Baking in the American South by Anne Byrn – Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US giveaway to win one of two copies of Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories (A Definitive Guide to Southern Baking) by Anne Byrn. Please be sure to check our Calendar for the author’s scheduled events.

Have you ever picked up a cookbook and before you even crack open the cover you just know it is going to be spectacular? That was the case with this epic tome devoted to Southern baking.

Anne isn’t just the Cake Mix Doctor, she was formerly a food editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and a graduate of the La Varenne École de Cuisine in Paris. The idea for the Cake Mix Doctor books came when she took a leave of absence from the AJC to study in Paris and when she returned, she married and had three children. She states that she had been hoarding cake mixes for quick desserts. She realized that there may be others who are short on time and had the same needs. With this new book, she travels back to her roots and shares stories that are more about life and not just about the recipes.

With over 200 recipes and more than 150 photos from 14 states, this cookbook has the biscuits, cornbread, cakes, and rolls that will help you bake like a Southerner, even if you aren’t. More importantly, the book is packed with a history that is rich and vibrant. I have learned so much from the content shared here.

Anne explains that recipes can tell you volumes if you pay attention – the crops raised, languages spoken, family customs, old world flavors, and, often, religion. Did you know that where a mill was located affected the recipes handed down from that area? Or that baking and selling pound cakes directly impacted the Civil Rights Movement? These stories and recipes, developed from good times and bad, have been collected and perfected over years and are now accessible to us all. Anne’s expertise in assessing, modernizing, and developing well-written recipes makes this the definitive guide for bakers of all levels.

The book features stories and beautifully photographed recipes from pre-Civil War times to today’s Southern kitchens. It’s about the places, the people, the products and the culture of the moment that influenced what people baked. It’s about African-American women and the monumental contributions they have made to the art of Southern baking, about home cooks and how they’ve kept traditions alive wherever they settle by baking family recipes each year for holidays and celebrations, and about the pastry chefs who have thoughtfully reimagined how the South bakes.

I am thoroughly impressed by this gorgeous book and you will be too. We have linked to six online recipes that you can try now:

Be sure to check out this book the next time you are browsing at the bookstore you will not be disappointed. Pick up a copy for yourself or as a gift for a special baker in your life. It is definitely a keeper.

Special thanks to the publisher for providing two copies of this title in our promotion. Entry options include answering the following question in the comments section of this blog post.

Which recipe in the index would you like to try first?

Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest before posting or your entry won’t be counted. For more information on this process, please see our step-by-step help post. Once you log in and enter your member name you will be directed to the next entry option – the blog comment. After that, there are additional options that you can complete for more entries. Be sure to check your spam filters to receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers and EYB is not responsible for the shipping of these prizes. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on November 12th, 2024.

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72 Comments

  • Jillyb3  on  September 18, 2024

    Mobile banana fritters sound delish! But since I used to watch Nathalie Dupree alllll the time, I’d have to try her cream biscuits as well!

  • stahl_amy  on  September 18, 2024

    coconut cream pie

  • matag  on  September 18, 2024

    Southern Living’s hummingbird cake

  • demomcook  on  September 18, 2024

    Grandmother Bailey’s soft gingerbread with warm lemon sauce

  • jinni  on  September 18, 2024

    First, Vishwesh Bhatt’s not your Mama’s cornbread. Then Molasses cornbread for Zora Neale Hurston….All the cornbreads.

  • Shelley.b  on  September 18, 2024

    How to make Tex-Mex cornbread with cheese and chilies

  • Alleycat  on  September 18, 2024

    Molasses pie or lemon chess tartlets.

  • mcrimmins  on  September 18, 2024

    Key West Coconut Cornbread

  • minbody  on  September 18, 2024

    Ewing Steele’s Alabama orange rolls!

  • tatwood  on  September 18, 2024

    I am from the American South, now living in the midwest, and would enjoy nothing more than baking from this new cookbook, Baking in the American South.

  • SEX696x  on  September 19, 2024

    I am Ms. Maren from USA looking for fun. Check my profile: http://www.tinyurl.com/SEX696x

  • rkosully  on  September 19, 2024

    I would first like to make the Key West coconut cornbread. Fun!

  • skyejaden  on  September 19, 2024

    I do believe I want those Craig Claiborne’s hush puppies

  • hillsboroks  on  September 19, 2024

    Key West coconut cornbread.

  • dataentrytard  on  September 19, 2024

    I would like to prepare Linda Carman’s back-of-the-bag cornbread first.

  • racheljmorgan  on  September 20, 2024

    Satsuma wafers

  • RDJ82  on  September 20, 2024

    I would like to make the Dollywood Cinnamon Bread. It sounds so delicious and I’m curious about the pull apart layers.

  • tucsonsandy  on  September 20, 2024

    coconut cream pie

  • Cjennings  on  September 20, 2024

    I would love to make Dollywood Cinnamon Bread!

  • GreenhouseCheryl  on  September 20, 2024

    Edna Lewis’s sourdough pancakes (page 135)

  • Pamyoungvb  on  September 20, 2024

    Grandma Bailey’S soft gingerbread with lemon sauce sounds perfect for the fall.

  • annmartina  on  September 20, 2024

    I always tried to get a piece of blackberry jam cake when I visited the Berea Artisan’s Center cafe. I’ve never made it, but I think I would make this one first.

  • ravensfan  on  September 20, 2024

    Key West coconut cornbread

  • Ren23  on  September 20, 2024

    Key West coconut cornbread

  • porcupines  on  September 21, 2024

    I’d make the Colonnade’s Corn Muffins because I’ve been craving corn bread all week!

  • janecook  on  September 21, 2024

    Would love to try Sonya Jones’s sweet potato cheesecake. Cheesecakes are the best!

  • ChefDLx2  on  September 21, 2024

    As a native southerner, it is hard to pass up new cornbread recipes but I think I would try Laura Bush’s cowboy cookies first. They sound yummy!

  • davisesq212  on  September 21, 2024

    Key West coconut cornbread

  • amylou61  on  September 21, 2024

    Dori Sanders’s biscuit bread

  • virjeania  on  September 21, 2024

    Elizabeth Terry’s sherry trifle

  • BMeyer  on  September 21, 2024

    banana fritter

  • yaleksly  on  September 21, 2024

    I’d love to try making the Shaker lemon pie!

  • DarcyVaughn  on  September 21, 2024

    Nina Cain’s batty cakes with lacy edges

  • sarahteertzah  on  September 21, 2024

    Apple cider fritters

  • Jthawkins  on  September 22, 2024

    Soft Gingerbread with lemon

  • roxlet  on  September 22, 2024

    Key West coconut cornbread

  • CatsintheKitchen  on  September 22, 2024

    Bluegrass buckwheat griddle cakes

  • Unduru  on  September 23, 2024

    I might go for the blackberry jam cake

  • InstantJo  on  September 23, 2024

    Would love to try the coconut cream pie!

  • cmmills  on  September 23, 2024

    Key West coconut cornbread

  • betsyradelow  on  September 24, 2024

    Dollywood cinnamon bread

  • NatalyaM  on  September 24, 2024

    Dollywood cinnamon bread

  • bridierose  on  September 24, 2024

    I would love to the try the banana fritters! I love apple fritters but have never made banana fritters

  • nadiam1000  on  September 25, 2024

    Gloria Smiley’s honey and olive oil challah

  • inflytur  on  September 26, 2024

    Ermine Frosting. I really want to master it.

  • Babycarrot  on  September 26, 2024

    Key West Coconut Cornbread

  • hrk  on  September 26, 2024

    Ruth Jackson’s cornbread gingerbread

  • Lisathebaker  on  September 27, 2024

    Sweet Potato Pie would be my first recipe to try!

  • lookitstracey  on  September 27, 2024

    Aunt Vestula’s lemon biscuits

  • EasyBakeThis  on  September 28, 2024

    The Hummingbird Cake

  • ChefClaireFVS  on  September 28, 2024

    Sweet potato cheesecake

  • sdadri  on  September 29, 2024

    Coconut cream pie

  • LaurenE  on  September 29, 2024

    Grandmother Bailey’s soft gingerbread with warm lemon sauce

  • GerR  on  September 29, 2024

    I listened to a podcast with Anne Byrn recently, and she was so interesting. Her new book sounds terrific!

  • GerR  on  September 29, 2024

    I have heard so much about Hummingbird Cake–eager to give it a whirl!

  • love2chow  on  September 29, 2024

    Rona Roberts’s brown butter Kentucky cornbread

  • rchesser  on  September 30, 2024

    Key West Coconut Cornbread.

  • t.t  on  September 30, 2024

    Rosa Parks’s featherlite peanut butter pancakes

  • mrsming  on  October 1, 2024

    The Molasses Cornbread recipe sounds interesting!

  • Lora724  on  October 1, 2024

    Old-fashioned strawberry shortcake.

  • Baltiville  on  October 1, 2024

    I’d love to try Shelby Foote’s cornbread first. My family is from Memphis. My Daddy is a history professor. When my grandmother found out that Shelby Foote had published his Civil War series, she walked up to his front door, knocked, and insisted he sign the book for her son. He had no clue who she was but was overcome by her determination and signed all three volumes. I guess he didn’t sign many books so it is a cherished heirloom and a TALL TALE told often by my most southern father.

  • TBipp  on  October 3, 2024

    Memphis Chocolate Pound Cake

  • stepspior  on  October 4, 2024

    Craig Claiborne’s hush puppies

  • Mtetpon  on  October 4, 2024

    I love all southern baking

  • cellenly  on  October 4, 2024

    Vishwesh Bhatt’s not your Mama’s cornbread

  • debbiehb  on  October 4, 2024

    Key West coconut corn bread

  • kris.mundt  on  October 5, 2024

    The key west coconut cornbread sounds delicious!!

  • bikkie12  on  October 8, 2024

    Every one of them sound amazing. Can you please pick a winner from Australia?

  • AnQsMom  on  October 9, 2024

    One of the biscuit recipes and red eyed gravy

  • kmwyman  on  October 10, 2024

    George Washington Carver’s sliced sweet potato pie

  • JenThomas318  on  October 12, 2024

    New Orleans king cake

  • AnnaZed  on  October 12, 2024

    The Colonnade’s corn muffins

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