"BakeWise" Has Landed!
Nov 08, 2008 | From the kitchen of Rose
Everyone who knows Shirley Corriher and her work adores her. Gracious, kind, endearing, loving, generous, lively, often hilariously funny, and passionately devoted to sharing her culinary scientific discoveries and expertise, first with CookWise (William Morrow) and now with BakeWise (Scribner). Shirley has solved culinary conundrums for people all over the world from Julia Child to Proctor and Gamble.
Shirley’s invaluable uniqueness, beyond what I already mentioned, is that she is a balanced bridge between the theoretical and the empirical, i.e. she knows and loves the theory and she also knows and loves great food and how to make it that way. Which is how we became best friends over 25 years ago!
While the food world at large seemed fairly indifferent to scientific theories, Shirley and I were squealing with delight over discoveries that could make cooking and especially baking better. An example: on a visit to Shirley in Atlanta, after a swim at the nearby Cherokee Country Club, Shirley, in her soft adorably southern-accented voice shared her latest discover: “Rose…!” she began in a hushed voice and with great excitement, as if about to impart the secret to immortality (and in a way it was if you consider one’s work to be the one way to achieve it!) “Ah read in a scientific journal” she went on to confide “just wah bleached flowah makes a betta cake.” (If you don’t already know by now and are interested to find out read our books or do a search on this blog!) And then we laughed uproariously when we considered the probability that we were the only two ladies sitting by the pool having a discussion of this nature as opposed to perhaps the best brand of nail polish.
This week, over 80 people, some chefs, others professional or home bakers, filled the room at the Institute of Culinary Education, for an event organized by our esteemed colleague cookbook author Nick Malgieri to hear Shirley talk about her latest book BakeWise for which we have all eagerly been awaiting over 10 years. She highlighted some of the discoveries and theories in the book and of course there were baked samples as well. Shirley explained about balancing cake formulas and how ingredients like baking soda and corn syrup cause browning and can be counterbalanced by acid ingredients. She also gave a great deal of time to the all important ingredient flour. (By the way, our beloved Better for Bread/aka Harvest King is listed throughout the book but appears as Harvest King. It is the same flour repackaged and with a new name.) She explained how a higher protein flour makes loftier popovers and that the most important factor for these popovers is to have the batter hot when added to the preheated pan. I can’t wait to try this! She ensures that the batter is hot by holding back some of the liquid (cream in her recipe but it could be milk), bringing it almost to a boil, and then adding it to the batter right before baking. This is a perfect example of Shirley’s unique perspective and active imagination.
Another important gem is that Shirley adds a pinch of salt to most everything because it suppresses bitterness. She shared that her dear husband Arch, sitting in the audience, often adds a pinch of salt to Starbucks’ coffee when it is over-roasted (when isn’t it!) and I can tell you that my dear husband Elliott was actually advised by an employee at Starbucks to do the same! (It does work!) And how about this little nugget: “Holes in cake are caused by uneven distribution of the leavening. Be sure to mix the baking powder and/or baking soda very well with the flour!” How logical and obvious so why didn’t anyone else ever think of it?!
In the face of conventional wisdom, which dictates adding vanilla and other volatile flavorings at the end of mixing, Shirley advises adding them to the fat in the recipe explaining that fat is the best distributor of flavor. No doubt it also encapsulates and protects it.
As any scientist worth her salt (or sugar!), Shirley offers an extensive and well-researched and documented bibliography.There are many fabulous looking and sounding recipes in CookWise but even if you never made a single one (and you really had better at least make the gorgeous and crispy/fudgy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies on page 395) you will find this book invaluable on the path to becoming the baker of your dreams.
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Jeannette
11/14/2008 04:17 AM
Just this minute received my copy from Amazon, will let you know what i think of it later on!
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Anna
11/13/2008 10:10 PM
I have this book and love it! I am working my way through it, taking notes as I go. I love Shirley, and her recipes never fail.
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Rachelino
11/12/2008 11:40 AM
Another scientist/baker after my own heart! I must get this book. :)
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Jeannette
11/10/2008 01:53 PM
Annie, I have ordered my book from Amazon UK, but the date they have given me is lateNov./early Dec. I should have ordered it when I first looked at it on Amazon, I couldn't make my mind up, typical of me!! I have read so much about it, really looking forward to having it , I like a book to read as
well as having good recipes so I think this should fit the bill.Thanks for the recommendation .
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Annie
11/10/2008 01:09 PM
Jeannette, Amazon in the UK has this book in stock - I got mine last week. Hope you didn't order it from the US if you have to wait until the end of the month. It's a fabulous book with Rose-like instructions. I just SO wish she had measured liquids in grams too - I use Rose's conversions!
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Patrincia
11/10/2008 11:52 AM
Jennifer - I was thinking exactly the same thing! Hope she has some sort of wonderful trick up her sleeve.
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Bill
11/10/2008 10:27 AM
I was totally unaware of this book. I'm heading out to buy it NOW!. (Yes, I'm just a little obsessive). Thanks so much Rose for this piece and for the recommendation. I have two birthday cakes coming up and all the Thanksgiving baking to do...perhaps I'll find a new gem!
We love you.
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jennifer
11/10/2008 02:37 AM
i love it when shirley appeared on good eats! no surprise that she and rose are BFF's!
that cover pic makes me long for one of those girolle chocolate curlers!!!!
guess i'll have to get a copy of the book and see how shirley does it!
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Patrincia
11/09/2008 10:18 PM
I'm so excited about this new book. I love CookWise, and have been eagerly awaiting the release of BakeWise. Must get a copy immediately!
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Rose
11/09/2008 02:42 PM
zach--you are a sweetheart! actually if one puts the words "rose's perfect pie plate" in the search box there is a picture. but driving back from hope to my delight i found a great ad for it in the gourmet retailer--a trade publication--so i'll photograph it and post it soon!
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Rose
11/09/2008 02:35 PM
yes! shirley, bless her, has weights in ounces and grams--for the liquids she gives mll.
(don't get me wrong! she also has all the usual volumes in the u.s. way of measuring--i just talking about all the metrics that she also so generously offers!)
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Tyler
11/09/2008 01:21 PM
Wow! I just realized shes the lady whos always on Good Eats!
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Zach Townsend
11/09/2008 10:25 AM
This is exciting! I've been looking forward this book....
By the way, I'm working in my kitchen all day today and happened to pull down my Rose's Perfect Pie Plate, as I use it every year during the holidays. It's the most gracefully designed pie plate I've ever found. I wanted to mention it to everyone here because I think it's the perfect gift for pie bakers and/or anyone who loves nice dishware; I've even used it to serve side dishes. What's more, it comes in this great decorative box that resembles a short hat box (which also makes it easy to store without risk of chipping it.
Rose, do you happen to have the link and/or a photo you can post for those who might not be aware?
Thanks,
Zach
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--Deb
11/09/2008 10:04 AM
Okay, not only does this cookbook look WONDERFUL, but I'm relieved to see it. I used to see Shirley on "Good Eats" all the time and then, poof, she disappeared, and I was so worried that something had happened to her--but obviously, if she's coming out with a new cookbook, she's just fine. Phew!
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Jeannette
11/09/2008 09:29 AM
Thank you Rose, for your very prompt reply, as usual. I have just ordered the book in question from Amazon and look forward to it's arrival at the end of the month. I wish your new one could arrive at the same time, I must curb my impatience!
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Rose
11/09/2008 08:52 AM
jeanette, by the time i get home to check i'll bet someone else will have answered and my guess is yes because shirley even gives metric measures as well as the u.s. ones!
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Rose
11/09/2008 08:50 AM
laura, thanks for telling me about dear "basket case" and the strips.(i'm extremely devoted to both!)
it's true that not everyone is interested in how things work--that is until they don't and then it's extremely frustrating. that's how i got started delving ever more deeply into the subject. if the water in vermont hadn't been so hard, and the lemon meringue pie filling had thickened the way it was supposed to the cake bible might never have been written!
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Rose
11/09/2008 08:47 AM
tyler, thickness is a personal preference.it does sound like you could use a little more flour but the best thing to do is to pinch off a small piece of dough and add flour to it and bake it to see the results. you can do this with cookies which is a great way to get exactly what you want to your taste.
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Jeannette
11/09/2008 08:27 AM
Can anyone tell me if this book 'Bakewise' uses weights for the recipes or is it in cups & spoons like most American cook books, apart from Rose's of course!
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tigerlille
11/09/2008 05:10 AM
I bought Bakewise today... Fabulous book, and reminiscent of Rose in her ability to make technical information about baking interesting and meaningful. And the recipes! I'm going to work my way through each cookie recipe (bake and freeze) between now and Xmas. It will keep my daughter and I off the streets.
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Tyler
11/08/2008 05:11 PM
Hi Rose. This is off topic, but... For your sugar cookie recipe, it states to roll out 1/8-inch thick. Are the cookies just as good baked 1/4-inch thick? And should I add extra flour, maybe 3 tablespoons, to the dough because when I roll it out, I use no extra flour, but I find that the dough gets little bumps and bubbles up. Would this be from not adding extra flour when rolling it out? Thank you!
Tyler
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Laura NYC
11/08/2008 04:06 PM
Hi Rose,
OMG! I can't believe you posted about BakeWise! I just bought this because it reminded me of YOU. In all of my RLB bibles and the Xmas cookie book, I really liked your thought process on the hows and whys to getting the perfect outcome. Before I read you, I just followed a recipe. I suppose one has to have the mind for (not to mention, the patience) wanting to understand how ingredients react with each other and why adding one thing or another in a particular order DOES make a difference. But, it does speak to me and so I look for that when I buy books now (I now also favor recipes based on weighing, which is all your fault, too). BakeWise is a great addition to my collection; kind of a textbook without the dry stuff. I highly recommend it to anyone here. :-D
All best,
Laura NYC
PS: Breadbasketcase used your baking strips in a recent recipe. The cake has a nice golden edge but doesn't look at all dry or overdone.
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Rose
11/08/2008 02:29 PM
tis almost the season.....!
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Natashya
11/08/2008 02:21 PM
I have this on my wishlist - it is great having an endorsement from you, I will move it to the top of the list, thank you!
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Barbara
11/08/2008 02:15 PM
Yippee! This book and Nancy Bush's "Knitted Lace of Estonia" are tied for first place on my "I really, really want this book" list. I'll have to send another hint over to my spouse...
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