Reviews for Ornamental Confectionery and the Art of Baking in All Its Branches

The average rating for Ornamental Confectionery and the Art of Baking in All Its Branches based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-10-23 00:00:00 Cary Acker This book was given to me in 1980* and I can't count the times I've consulted it since .... most recently yesterday when I baked some edible but unsatisfactory bread. So what did I do wrong? Elizabeth (I feel like I'm on a first name basis with her) has the answer. Always. From the chemistry to the crumb. The history is interesting, the explanations of how different fats and liquids affect a loaf invaluable, and the contempt for commercial bread as pertinent today as when it was written. Most of all, her advice and instructions on yeast are indispensable to making a really good bread. I think even armchair cooks would enjoy much of this book. The recipes are entertaining in themselves, with notes about its history going back to the Middle Ages and references and quotes from old to ancient recipes - with notes to explain them. Certainly, Anglophiles would enjoy the chapter on "Yeast Buns and Small Tea Cakes" with its Yorkshire Cakes and "Burtergill Windemere Cakes ... relation to the seventeenth century Countess of Rutland's Banbury cake as well as the Scotch Christmas bun." She is not, however, a snob. Throughout there is a very real appreciation of the hardships of ordinary families struggling with budgets and limited time and inadequate access to really good, nutritious food - and a fine contempt for the commercial operators taking advantage all those factors. An indispensable book. *the edition pictured is not mine - happily, I have a hardcover since a paperback would never have survived the hard use it's had in my kitchen. My edition is not pictured.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-08-05 00:00:00 Cheryl Grue Excellent. My favourite bread book. It's part food history, part recipe book. I made her cottage loaf three times, each one a success, and I followed her surprising tip of baking it in an oven that had not been preheated.