenspan is hardly the only author who does this, but it bothers me every time I see it. Not everyone has a standing mixer or a food processor, and there are many reasons not to have one. I don’t have a food processor and have made the crust without it just fine. But when I was still a newbie baker, not seeing by hand instructions would have made me feel like I couldn’t attempt the recipe.
My only other complaint is that I wish the savory section had been bigger.
Next year during rhubarb season, I’m going to try the “Dark Chocolate Rhubarb Tart” and perhaps reread Molly Harper’s How to Date Your Dragon, which features a pie shop claiming to have the world’s best chocolate rhubarb pie.
Don’t look here if you are looking for a lot of gluten free or dairy free recipes. That’s not what this cookbook is about, and that’s fine.
I received this as an advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.