Favourite Baking Books and New Year Reflections
What 2024 taught me and going back to what I love
Dearest Gentle Reader, Happy New Year 2025 !
“Embrace the stillness of January; find peace in the calm before the storm of the year unfolds.” - K. J Caleson
Its that time of the year when we look for inspiration and to start new challenges. For me January is a time for reflection and hibernation away from the hustle and bustle we just witnessed in December. I find myself reflecting upon taking a big break from my cake business , taking up big home renovation amidst pregnancy, giving birth to my second son, and starting Substack. I can now safely say 2024 was a wild ride that taught me to take it easy whilst teaching me “The Art of saying NO”. I said no to higher paid job, dream job interview and no to baking custom cakes because it meant having more time with family and better mental health.
Lately I had lost my mojo and any interest in baking, I hadn’t touched my camera in 9 months and had no intentions to rectify it. I felt a deep need to disconnect and hibernate from social channels that churn out content faster than my brain can anticipate. After the birth of my second son I was looking for a way to come out of this creative rut, felt like I am finally ready to shed that shell I had created for myself to hide in. I baked my son’s baptism cake, it was a 4 layered chocolate and boozy cherry cake (featured in gallery below). Chocolate cake was my favourite from Finch Bakery chocolate fudge cake, the layers were inspired by Black Forest Cake by Tessa Huff from her book Layered . Tessa runs Style Sweet Blog who also writes a lovely substack called Tessa Huff’s Bake Club
It was also my parent’s 40th Wedding Anniversary and I wanted to bake a memorable cake for them. It was heart shaped vanilla sponge, alternate layers of raspberry curd and lemon curd plus raspberry SMBC. 4 months post partum and baking with 2 kids it was the hardest graft to finish these cakes but it was a mental challenge more than a physical one. Whether I think it was worth it - 100% , whether I would do it again - 200%
Baking for family/friends and without any pressure, baking because I love it - is most definitely what brought it all back. I like many other people suffer from imposter syndrome from time to time and was second guessing whether someone would enjoy what I bake or what I have to share. It is important to not let other people’s idea of perfection affect your own reality. I started this venture thinking 10 readers would be a big win which means ten of you in this world are hearing me out but I got way more than what I imagined and that woke me up to a world of possibilities that I never knew existed.
I don’t have any professional baking background but just years of learning, reading and baking in my own kitchen. There was no Tik Tok or Instagram when I was learning to bake so I solely relied on my collection of baking books. I also learnt a great deal from baking blogs which are at its peak. The first baking book I bought with my first salary in UK was Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home by Nigella Lawson (Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic and Frangelico Tiramisu is the best thing to happen to me foodwise in 2010). The very first bake I made in my multi-occupancy rented house in UK was cranberry and white chocolate cookies made from a cut-out of a food magazine. Those were the simpler times and online FOMO did not exist or atleast I was blissfully unaware of it.
Here is a list of baking books that I found are worth your money if you are new to baking or intermediate level and wanting to up your game. There is always a question lingering on our minds - where do I start and to that I would say start where you are , this is what I learnt in 2024. Don’t wait for perfect recipe, don’t wait for perfect light or plates/props ; Just start don’t think, rest will follow.
Bread/Pastry Books
Crust / Crumb / Dough - Richard Bertinet is Breton baker based in Bath, UK. Bertinet’s recipes always work for me and are an excellent starting point for anyone new to bread baking. Bertinet Kitchen based in Bath also runs bread baking and other baking short courses/lessons. I love and swear by his brioche dough recipe.
Dan Lepard - Short and Sweet and The Handmade Loaf. Nigella Lawson’s viral sandwich loaf that took internet by storm is based on his loaf in his bread book. You can find many of his recipes on Bakery Bits website which is also an excellent place to buy specialist bakery bits and bobs including any type of flour, bread lame, bannetone etc. I love his lamington recipe a lot.
Breaking Breads - Uri Scheft introduces us to World of Israeli Baking. I love his Challah and Babka recipes and it is very forgiving even if you end up overproving your Challah dough. You can benefit from his experience drawn from his Scandinavian heritage, European pastry training, Middle Eastern and American homeground.
Tartine - A bread book by Chad Robertson and Elizabeth Prueitt who runs Tartine bakery in San Francisco. His book is one of the best around for understanding sourdough and good for a beginner. There are many other books available now on Sourdough but my journey started with this book so it had to get a mention in this list.
Flour Water Salt Yeast - One of my favourite bread books so I am going to literally quote what someone wise said about Ken Forkish -
In Flour Water Salt Yeast, Forkish Translates His Obsessively Honed Craft Into Scores Of Recipes For Rustic Boules And Neapolitan-Style Pizzas, All Suited For The Home Baker. Forkish Developed And Tested All Of The Recipes In His Home Oven, And His Impeccable Formulas And Clear Instructions Result In Top-Quality Artisan Breads And Pizzas That Stand Up Against Those Sold In The Best Bakeries Anywhere.
First book that taught me proper bread making without intimidating about Levain, Pre-ferment, Biga and Poolish. It has quite a depth of scientific knowledge for bread geeks like myself but also just enough to not put you off bread making. I love that it is one of the few books that has timings to help you get organised and plan. I also love his book Elements of Pizza for deep dives on ofcourse Pizza.
The Perfect Loaf - There will be hardly anyone who hasn’t used Maurizio Leo’s website every time they want to trouble shoot Sourdough . This is my Bible for all answers to whys and hows, dos and donts about Sourdough and bread baking in general.
Tivoli Road Bakery - Michael James and Pippa James have created this delightful book. It is one of the most detailed, genuine and thorough book by a retail business/bakery. I love their hot cross buns recipe and none of their recipe has let me down yet. There is more than bread and also cakes but I like to categorise it under Bread as I find it bread/pastry heavy.
The Book on Pie - Apart from Beranbaum if I trust anyone’s recipe blindly that would be Erin Jeanne McDowell. Changing the game with sturdy pie bases and giving us ample recipes ideas to try. She has also written an amazing cake book Fearless Baker. She hosts weekly baking classes on Food Network Kitchen and the series "Bake It Up a Notch" for Food52. I have followed her work since her Food52 days. She was also the baker and assistant on Rose’s Cake Bible 35th edition that came out in October 2024.
Julie Jones - Possibly the most genuine baker/person out there. Love her pastry recipes so much that I have never needed to tweak it at all. I have all her books but her first book Soulful Baker is a good start for someone new to world of tarts and creativity. I personally love her book The Pastry School as it has some banging savoury recipes which everyone raves anytime I make it for others.
Cake & Patisserie Books
Cake Bible - Rose Levy Beranbaum has covered all bases for every type of cake and the science behind why she chooses this method over that. If you have heard of “reverse creaming” method then the credit goes to Rose for introducing the world with that and many more such amazing techniques. I would go as far to say every cake enthusiast should have this in their arsenal, its a non-negotiable must-have for me. I love this line written about her in Washington Post - If God is in the details, as the aphorism goes, then Beranbaum must have one foot in heaven.
Patisserie: A Masterclass in Classic and Contemporary Patisserie - William and Suze Curley. This is my go to Bible for executing patisserie basics without worrying about whether it will work. Below petit four was inspired by different recipe and techniques from the book.
Brave Tart - American dessert queen Stella Parks has written this book on every dessert you can imagine. Deep dives and sometime lengthy but reliable processes make sure you end up with a banger. Her brownie recipe has taken internet by the storm and everyone loves her Devil’s Food Cake
Beatrix Bakes - I really love this book for its pie charts, adaptation techniques and author’s approach to recipe creation. I have successful adapted her Chiffon cake to make Blood orange chiffon cake which she credits to Orange Glow Chiffon cake in the Cake Bible (Rose Levy Beranbaum)
More than Cake - This is for cake enthusiast who wants to take it up a notch and learn more about constructing cakes that last in people’s memory forever. It gives you idea on how you can create various layers of textures and flavours rather than playing it safe with just cake and buttercream layers.
Yossy Arefi - Brooklyn based baker and photographer who has books like Snacking Bakes and Snacking Cakes to her name. I have followed her work and recipes since her blogging days and her first book “Sweeter off the Vine” is one I still go back to. Anytime I want to bake an easy going recipe but with a little twist that will work without any worry I put my trust in Arefi’s expertise.
Sift - Nicola Lamb The OG Substack queen who started a baking revolution in her kitchen and aptly named it Kitchen Projects released her book “Sift” this year. Its got you covered for all basics with reliable and heavily tested recipes. You cannot go wrong with her 3 day focaccia recipe.
David Lebovitz - His blog was the biggest source of learning for me and is a little escape to France. Ready for Dessert and The Perfect Scoop (best ice-cream book for beginners imho) are my top favourite in his collection of books. Bay Leaf pound cake in his book My Paris Kitchen changed the way I baked. I started thinking of flavours and how to get the most out of them into the cake.
Dorie Greenspan - She collaborated with Pierre Herme (creator of Isaphan and world famous Pierre Herme macarons) on his first two cookbooks. She also wrote a book with Julia Child called “Baking with Julia” which was culmination of TV series where Julia Child bakes with different baking experts. This for me is the ultimate collaboration of two baking giants. I have most of her books but below 3 are my go-to favourite ones.
Baking: From My Home to Yours and Baking Chez Moi and Dories Cookies
Please enjoy this old snippet of Pecan Sticky buns with Nancy Silverton and Julia Child baking.
The Pastry Chefs Guide - The viral Chocolate chip cookie that exploded on IG during lockdown features in this book. This book is filled with many other such great recipes to inspire your next bake for.eg - Recreate your own McDonalds Apple Pie (iykyk)
Books are something I can talk about for hours, let me know if you have baked from any of the above I love exchanging notes. Let me know any other favourite books in the comments.
What a 2024 Hazel! Your comeback cakes are so beautiful. Thank you for sharing this list of books, I am familiar with many but quite a few are new to me and I’ll look into them.
Love this post Hazel! Important lessons and achievements in 2024 - saying no is brave but empowering! Agree with many of your book recommendations and suspect the others will be added to my wish list…