About the Book
"This baking bible is the perfect mix of solid techniques, good advice, and tried-and-true recipes . . . one of the best possible places to begin." --Gale Gand, James Beard Award-winning pastry chef With the demise of home economics in the school system, many adults have no baking experience at all, relying on dreary store-bought baked goods and artificial mixes to satisfy their cravings. Baking Basics and Beyond allows even absolute novices to prepare a wide array of delicious, healthy breads, cakes, cookies, pies, and more. In a warm, reassuring manner, Pat Sinclair leads beginning bakers step-by-step through each recipe, thoroughly explaining each technique and direction. After learning a basic technique, additional recipes provide further practice and more elaborate results. This second edition contains more than 100 recipes, from old favorites like icebox cookies, cornbread, and brownies to updated classics, including Butterscotch Cashew Blondies, Chai Latte Custards, and Savory Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding. Throughout, explanations and precise tips, based on Sinclair's years of baking experience, make readers feel as though there is a friendly teacher in the kitchen, peering over their shoulders, and guiding them toward perfect results, every time.
This new edition of this basic, down-to-earth, reader-friendly baking guide is updated with beautiful full color photos throughout.
"Offers help for rookie bakers with tips and suggestions following almost all recipes . . . The book offers good reminders for all home bakers." --Chicago Tribune
"Sinclair knows what she's talking about. In her easy-going, uncomplicated manner, she leads beginning bakers through step-by-step instructions for everything from scones, biscuits, and cookies to pies, custards, and cheesecakes." --OneForTheTable.com
About the Author :
Pat Sinclair is a food consultant with over 18 years experience working for high-profile corporate clients who target American home bakers such as Land O'Lakes, General Mills and Pillsbury. She is the recipe editor for two Pillsbury Classics Cookbooks and also Irresistible Desserts for Land O'Lakes. These best-selling cookbooks are sold through subscription and at newsstands across the country. As a recipe developer, her corporate clients have included Ocean Spray, Diamond Walnuts, Smucker's and Uncle Ben's. She developed more than 275 recipes in the series "Easy to Bake, Easy to Make" for International Masters Publishers, a national publisher of recipe cards distributed through the mail.
She is the recipe editor for Carnival Creations (1996) and The Carnival Experience (2001), cookbooks published by Carnival Cruise Lines and featuring featuring specialties from chefs on the cruise liners. She worked closely with the chefs to adapt recipes for home kitchens.
For nine years she was a home economist on the Land O'Lakes Holiday Baking Hotline, where she responded to questions from consumers on a broad spectrum of baking issues. From this experience she gained a deeper appreciation for the challenges home bakers face.
Pat holds a bachelor's degree in Food Research from Purdue University and a master's degree in Foods from the University of Maryland. She is also a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP). She lives in Edina, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis.
Review :
Praise for Baking Basics and Beyond 2nd Edition: "Dozens of good baking cookbooks are on the market, but Baking Basics and Beyond, by Pat Sinclair, is notable both for its scope and its simplicity... this an ideal book for beginners." --The Record
"I'd recommend this cookbook for any kitchen, but especially for those that don't have a lot of baking experience." --From Val's Kitchen
"Sinclair knows what she's talking about. In her easy-going, uncomplicated manner, she leads beginning bakers through step-by-step instructions for everything from scones, biscuits, and cookies to pies, custards, and cheesecakes." --OneForTheTable.com
"This small book is a treat to read, as well as a feast for the eyes. Beautifully published, it would make a very special gift." --National Association of Baby Boomer Women
"The book is a wonderful guide for those who think baking is too difficult to attempt. Sinclair writes as if she were standing in your kitchen, telling you exactly what to do so your cakes, pies, brownies, pizzas, coffee cakes, scones and muffins turn out right." -TableConversation.com
"Looks like I might find a passion in the world of baking after all." --Johnna Knows Good Food
"Baking Basics and Beyond is one of the best books on baking basics we've seen."
--Dolce Dolce
"Besides delicious recipes, Pat shares some of the baking secrets she's picked up over 20+ years as a food consultant and cooking teacher. Intended to help you get it right the first time, they include a wealth of ah-ha tips." --The Boomer Brief
"This cookbook is a gem! Pat Sinclair breaks baking down into simple, manageable steps. If you are a new or struggling baker, you will appreciate this cookbook!"
--PremeditatedLeftovers.com
"Owning a copy of Baking Basics and Beyond is like having your own personal baking instructor on call 24 hours a day. " --Random Cravings
"All aspiring bakers really need is someone to offer a little gentle guidance in the kitchen. Pat Sinclair does just that in the newly revised second edition of 'Baking Basics and Beyond'" --The Skillet Chronicles
Praise for first edition of Baking Basics and Beyond
"Offers help for rookie bakers with tips and suggestions following almost all recipes. Sinclair put the collection together after two decades of experience as a cooking teacher and consultant for companies, including Land O'Lakes and Pillsbury. The book offers good reminders for all home bakers."
Chicago Tribune
"The introduction to each of the 11 baked-goods chapters (plus one on frostings, sauce and the like) condenses a fair amount of information into a page or two, and each of the many recipes--which in this case are among the reasons to buy the book--carries one or more useful tips. Sinclair, a Minneapolis food consultant and cooking teacher, also knows when to say 'yummy': The brief precedes to the recipes are descriptive and enticing. Both beginning bakers and experienced hands may find something enjoyable here."
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"A hands-on guide for bakers of all levels and skills, with more than 120 baking-from-scratch recipes. Easy instructions."
Desert Leaf magazine
"Baking Basics and Beyond by Pat Sinclair is a good basic primer for quick breads, baked desserts, and yeast breads. Learn why cakes stick in the center or why pie crusts are tough.
