Baking With Passion

This afternoon there was a book waiting for me in the mailbox.  It was Baker & Spice, Baking with Passion by Dan Lepard & Richard Whittington.    I opened it up for a brief scan to determine place in the list of books to  be read and an hour later I had finished it.  ( I read pretty quickly)  The history of the bakery and introduction to ingredients are tantalizing and evocative.  Admittedly I'm at a point where I can scan through the more technical sections just to see if there is any new information or perspectives because I have a pretty firm grasp of the standard information and techniques.  It's not a huge tome, there are only 160 pages.  Measurements are in grams and in ounces although they do not guarantee the conversions are perfect.  The book begins with breads, which are separated into those that use wild yeasts and those that use commercial yeasts.  It has some beautiful step by step photographs on handling the dough and encompasses recipes for both sweet and savory leanings.  The remainder of the book showcases cakes, cookies and pastries.  The photos make you want to run into the kitchen and pull out the sugar, butter and flour and dive in.  Everything looks so beautiful that you can almost feel yourself sinking your teeth into the chocolate caramel tart or licking the crumbs of puff pastry and cream from the chestnut mille feuilles off of your fingertips.  The best part?  I got this book for $4.79+shipping on Alibris.  As I write this the cheapest used book is now $5.44 with new copies beginning at $11.93.  At prices like these, if you love to bake or just to read about baking, you should get this book.  Even with the shipping, it's definitely worth it.