Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe

So I just got this book and had to start immediately after a thorough reading. I took the author's advice and ordered a food scale, also from Amazon, in order to measure my ingredients. So with book, scale and ingredients on hand, I tackled my first recipe: Raspberry-Rhubarb Muffins. Except, as the author suggested, I substituted blueberries for the raspberries and rhubarb as she gave several alternative ingredients. I weighed everything completely and followed her easy and exact instructions. I tested the muffins on some visitors and my three little boys and husband. Every person said that they were amazing and bakery quality. We gave away and/or ate all of them yesterday so it was requested of me that I bake another batch today.The second recipe was for the Intense Brownies. I went to World Market to buy the best chocolate that I could find. I put the brownies in the oven and saw my measuring cup of melted butter still on the counter. I quickly put the brownie mix back in the mixing bowl and incorporated the butter. Then, back into the oven she went! The resulting brownies might be the best I've ever had. My 8yo chocoholic son, who I made them for, was in brownie heaven and chocolate overload! They weren't too sweet at all. Perfectly sweet but intensely chocolate. The trick is watching the baking time. The recipe was very easy as long as you have really good quality chocolate on hand.So we are batting two for two with recipes. They look amazing. I'm hoping to work up to the brioche soon. So today I'll make more muffins and probably another recipe just to try. There are so many recipes that look tempting. The ingredients aren't fussy or difficult.I will say that I imagine that, just like with chocolate, your food tastes as good as the quality of your ingredients. I only buy organic butter and eggs and use raw milk. My flour is unbleached and usually King Arthur or from Azure Standard's farm in Oregon. Use aluminum-free baking powder and use sea salt.Weighing your ingredients and using the best ingredients plus careful attention in the oven will give you bakery quality products that you will be proud and happy to serve to your family and friends.LOVE this cookbook!!

Chang's Flour has a well-deserved high rating on Amazon reviews. This concurrence, therefore, was delayed, until it became obvious that this book is one of my main go-to cookbooks for a wide variety of baked goods, many of which are personal favorites.Here is a list of some of my favorites: cookies - oreos, oatmeal raisin (the best, but make sure to use at least 34 grams of dough per cookie), chocolate chip, rosemary shortbread, and cornmeal lime, brioche - basic brioche ( better than the many that I have made over the years), sugar+spice brioche buns, pain aux raisins, brioche au chocolat, sticky sticky buns, pop tarts (can use pasta roller for rolling out pastry dough), pies - apple, lemon marshmallow meringue, and pumpkin (my household winner in past two-year bake off for Thanksgiving day), bread (although for sourdough I would recommend Glezer's Artisan Baking), strawberry shortcake (wow), and finally lemon curd (superb with either eureka or meyer lemon). Although some recipes may seem to be old standards, she perfected them.The directions are clear and concise. The photographs are good. The chapters on techniques, equipment, ingredients and Joanne's Top 12 Baking Tips are well-written. The ingredient equivalencies from volume to weight are consistent from recipe to recipe. The stories before the recipes are always a nice short read. The baking times, as with all cookbooks, are to be used as a guideline. Please note that some reviewers had problems with baking time but timing depends not just on temperature as measured by a thermometer, but on individual characteristics of the oven, such as natural convection, radiation as affected by wall color, oven size, thermal mass, etc. For me, baking time was usually shorter than stated.Some reviewers state that the printing can be difficult to read. Agreed. The ingredient list is in a small grey font. The recipe instructions are in a thin san-serif typeface with too much leading. It would have been nice to see straightforward old-school black ink, white paper, and serif typefaces.I have made most of the recipes in the book. Not a single failure. There are a few recipes that I prefer from other cookbooks, such as Beranbaum's Lemon Poppy Seed Cake in Heavenly Cakes. There are some recipes that I have not tried because I have a great recipe from another cookbook, such as croissants from Prueitt's Tartine. There are other recipes that are on par with other cookbooks, such as Scherber's cornmeal-lime cookies and savory cheese and scallion scones in The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread or Pate Brisee from Prueitt's Tartine or Lenotre's Desserts and Pastries. And, there are some recipes that I combined with a recipe from another cookbook and made into "my" own recipe. (This is what I did to get a very tasty, perfect popover. "My" recipe co-mingles Chang's brown sugar popovers with Cunningham's popover in The Breakfast Book. Am happy to share "my" popover recipe.)J. Chang's scientific mind shines in every aspect of how the cookbook and recipes are laid out. And, to top it off, her taste buds must be superb. She readily shares her recipes so more people will be able to enjoy her treats. How lucky for us.Highly recommend.

The recipes are well written and easy to follow. Everything I’ve made from the book has turned out really well and it’s become my go-to book for baking. I like that many of the recipes have instructions for doing some of the steps ahead of time. Although the recipes show measurements in both weight and cups and some of them include instructions for hand mixing the book is best suited to someone whose kitchen is equipped with a digital scale and a stand mixer.

Quien haya podido visitar alguna de sus cafeterías y probar alguna de las delicias que prepara sabrá que el libro que tiene delante te permitirá reproducir algunos de los dulces que ofrece.Las recetas estan explicadas de manera clara, incluso en algunas de ellas hay consejos que ayudarán a conseguir un mejor resultado.Es un libro muy recomendable para esas personas que les gusta preparar en casa sus dulces.

Le livre était destiné pour un cadeau. Très bien les recettes succulentes a été très apprécié par la personne qui l a reçu

After a long internet search looking for the perfect banana bread recipe, I stumbled across the Flour's famous recipe which has proven to be the absolute best banana bread I have ever made but also that I have ever eaten. Of course, that is not because of any exceptional skill on my part but rather the fantastic recipe. Based on this success, I decided to search the origins of the recipe and came across this book.There are some amazing cakes and bread recipes here. A beautiful bundt cake that perfectly marries cranberries, pecans, pumpkin and maple syrup. Even my hardcore, anti-pumpkin children devour it happily. Another recipe that has become a firm favourite is the chocolate cupcake recipe. I'm sure many bakers have tried many different recipes for the quintessential chocolate cupcake. Well, like Flour's banana bread, their cupcakes are now the family favourite and will be baked at least every birthday and holiday. The perfect balance of moistness and flavour and again, very easy.The recipes in this book are easy enough for anyone to bake - even novices. I have rarely come across a recipe book that has, in a short space of time, had such a positive impact producing so many firm favourites. The apple spice cake and the version of tiramisu are also both out of this world producing unique versions of classics that are easy to make and taste sublime.Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys baking but also to those who want to impress and spoil their friends and family with some very special treats.

Suberb, divine recipes perfected!