Baking Daze in LA: Definitely a Happy Mother's Day!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Definitely a Happy Mother's Day!

A wonderful Mother's Day spent with my son and daughter was topped off with the perfect gifts. Claire got me a lovely pie dish from Williams Sonoma--a red one, of course--and Dean, the latest Williams Sonoma Baking Book for the Home Baker. You'll be seeing the results of both in future blogs. Thanks Dean and Claire--I love you!

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BIT BY THE BAKING BUG

Something happened to me after taking an unexpected early retirement from teaching English in Los Angeles. I had planned to spend every precious minute reading, writing short stories, and working on a rewrite of a novel. The last place I expected to find myself--literally and figuratively--was in the kitchen; yet there I was, flipping through a book called The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart and getting excited at the thought of attempting to bake pain a l'ancienne, a rustic French bread made through a process of slow fermentation. Well bake it, I did--and it actually turned out pretty darn good to my surprise!

Now what's followed has been a worldwind of baking mania as I've spent evenings reading--not Virginia Woolf or Shakespeare--but cookbooks (on baking of course!) or searching the web for local baking classes and baking blogs.

I've attended lectures (Peter Reinhart's in fact!), completed the Professional Baking I class at The New School of Cooking in Culver City and studied specialty cake design at the School of Confectionary Art at Cake Crumbs in Encino, CA.

And finally, I decided to combine my two loves, writing and baking, so I can share my Baking Daze in LA, past, present, and to come.

BOOKS I LOVE ON OR ABOUT BAKING

Artisan Baking by Maggie Glezer
Artisan Breads Every Day by Peter Reinhart
Baking at Home with The Culinary Institute of America
Betty Crocker Baking Basics (great photos on each page)
Bread Alone (a novel) by Judith Ryan Hendricks
Everyday Italian by Giada de Laurentiis (Last chapter: dolci / desserts )
Family Favorites: Recipes Made with Love by Dee Osier (my sister's collection)
Giada's Kitchen By Giada de Laurentiis--autographed! (Thanks Sean!)
Joy of Cooking (of course)
The Baker's Apprentice (a novel) by Judith Ryan Hendricks
The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart
The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread by Amy Scherber & Toy Kim Dupree
The Well-Decorated Cake by Toba Garrett
Williams-Sonoma Baking Book for Today's Home Baker (Thanks Dean!)

Baking Daze in LA

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Definitely a Happy Mother's Day!

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Post a Comment

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