14 best chronicle books baking cookbooks

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Raspberry Rye Cookies

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Toasted Sesame Cookies

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The Tartine Way

The bread at San Francisco's legendary Tartine Bakery sells out within an hour almost every day. At 5 P.M., these rugged, magnificent loaves are drawn from the oven. The first cut yields steam and room-filling aroma, exposing an open and tender interior underneath the burnished, substantial crust. This distinctive bread was developed by renowned baker Chad Robertson over a decade of working with one of the finest artisan bakers in the United States and France, followed by another decade baking solo in a small wood-fired oven on the coast of Northern California. The following for this singular bread far exceeds the bakery's limited daily production.

Only a handful of bakers have apprenticed to learn the techniques Chad has developed.

Now it's your turn to make this bread with your own hands. Clear instructions and hundreds of step-by-step photos put you by Chad's side as he shows you how to make exceptional and elemental bread using just flour, water, and salt.

Chad then explains how it all works and shows how variations from this master recipe lead to wonderfully diverse breads. Soon you will be able to create your own unique and personal loaf. Also included are more than 30 sweet and savory recipes using the day-old bread to make sandwiches, classic soups, puddings, delicious baked French toast, and an addictive Kale Caesar.

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About the Authors

Amy Emberling and Frank Carollo are master bakers and the co-owners of Zingerman's Bakehouse. They live in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

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Bacon and Egg Brioche Buns

Matcha-Glazed Croissants

Quiche

Fruit Galettes

Millionaire's Chocolate Caramel Tart

Creamy Cheesecake

Cookbook Errata

The night before you want to make the muffins (about 8 hours ahead of baking), mix the poolish. Mix the flour, cold water, and yeast in a bowl by hand until well combined. Cover with a clean, damp towel and let rise in a cool spot overnight. In the morning it should have doubled in size and be very bubbly. If you’re not going to use it right away, keep it in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 6 hours.

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Start Your Day with a Smile

Home bakers, especially beginners, will appreciate how friendly muffins and biscuits are. They require no special equipment, training, or expertise and a minimum amount of elbow grease. In fact, the less you mix the batter and handle the dough, the better. They're rustic and homey, and popular with people of all ages. There is, in my humble opinion, nothing else quite like them in their universal appeal and accessibility in the world of traditional American cuisine. I hope you discover something that surprises or delights you in this book and that you try a technique or recipe you use for years to come.

Cheddar-Bacon Biscuits

These biscuits use the same technique as that for Cathead Biscuits (page 101), but they are enriched with egg, sharp Cheddar cheese, and crispy bacon. With a nice crisp top crust and a soft interior, they're hearty enough to serve as breakfast on their own, or you can make them the centerpiece of a farmhouse-style brunch spread.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees [200 degrees Celsius]. Coat a 9-by-5-in [23-by-12-cm] loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the 3/4 cup [105 g] all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper. Scatter the butter cubes over the flour mixture and use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to toss gently. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal but pea-size chunks of butter are still visible. (Alternatively, in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, cut the butter into the flour mixture with about three 1-second pulses, and then return the mixture to the mixing bowl.) Reserve 2 Tbsp shredded Cheddar for the topping and set aside. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir the remaining Cheddar and the chopped bacon into the flour mixture.

3. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and buttermilk together until blended. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and, using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir until the dough just comes together, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. The dough should be shaggy and a little sticky.

4. Spoon the remaining 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour into a shallow bowl. Coat your hands well with flour and pull off egg-size chunks of dough (you want 8 biscuits, so aim for dough balls that are one-eighth of the total). Dredge each chunk in the flour until thoroughly coated and place them in the prepared pan so that they are barely touching (2 biscuits across the shorter width of the bread pan and 4 biscuits along the longer side, for a 2-by-4 grid of 8 biscuits). Resist the urge to smooth and shape the dough; leave it rough and shaggy. Dust any remaining flour over the biscuits in the pan.

5. Brush the tops of the biscuits with the melted butter, pouring any remaining butter over them. Sprinkle the reserved Cheddar evenly over the biscuits.

6. Bake until puffed and golden brown, rotating the loaf pan halfway through, about 20 minutes.

7. Transfer the biscuits to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes and serve warm. If you are not serving the biscuits right away, wrap them tightly in plastic or place in a resealable bag and store in the freezer for up to 1 month. To serve, place the biscuits on a baking sheet and warm in a preheated 400-degree (200-degree C) oven for 5 minutes.