Classic German Baking Book Review

I love to bake, and am a big fan of European baked goods. I would also consider myself somewhat of an experienced baker. So I was excited to receive this book and check out some of the recipes.

After flipping through the book I was surprised at the lack of recipe pictures. Considering this is a German recipe book geared toward an American kitchen (or at least geared towards people who might not be familiar with German recipes.) I found this quite annoying. 

Maybe it's the photographer in me, but I want to see what these things are supposed to look like! I want to be inspired to bake and I just wasn't feeling it. I mean, I'd venture to guess that most people (myself included) don't know what a  Schlesische mohnrolle is supposed to look like!

I was also a little annoyed at all the pictures of Berlin. Now, I like travel pictures, and I've been to Germany, and while it is a beautiful country, this is a cook book. Not a travel book. I don't think it's really appropriate to have a cake recipe paired with a picture of a strange mural somewhere. 

This is also not a book for a beginner baker. Most of the recipes are complex and take lots of planning. Which I don't exactly have a problem with, but I know that can be a deterrent for some people. 

On a positive note, the author does do a good job explaining each of the recipes, there is a section at the beginning explaining the uses of different ingredients in the book (and some you might not be familiar with, like baker's ammonia.)

I do also like her commentary about each recipe. The author explains a little about each recipe, where she got the recipe, the different ingredients in it, and other random facts. It injects some personality into the book. And it's kind of nice knowing the recipe might've come from the author;'s grandmother instead of just a random recipe from the internet. 

So overall, I was disappointed with the book. The lack of pictures and overall complexity of most of the recipes was disheartening.

I received this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review.

Gluten Free For Good by Samantha Seneviratne Cookbook Review

Check out the book here!

Let me start off by saying that I am certainly not going to be giving up gluten any time soon, but I have family members who eat gluten free for various health reasons. I've experimented with gluten free baking for years, and it's definitely a bit tricky.

This book is not just gluten free baking though, it has a lot of recipes for things that people who are gluten intolerant and people who are not might want to eat. Cooking two different meals can be a hassle sometimes, so it's nice to have recipes that work for all of us! There is a wide range of different types of recipes, I don't think anyone would look at this and probably want to try every recipe in this book, but there is definitely something for everyone as well.

I liked that at the beginning of the book the author has a good, in-depth explanation of different flours and ingredients used in the book. For someone unfamiliar with gluten free baking or new to gluten free baking, that would be very helpful! 

I thought the pictures in this book were really nice and well done. and the directions were clear and informative.

After looking through the table of contents, I was very interested in trying the recipe for a loaf of bread. I've never found any gluten free bread that tasted all that good. I've had some that are okay, but none that were really good.

I did use sorghum instead of oat flour like the book called for because I didn't have oat flour. (Sorghum is a very close substitute in terms of texture and flavor.) And I also used 1 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum instead of psyllium husk because I didn't have that either.

The bread turned out pretty well! I did mix up the directions a bit because that's just what I do. (I always let the yeast proof in the water (the recipe uses milk, but mine was bad and the water worked fine.) with a little sugar first before adding the flours.) I think that really helped the loaf turn out. The dough rose a lot and turned out nice and fluffy. Following their directions would have created a more close textured loaf. Taste wise it was pretty good! It held together really well and even stood up to being put in the toaster. Half the loaf was gone the first night I made it! So it was definitely a win in my house! Most gluten free breads I've tried crumble and fall apart really easily, but this was good.

Overall I would probably rate this book maybe 3 or 4 stars. Just because I think this is more of a book for people who choose not to eat gluten vs. people who a truly gluten intolerant. And probably over half of the recipes are things I know my family wouldn't eat. But there was probably a dozen recipes I would try.

Do you eat gluten free? What are your thoughts on gluten free foods?

I received this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review.