Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

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  • Banana bread

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Bread & buns, sweet; Afternoon tea
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients; walnuts; bananas; yogurt; vanilla extract
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  • Banana-chocolate bread

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Bread & buns, sweet; Afternoon tea
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients; walnuts; bananas; yogurt; vanilla extract; dark chocolate
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  • Banana coconut bread with macadamia nuts

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Bread & buns, sweet; Afternoon tea
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients; sweetened shredded coconut; bananas; yogurt; vanilla extract; macadamia nuts
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  • Orange-spice-banana bread

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Bread & buns, sweet; Afternoon tea
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients; walnuts; bananas; yogurt; vanilla extract; ground cinnamon; nutmeg; oranges
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  • Cranberry nut bread

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Bread & buns, sweet; Afternoon tea
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients; oranges; orange juice; dried cranberries; pecans
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  • Date-nut bread

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Bread & buns, sweet; Afternoon tea
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients; dates; walnuts; pecans
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  • Zucchini bread

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Bread & buns, sweet; Afternoon tea
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients; walnuts; yogurt; zucchini
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  • Gingerbread

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Bread & rolls, savory; Dessert
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients; ground ginger; ground cinnamon; ground cloves; nutmeg; ground allspice; cocoa powder; molasses
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  • Gingerbread with dried fruit

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Bread & rolls, savory; Dessert
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients; ground ginger; ground cinnamon; ground cloves; nutmeg; ground allspice; cocoa powder; molasses; raisins; dried cranberries; prunes
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  • Boston brown bread

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Bread & buns, sweet; American
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients; cornmeal; rye flour; raisins; molasses
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  • Golden northern cornbread

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Bread & rolls, savory; Dessert
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients; cornmeal
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  • Golden cornbread with cheddar cheese

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Bread & rolls, savory; Dessert
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients; cornmeal; cheddar cheese
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  • Golden cornbread with chiles

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Bread & rolls, savory; Dessert
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients; cornmeal; jalapeño chiles
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  • Golden cornbread with bacon

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Bread & rolls, savory; Side dish
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients; cornmeal; bacon
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  • Southern cornbread

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Bread & rolls, savory; Side dish
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients; cornmeal
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  • Classic Irish soda bread

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Bread & rolls, savory; Irish
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients
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  • Irish brown soda bread

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Bread & rolls, savory; Irish
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients
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  • Oatmeal-walnut soda bread

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Bread & rolls, savory; Irish
    • Ingredients: Irish oats; walnuts; store-cupboard ingredients
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  • American-style soda bread with raisins and caraway seeds

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Bread & buns, sweet; Irish
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients; raisins; caraway seeds
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  • Blueberry muffins

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Cakes, small; Side dish
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients; blueberries
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  • Cinnamon-sugar-dipped blueberry muffins

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Cakes, small; Side dish
    • Ingredients: ground cinnamon; sugar; blueberries; store-cupboard ingredients
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  • Ginger-or-lemon glazed blueberry muffins

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Cakes, small; Side dish
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients; crystallized ginger; lemons; blueberries
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  • Corn muffins

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Cakes, small; Side dish
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients; cornmeal
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  • Corn and apricot muffins with orange essence

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Cakes, small; Side dish
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients; cornmeal; apricots; orange extract
    show

  • Bacon-scallion corn muffins with cheddar cheese

    from Baking Illustrated: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion For The Home Baker Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Cakes, small; Side dish
    • Ingredients: store-cupboard ingredients; cornmeal; bacon; scallions; cheddar cheese
    show

Notes about this book

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Notes about Recipes in this book

  • Banana bread

    • mfto on February 26, 2011

      p 24 Finally I have found a banana bread recipe that is easy and really works for me. You would think that all such recipes are easy but they are never successful for me. I followed the recipe exactly except I had to use sour cream instead of yogurt. Also I baked it 5 minutes longer in my oven. The bread was OK 2 hours after baking but improved dramatically overnight. At first I thought I would add cinnamon the 2nd time but now I will leave the recipe as is because the banana flavor comes through.

  • Banana coconut bread with macadamia nuts

    • SpatulaCity on April 17, 2023

      Very good - the recipe yields a pleasantly dense and moist cake, with delicate banana flavor, which I’d happily remake, as-is, again. This recipe is a variation on their standard banana bread, so I have faith that a plain version would be just as good. That said, I only had unsweetened Coconut, so added a touch extra sugar to compensate. I also rounded the baking soda up to 1ts to help with leavening. I think I’d like to experiment by adding pineapple, a touch of coconut extract (probably a terrible idea but I love coconut so much!) and maybe subbing in some coconut oil for the butter. While the cake was balanced for sweetness, I did miss some of the caramel-like notes that have been present in other banana breads I’ve tried (brown sugar?) Overall though, a solid and well received recipe!

  • Date-nut bread

    • hillsboroks on January 31, 2016

      I think this is my new favorite date recipe. The bread is rich, tender, moist and loaded with luscious dates. There are a couple of unusual steps and more than one bowl involved but the final result makes it all worthwhile. Originally I looked this recipe up to email to a friend who was traveling through the date growing area of S Calif. in an RV and wanted a date bread recipe that didn't require too much equipment or too many odd ingredients. This recipe really fit the bill. All you need besides a couple of bowls are a rubber spatula and a whisk. After emailing the recipe off I just had to try it and now I am very glad that I did.

  • Golden northern cornbread

    • IowanCorn on April 09, 2023

      This may have been user error, as I misread the 4 teaspoons of sugar as 4 tablespoons, but this made a very crumbly cornbread, and one that I wasn't terribly fond of. I should probably make it again and put the correct amount of sugar in it to see if it makes a difference.

  • Classic Irish soda bread

    • TaffyDeb on March 17, 2022

      In addition to the cupboard staples, one will also need cake flour and buttermilk. These are things that I don’t usually have on hand. P41-44

  • Blueberry muffins

    • jzanger on July 29, 2012

      I was really unimpressed by these. Just mediocre. It needed a little cinnamon or nutmeg and some whole grain flour for interest. Probably won't be making these again.

  • Bakery-style french baguettes

    • jtodes on May 31, 2020

      Wonderful. Not difficult. Lost the seam, not a problem

  • Vanilla cream pie

    • LisaO on January 02, 2020

      Making this base, then using it for the banana cream pie is delicious. I use banana liqueur instead of brandy.

  • Banana cream pie

    • LisaO on February 17, 2015

      I make this every Thanksgiving. (Don't know why I don't make it more often.) I use Banana Liquor instead of the brandy from the mother recipe the vanilla cream pie. I didn't like the crust so I use a traditional graham cracker crust.

  • Blueberry cobbler with gingered biscuits

    • stacey on August 29, 2010

      Recipe calls for lemon zest and juice, not lemon curd

  • Yule log cake

    • Medamida on January 28, 2014

      I use the Yule log cake recipe from The Cake Mix Doctor but the filling and ganache recipes from this book. Next I am going to try making homemade Mascarpone from Make the Bread, Buy the Butter.

  • Chewy, fudgy triple-chocolate brownies

    • TaffyDeb on January 16, 2015

      This will be the only brownie we will ever make from now on. When they say let it cool, they really mean it. If you cut it before it cools it will ooze. You will think that you undercooked them but when it cools they solidify. Also they are so rich the 1"x1" serving is valid.

  • Lemon bars

    • lawrencecharcuterie on April 24, 2022

      Have all the ingredients prepped and laid out. Watch the temperature when making the curd, it's very easy to exceed 170 and get scrambled eggs.

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Reviews about this book

This book does not currently have any reviews.

Reviews about Recipes in this Book

  • Orange-almond biscotti

    • I Made That!

      First, I’m gonna make some biscotti. A biscotti flavored with orange zest and almonds.

      Full review

  • Puff pastry

    • Everyday Annie

      If you’re anything like me, your first bite of the homemade stuff will be all you need to kiss the store-bought variety goodbye. The glorious buttery, flaky delicate layers of dough...

      Full review

  • Glazed butter cookies

    • Lottie and Doof

      What is great about this recipe is that the addition of cream cheese into both the dough and the glaze provides a little bit of sourness to counter the sugar. The dough is so easy to make and roll out

      Full review
  • ISBN 10 0936184752
  • ISBN 13 9780936184753
  • Published Jun 02 2005
  • Format Hardcover
  • Language English
  • Countries United States
  • Publisher Cook's Illustrated
  • Imprint Cook's Illustrated

Publishers Text

Packed with 350 recipes and 500 illustrations, Baking Illustrated brings you inside America's Test Kitchen, where the test cooks and editors have exhaustively examined every ingredient, technique, and piece of equipment that is critical to your baking success. Have you wondered how long you can keep that can of baking powder in your cabinet or what brand of chocolate will yield the best brownies or flourless chocolate cake Or puzzled over the key to making pizza crust that is thin and crisp or cookies that bake evenly An authoritative and one-of-a-kind reference, Baking Illustrated pulls back the curtain on the seemingly complex world of baking to give you the answers to these and thousands of other questions.


The recipes here range from quick breads and yeast breads to pizza, cookies, cakes, pastries, crisps, and cobblers to all manners of pies and tarts. And they include Americam home classics that have delighted families for generations (including Southern Cornbread, Pecan Sandies, and Sour Cream Coffee Cake) as well as more contemporary favorites (such as Rosemary Foccacia, Orange-Almond Biscotti, and Chocolate Truffle Tart).


Also included are recipes for timeless European baked goods such as croissants, Black Forest Cake, and baguettes. Every recipe has been exhaustively researched and tested with hundreds of ingredients and techniques to bring you the absolute best recipe along with detailed and precise explanations for everything from why you should use unsalted butter to what is the best oven temperature and why either one matters.


Also tested are every kind of baking equipment available, from mixers and food processors to the humblest spatualas and loaf pans, and the results of the experiments are described throughout so you can benefit from their trial and error.


A master baking class between two covers, Baking Illustrated takes the guesswork out of baking and will expand your repertoire without every losing sight of your ultimate goal: making those family favorites that will taste better than you ever imagined.

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