Here are 82 books that Leslie Mackie's Macrina Bakery & Cafe Cookbook fans have personally recommended if you like
Leslie Mackie's Macrina Bakery & Cafe Cookbook.
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I didn’t really mean to become a food photographer. But with the first photo that I took of a batch of homemade raspberry scones, I knew I found something special. And then, I didn't really mean to become a cookbook author. But photos led to recipes, which led to this crazy notion that the world needed a cookbook dedicated to doughnuts! I’ve since written five more cookbooks and have a bit of an obsession with beautifully designed and photographed baking books that can fuel my project baking and cooking fascination. The books on my list continue to inspire me, and hope they inspire you too.
Stella Parks approaches baking like I want to, but don’t really have the patience for.
She’s meticulous in her experimentation (check out her posts on Serious Eats) and baking science. In BraveTart, she turns her eyes to classic American desserts like Oreos, Fig Newtons, English Muffins and Graham crackers. Her recipes are stellar, and I like that I can enjoy them knowing that they are at least a little better health-wise than the store-bought versions.
I also enjoy reading through the bits of history each of the recipes includes. Having written a cookbook on remade childhood classics myself, I know the work that is involved!
If you have ever marvelled at a flawless slice of cherry pie in a television bake-off and wondered if you could re-create it at home, BraveTart is for you. Here are recipes for one-bowl Devil's Food Layer Cake, Blueberry Muffins, Glossy Fudge Brownies and even Parks's own recipes for re-creating popular supermarket treats! These meticulously tested, crystal-clear and innovative recipes bring a pastry chef's expertise to your kitchen.
Along the way, BraveTart tells the surprising story of how these desserts came to be. With a foreword by The Food Lab's J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, vintage illustrations of historical desserts and breathtaking…
I didn’t really mean to become a food photographer. But with the first photo that I took of a batch of homemade raspberry scones, I knew I found something special. And then, I didn't really mean to become a cookbook author. But photos led to recipes, which led to this crazy notion that the world needed a cookbook dedicated to doughnuts! I’ve since written five more cookbooks and have a bit of an obsession with beautifully designed and photographed baking books that can fuel my project baking and cooking fascination. The books on my list continue to inspire me, and hope they inspire you too.
I fell in love with Maurizio’s The Perfect Loaf blog which is dedicated to natural leavened baking well before the Great Pandemic Lockdown Sourdough Extravaganza happened.
His detailed instructions and beautiful photography grabbed me immediately, not to mention his recipes just work. The Perfect Loaf cookbook brings everything from the blog and is much easier to work with in the kitchen when my hands are covered in flour.
I wasn’t very confident in my sourdough skills before this book, but quickly found that I’m able to make impressive loaves, and other baked goodies like amazing sourdough waffles, for my friends and family.
JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER • IACP AWARD WINNER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A dynamic, authoritative sourdough baking bible for those looking to build confidence in the craft with a wide range of foolproof recipes, from pan loaves to pizza to doughnuts, by the beloved blogger and resident bread baker at Food52
“Maurizio Leo has given all bread-heads, whether newbies or experienced bakers, the ideal gift.”—Peter Reinhart, author of The Bread Baker’s Apprentice and host of Pizza Quest
ONE OF SAVEUR'S BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR
Maurizio Leo’s blog The Perfect Loaf is the go-to destination on the internet…
I didn’t really mean to become a food photographer. But with the first photo that I took of a batch of homemade raspberry scones, I knew I found something special. And then, I didn't really mean to become a cookbook author. But photos led to recipes, which led to this crazy notion that the world needed a cookbook dedicated to doughnuts! I’ve since written five more cookbooks and have a bit of an obsession with beautifully designed and photographed baking books that can fuel my project baking and cooking fascination. The books on my list continue to inspire me, and hope they inspire you too.
I lived in San Francisco for a year, just a few blocks away from Tartine Manufactory. Tartine has a well-deserved cult following for its tangy rustic loaves and baked goods.
I moved last year, and so unfortunately, I can no longer just pop over when I need a fix. Luckily, the Tartine Bread book lets me get very close at home. I love this type of project baking where I really feel accomplished at the end… even if it does take a couple of days to get there.
The book also has a ton of great fancy toast recipes that I can make in the rare case that I haven’t just eaten a whole loaf simply with a slather of butter.
"...The most beautiful bread book yet published..." - The New York Times
Tartine - A bread bible for the home baker or professional bread-maker! It comes from Chad Robertson, a man many consider to be the best bread baker in the United States, and co-owner with Elizabeth Prueitt of San Francisco's Tartine Bakery. At 5 P.M., Chad Robertson's rugged, magnificent Tartine loaves are drawn from the oven. The bread at San Francisco's legendary Tartine Bakery sells out within an hour almost every day.
I didn’t really mean to become a food photographer. But with the first photo that I took of a batch of homemade raspberry scones, I knew I found something special. And then, I didn't really mean to become a cookbook author. But photos led to recipes, which led to this crazy notion that the world needed a cookbook dedicated to doughnuts! I’ve since written five more cookbooks and have a bit of an obsession with beautifully designed and photographed baking books that can fuel my project baking and cooking fascination. The books on my list continue to inspire me, and hope they inspire you too.
One of my favorite things is being able to take a basic or classic recipe and tweak it here and there to create something entirely new. That’s the spirit behind Pure Dessert.
Olive oil and sherry pound cake? Yes please. Cocoa nib and buckwheat butter cookies? I am all over that. I love that this book focuses on a flavor theme, and then plays around with different ways to bring that to life. The recipes are deliciously crafted, but also just a great inspiration for creating my own.
Delicate handmade cheeses, wholesome grains, organic yogurts, and great chocolates create pure and simple desserts that provide soul satisfaction through the pleasure of real flavours. Taste how sesame seeds and sesame oil completely redefine cake and the lovely, nutty flavour buckwheat flour brings to indulgent buttery cookies and strawberry shortcake. Medrich transforms ice cream by using honey, pound cake with the addition of olive oil and sherry, and meringue by adding chestnut flour and walnuts. Recipes like Cardamom-Roasted Figs and Chilled Oranges in Rum-Caramel Syrup prove that authentic, fresh flavours taste best and make for desserts that are easy and…
My degree in archaeology taught me life is a giant puzzle. People leave behind fragments, giving hints but never definitive answers. My deductive skills when piecing together broken pottery or looking at renderings of hominid skulls to determine how they lived, evolved my desire to write mysteries. One of the many things I love about cozy mysteries is that everything looks peaceful on the outside, but like real life, you barely need to scratch the surface before you discover dark deeds and secrets. And who doesn’t enjoy that?
The characters make this book fabulous – the Old Biddies are a hoot with their less than subtle comments and snooping. And Gemma’s tea room is divine, set against a charming Oxford backdrop. And there’s a delightful, plump, adorable cat. Muesli is a fluffy angel with a naughty side.
Funny, clever, and the scenes in the café will have you craving a slice of dessert to go with your murder.
“They say you have to make sacrifices to follow your dreams. I just didn’t expect the sacrifices to involve an American tourist and a killer scone.” ~ Gemma ditches her high-flying job and returns to Oxford to pursue her dream of opening a traditional English tearoom. It means giving up her savings, moving back with her parents and coping with her bossy, matchmaking mother, but she’s sure it will all be worth it. In fact, business is already booming… that is, until she opens up shop and finds an American tourist murdered by one of her signature scones!
I loved cooking and baking since I was a child, but it wasn’t until I was an adult that I rediscovered the joy of the kitchen. Even though I may enjoy tossing off a batch of eclairs on a whim or experimenting with sous vide, I can get into a cooking rut of last-minute dinners and grab-and-go meals and forget why I enjoy it in the first place! These five books never fail to remind me of the figurative (and sometimes literal) magic of making delicious food with my own hands.
This sweet romance might be short in length, but it’s long on culinary delights and the idea that food can bring people together.
The book’s main appeal is the internal journeys of the food blogger heroine and chef hero, but I can’t lie—the mere mention of things like blueberry-and-basil scones has me rushing to my baking supplies to figure out my own version…and the scene involving butternut squash lasagna with browned butter, sage, and apples has my mouth watering every time.
In fact, I might need to take a break from this book rec to whip up a dupe.
Rick Rodgers is an award-winning culinary teacher and cookbook writer who has made a specialty of books on baked goods. His book Kaffehaus explores the delicious sweets of the Austro-Hungarian coffee culture. With two of America’s most iconic bakeries, he is the co-author of The Model Bakery Cookbook and Sarabeth's Bakery, as well as Coffee And Cake, Tea And Cookies, and Williams-Sonoma Comfort Food.
This book literally changed home baking forever by making artisan breads accessible to the amateur cook. It was the first time that many of us saw recipes for the rustic breads with crackling brown crusts and moist, hole-ridden interiors that were before only available at specialty bakeries. All books are a labor of love, but I can’t imagine the determination an American woman must have had to wrestle the original recipes from Italian masters.
The only comprehensive book, in English or Italian, to cover the entire range of Italian baking, from breadsticks and cornetti to focaccia, tarts, cakes, and pastries. This latest edition, updated for a new generation of home bakers, has added four-color photography throughout, plus new recipes, ingredients and equipment sections, source guides, and weights.
Carol Field introduces artisanal doughs and techniques used by generations of Italian bakers. Every city and hill town has its own unique baking traditions, and Field spent more than two years traversing Italy to capture the regional and local specialties, adapting them through rigorous testing in her…
Rick Rodgers is an award-winning culinary teacher and cookbook writer who has made a specialty of books on baked goods. His book Kaffehaus explores the delicious sweets of the Austro-Hungarian coffee culture. With two of America’s most iconic bakeries, he is the co-author of The Model Bakery Cookbook and Sarabeth's Bakery, as well as Coffee And Cake, Tea And Cookies, and Williams-Sonoma Comfort Food.
Baking books are constantly evolving because of changing tastes and new availability of groceries. What was once an exotic grocery item can now be found at every supermarket. Weller’s book is for today’s cook, but she uses familiar formats for her creations. Her multilayered babkas are like no one else’s. You will learn a new technique or ingredient with every recipe.
From the James Beard Award nominee, a comprehensive baking bible for the twenty-first century, with 120 scientifically grounded recipes for sweet and savory baked goods anyone can master.
"A very good combination: Baking science all of us can understand and a splendid collection of recipes. . . . A baker’s must!” —Dorie Greenspan, author of Dorie's Cookies and Everyday Dorie
Melissa Weller is the baking superstar of our time. As the head baker at some of the best restaurants in the country, her takes on chocolate babka and sticky buns brought these classics back to life and kicked off a…
Rick Rodgers is an award-winning culinary teacher and cookbook writer who has made a specialty of books on baked goods. His book Kaffehaus explores the delicious sweets of the Austro-Hungarian coffee culture. With two of America’s most iconic bakeries, he is the co-author of The Model Bakery Cookbook and Sarabeth's Bakery, as well as Coffee And Cake, Tea And Cookies, and Williams-Sonoma Comfort Food.
When I worked in a food magazine test kitchen, it was a joy when a recipe by Flo came across my desk. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she was legendary for her skills and nurturing of young talent, her books deserve to be better known to the general public. The late, great Flo taught me so much about baking with her clear and concise recipes for top-notch baked goods. You will feel like your favorite aunt is standing next to you in the kitchen directing your every move. You can trust Flo.
The award-winning author of Sweet Miniatures offers an organized, methodical approach to baking that features some two hundred tested dessert recipes--for cakes, tortes, tarts, pies, pastries, and more, along with step-by-step instructions for a variety of useful cooking and decorating techniques. 1
I write books for children of all ages but I began with picture books, and they will always have a special place in my heart. I like all different types of picture books. Sometimes we read for pure entertainment, and sometimes to find out about the world, but the books on this list hit the sweet spot between the two. They are all books that will inspire further conversation and might even lead to related projects at school or home.
This book was a real favourite when my children were small, and like all favourite books, I probably read it about a million times. It’s a simple story about two brothers baking bread. The children loved the rhythm of the text, the repeated refrain, and the gentle ‘twist’ at the end. Like some of my other book picks, this one has facts at the back: this time about different types of bread from around the world. There’s also a recipe. Did we ever bake Zed’s bread? Of course we did! It was delicious.
Six brand new titles in the exciting new pre-school reading programme. Reading Together is a hugely successful learn-to-read series of high-quality picture books for young children and parents to enjoy together. There are four levels, each consisting of six books and offering a variety of reading experiences: stories, poems, rhymes and songs, traditional tales and information books, created by top authors and illustrators. Each book contains its own set of illustrated support notes - at the front and back - outlining qualities in the text, giving reading pointers and suggesting a range of follow-up activities. More detailed guidance is available…
