Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Little off topic: Other than "Baking with Julia," I don't have a dedicated baking book. Would this be a good one or is there something better out there?

fitzie

I defer to the real bakers on this, however, it is a great read. I'd try your library to begin.

I did just that, Wino. After lugging it home, I decided it's not the book for me. I have quite a few French cookbooks and they include many of the "Buchon" recipes. Plus it's so damned heavy. And it won't fit in my bookshelves. And it's available at my local library. But it is a beautiful book and a good read.

fitzie

Okay so I made a double batch of the cookies yesterday and got 65 dough balls using my #20 scoop (leveled off), so roughly 32 from each recipe. That's plenty big for us; I figure if you want more, have another! (I baked them convection at 325 for about 13-14 minutes total -- my ovens run a tad cool though.)

But this is an interesting quandary -- the other couple of times I've made them, I've weighed all of the ingredients and didn't question the amounts. But this time, maybe because it was a double batch so was more noticeable, I measured the oats by volume after I'd weighed them. And it wasn't even close to 4 cups (a single recipe calls for 2 cups). So then I looked at my chart as well as the weight-volume conversion on several websites, and one cup of old fashioned oats is generally considered 100 grams. But in Keller's book, he's got 2 cups as 155 grams. So something doesn't add up. (And although my cookies have been really delicious -- they've been a tad on the flat side, and now I'm wondering if it's because there wasn't enough oats in them. ?)

Interestingly, the one thing that kept me from buying the book initially was reviews I'd seen about errors. I was going to wait for the second edition but ended up caving when it dipped below $30 on Amazon. And I'm obviously a fan -- I've been baking for years but have already learned several things from it. And whenever I have time again to just chill on the couch, it's a beautiful read as Fitzie said. But it does make one wonder if this is one example of the inaccuracies. (And FWIW I've seen the errata info. for the book, and this recipe isn't in it.)

Thoughts?

Emilie

Fitzie, I have more exclusively baking cookbooks than I should -- and the one I most go back to year-after-year to is Dorie Greenspan's "Baking, from My Home to Yours." And even though it's slightly heretical, the CI/ATK Baking Books have a wide range of great recipes too.

Emilie

Emilie, when you used the scoop, did you just drop them on the sheet or did you roll in your hands per the original recipe?

Fitzie, I have CI's, Martha's, KAF, Julia and several other baking books. I find that unless I need a recipe from a particular book, I end up looking online for answers or recipes. For example, the first time I made Rugelah, I googled for Ina's recipe (I have all her books, googling was easier). Her recipes seem straight forward, and I am less tempted to "improve" them the first time. I've always been successful with hers. Once I have made something once, I check other recipes and play away at mixing and matching.

I should add that many of my favorite come from recommendations from members of this board, e.g. the Momofuku Cookies and Cream.

I've made about 20 of Keller's recipes from all of his books and I've only had one FAILURE. I have altered others but the failure was far removed from that. So, in general, I believe they are very accurate. Making them has upped my quality from "very good" to "WOW!"
I learned from Betty Crocker, got a lot better with CI and nailed it with Keller - keeping in mind I'm just a home chef for 2 with no further aspirations.

Has anyone made the peanut butter cookies? I did think they seemed like they had too much leavening. I used volume to measure that though, and I don't have an 1/8 t. I might have over filled.

Love that line. It sums up my experience, as well, and probably that of many of us.

Where is the errata?