Bake from Scratch (Vol 2): Artisan Recipes for the Home Baker (Bake from Scratch, 2)

This cookbook is gorgeous (as you might expect based on the magazine & BfS vol 1). There’s a beautifully styled photo of every finished dish and the typeface is easy to read. Every recipe seems to be printed on a single page, so the cookbook is practically easy to use. It’s critical to point out that all the content in this book is “reprinted”-it was already published in the Bake from Scratch magazine issues of 2017. Some of the recipes in this book are available online on the eponymous website. You’re buying this cookbook because you want a hard copy of the recipes.

First, the few cons:

Some recipes call for rather expensive ingredients and/or specific equipment/pans that a lot of home bakers are unlikely to have. (How many ring molds of different sizes can I manage to fit in my kitchen? Answer: 1 size is the limit.) A few seem like they were not scaled down sufficiently for the home baker (12.5 cups of flour is not a quantity I’ll ever put into a single recipe, much less try to mix together in a single bowl).

Aside from this minor quibbles, this book is more than worth the cost and a place on your bookshelf. Unlike so many cookbooks that are published, these recipes have been truly tested, are concisely written but don’t make any logical leaps that will confuse newer bakers, and span a wide range of flavors/baked goods as well as time requirements.

This book has recipes for the pickiest eaters as well as the most adventurous and the newest bakers to the very advanced. One of the things I really appreciate about Bake from Scratch is the content isn’t just a repeat of “common” baked goods. There’s a “twist” or an intriguing history to each recipe. Also, because the book comes from a magazine publication, the recipes are quite seasonally themed (although they are organized by baked good category).

I’m not likely to make every single recipe in here, but there are so many to choose from, and everything I’ve made so far has been excellent, including the date & hazelnut caramel cake, the stuffed flourless PB cookies, peanut butter Nutella coffee cake, tahini-cardamom shortbreads, chewy chocolate chip cookies, and the Italian cream bundt cake.

I have debated returning this book..not sure if there are enough usable recipes in it to justify the price..many use odd exotic ingredients that will need to be special ordered.If you like Tahini and Halva in every 4th recipe this is the book for,you.The one think I wanted was the pressed cookie recipe pictured on both fly leaves but it is nowhere to,be,found but 6 mire,chocolate chip cookies to choose from.very,very disappointing I will not be ordering anymore of these types of cookbooks...too many,good ones out,there.plus already just reading,through the recipes finding,mistakes things like making one dish of dough then recipe requiring 2...will likely returm

The second volume is even better in terms of creativity of trendy desserts that have been revamped for more flavor profiles. I really like volume 2 better than volume 1. So much great variety, and loved how some of the recipes came from bakers that have an inspiration creating these treats. I liked how other countries have a say in few countries in Eastern Europe. Full of great recipes, stylish food photography, and a great resource for an inspiration of baking secrets and techniques and delve deeper for more flavor profiles.

WARNING- In depth review for those interested in making a buying decision. For brief summary, see section marked THE BOTTOM LINE
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Although I am a cook book fanatic, I have to say that few books measure up to the level of adventurous unique baking/cooking that I like to do. I really was not expecting a lot from this book, BUT I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS.....

WHAT IS THIS BOOK LIKE?
This book is a huge heavy duty book. It is well bound with great bright pages that have lots of photos on them. Almost every recipe (I can not find one that doesn't yet) has a photo of what you are making with it. THAT is a big deal to me. I tend to be visually motivated and this is great.

This collection of recipes from the BAKING FROM SCRATCH MAGAZINE is all new to me as I have never seen the magazine. What a great way to have all of these amazing recipes in one place!

LAYOUT
The layout is wonderful. Recipes are easy to read and well laid out. The photos are all motivational and give a good idea of what it is that you will be making. Ingredients are all in bold lettering so they are easy to see quickly for assembly.

FONT
The font is easy to read, although those who have trouble with smaller print will want to have their reading glasses handy. The recipe instructions are printed in a thinner font which could be hard to see for some people.

PRO TIPS AND RECIPE CHAPTER MARKINGS
One of my favorite touches of this book is that there are pro tips throughout the book in small squares, but there are also script written labels in the upper right corner of what type of recipe that you are looking at (for example: Layer cake, one-layer cake, etc)

CREATIVE RECIPES
I have to say that this baking book has the widest range of recipes I have seen to date. Not only are there basics for some of our favorites like baklava, and hot cross buns, but there are wildly creative recipes in here for things I have never heard of before cucumber strawberry bread, Italian plum and parmesan scones, and pear rosemary bundt cat.

SOME MORE FASCINATING RECIPES
Here are a few of my more unique favorites at the moment:

Tropical Hummingbird Layer Cake
Spumoni Cake
Spiced Persimmon Coconut Cake
Charred Squash Pound Cake w Black Pepper Parmesan
Rhubarb Ginger Muffins with Rhubarb Vanilla Bean Streusel
Peach and Canteloupe Grunt
Matcha Macarons With Baileys Original Irish Cream Buttercream Filling
Place Card Cookies (yes, they act as a place card)

SUBSTITUTIONS
Don't get me wrong, this book is loaded with recipes that will keep me busy for a very long time. They are wildly creative, well done, and I have only made a few so far, but the whole family is very prone to study this book daily since we got it. I did not find that I needed lots of hard to find ingredients and all of the recipes were adaptable to vegan, vegetarian, and/or paleo.

PALEO AND VEGAN
There are also a few paleo as well as vegan things in here, but many of the recipes will lend themselves to substitutions of nut/coconut milk , almond/coconut flours, etc.

FRUITS
The wide range of fruits in here included are not often found in cookbooks. Persimmons, triple berries, figs, frangipane, tangerine , rhubarb, pears, chestnuts, gosh they have so many different recipes to choose from that when we find a good deal at the market for unusual fruit, I bet there is a recipe in this book that we would be able to make with it. Of course, there are plenty of recipes with more typical fruits in them as well.

THE RECIPE I COULD NEVER FIND IN A BOOK
And yes, I have to mention- the recipe that I could never find in a book (I don't always have access to online) is HALVA! I mean that middle eastern candy that we always used to eat when we lived down near NYC. There has not been a really good recipe that I have come across that matches that- until now. I just substituted honey for corn syrup, granulated maple or coconut sugar and we could eat it. It is not EXACTLY how they make halva that you would find at the store, but it is close enough at this point.

THE BOTTOM LINE
If you are creative in the kitchen and like to have new different things to try, or are someone who lives in farm country or near a public market where you can regularly find unusual fruits or ingredients and you want to use them in new ways, this book is fantastic. I have to control myself from raving on and on about it, but suffice it to say that this is well laid out, STUFFED with recipes that are not only traditional, but creative, and very beautifully laid out.

MY RATING
FIVE STARS. I would give it more if I could! So far, my alterations to get a few of these recipes to paleo friendly has gone well for me. So even if you have to alter recipes for family or friends, this can still fill your need for unusual recipes.

Hands down, the best cookbook i have ever owned. I have saved hundreds of recipes (literally) and have successfully made a few already. There are pictures with every single recipe which is a must for me. Did i mention that there are like 600 plus recipes in this thing?? There is no cookbook out there that matches this one. I even prefer it over my other well known culinary cookbooks by Thomas Keller and Julia Child. Stop wasting your time and order this baby!

Guys! This is the COOKBOOK of all COOKBOOKS for baking of course! This has tons of recipes that had been featured in the Bake magazine. The book is divided up into the following sections: Cakes, Breads, Pies and Tarts, Pastries, Cookies and Bars, and Miscellaneous.We made the Natural Strawberry Cake with Browned Butter Frosting to or first recipe. It was phenomenal! After reading through the recipes, they are fantastic for at home bakers as they are clear and feature easy to find ingredients. I would highly recommend this one to anyone who loves to bake.

I am not currently subscribed to Bake From Scratch the magazine, but I suppose I should be because I am a HUGE fan of their two cookbooks. Volume One was such a hit in my house that it wasn't too long before I sought out Volume Two. It's incredibly similar in terms of scope and quality to Volume One. I have baked literally dozens of treats from the two volumes and so far I haven't found a single dud. Everything has been very easy to follow, and relatively foolproof. I'm not a complete novice when it comes to baking, but I feel like a total beginner would absolutely be able to bake anything from this book.

I bought this book because of 1. The Pictures and 2. Reading the recipes in the store. Lovely pictures and surprising recipes. I've looked closely at two recipes and will comment on these.

1. S'mores Sacher Torte. Home made graham crackers for the crust. Home made marshmallow layer and the cake. All the ingredients are measured with cups and with grams. The part of the recipe for the cake calls for two 9 inch cake pans, even though this is in the one layer cake chapter. The whole cake recipe calls for just one layer topped with the marshmallow layer, etc. No use in this recipe for the second layer. Obviously no chocolate cake goes to waste.......but I read thru the recipe 4 times to see if I missed something. So you can make the cake into a one layer version by cutting the recipe in half--but this was annoying.
2. Ginger Cake with Mango Curd: Preparing to make this cake and was prepping the candied ginger. The recipe calls for 1/3 cup (123 grams) of chapped candied ginger. The problem is that 1/3 cup of candied ginger is actually 70 grams and that seems like a lot. 1/2 cup actually measures out to 123 grams.

I'm making the cake since I have all the ingredients and can push myself through the recipe. But it makes me work harder than I wanted. I did contact the Baked from Scratch editors and they were helpful. I might still send the book back because of these editing problems. The mango curd is so good though...........

This cookbook is one of the best I own. I have tried dozens of baking cookbooks and by far this the winner. The combination of easy to follow recipes, new uncommon desserts, and beautiful photography for EVERY SINGLE RECIPE is what makes this cookbook and must for any home baker no matter their skill level. I own both volume one and two and they both are great. I highly recommend this book and know any baker will love it.

This is a next level, modern day baking cookbook. There are some truly unique, interesting, and delicious recipes to be found in here. Think, Carrot Masala Bars and Charred Squash Pound Cake. Along with more contemporary recipes, you will find some delightful revised classics that are turning out to be real crowd pleasers. The big take away here is, this isn't your great grandmothers baking guide. If you are looking for traditional recipes, I would look elsewhere.

Something that I don't think is talked about all that often in cookbook reviews is, how does the stuff turn out. While I have not baked my way through the entire book, I can say that of the half dozen or so recipes I have tried have came out as expected. If you have experience with baking, you can get an idea on how it will be based on ratios and ingredients and despite some being different from other books, each recipe has came out well. The directions have been easy to follow and not overly complicated either.

Of course everything tastes delicious. Bake to your taste, I always say! If you don't like the sounds of a recipe move on to the next one there are plenty to be found.

The book is quite nice to look at. There are some beautiful photos and it is very well designed. It looks great next to my stand mixer on the counter. The blue binder is striking and I like the way it stands out.

I am really enjoying this book and having great success with these recipes. If you are searching for something a bit different and want to add to your collection, I would recommend giving this a try.