Summary
"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
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.
