Summer Baking - and we don't mean your tan

(Left) In The Sweet Kitchen: The Definitive Baker's Companion by Regan Daley

This may fly in the face of conventional wisdom, but I love to bake during the summer. I’m also pretty sure that my electric company loves it, too.

But here’s why – it’s the best way to train for the upcoming holidays. It also used to be the time when I’d fight power outages and humidity bombs to create tasty creations for the county fair’s baking contest.

So, the need to get flour and butter under my nails has stuck, just like millions of people crave the feel of sand between their toes on the 4th of July.

And if you really want to learn how to bake, then you’ve got to visit your local library or purchase yourself a copy of In the Sweet Kitchen, The Definitive Baker’s Companion by Regan Daley. This “guide to ingredients and technique” is like having your very own pastry chef helping you navigate kitchen equipment, ingredients and methods.

Your taste-testers will reap the results.

Daley starts with tools and techniques including troubleshooting cake baking issues, pans to stock your cabinets with and ideas for simple garnishes. For me, this is perfect as I’ve never had the patience, nor am I particularly fond of, those cakes that are covered in layers of sugary fluff.

She then moves on to not only the heart of the book, but to the heart of what every good baker knows, how ingredients work together and how you can make substitutions for your own baking creations. She covers leaveners, flours and grains, sugars, fats, dairy, eggs, liquids, flavorings and nuts, fruits and vegetables.

By far, one of the best sections in the book – the one that I have a permanent tab on – is the flavor pairings chart. Have some fresh raspberries and want to know what else will go well with them, this will tell you which is indespensible if you’re into creating your own masterpieces.

That’s just the first 368 pages of the book, Daley wraps up all of her award-winning advice with an additional 300 pages of sweet (and sometimes savory) concoctions of her own – putting all of her sage advice to work for you.


- GE, 6/12/08