I received a review copy of this book; all opinions expressed are mine.

If baking from scratch intimidates you, the new cookbook, Baker Bettie’s Better Baking Book (Mango Publishing, hardcover) may help you become a more confident baker! This book is authored by Kristin Hoffman, aka Baker Bettie, a trained chef and baking educator (you can visit her website at BakerBettie.com).

A good way to describe this book is that it is a “fundamentals of baking from scratch” type of cookbook. As the subtitle says, this book includes “classic baking techniques and recipes for building baking confidence.” More specifically, the book goes over:

• The science of baking, simplified (info on baking ingredients and their functions, essential baking equipment)
• Foundational baking techniques and mixing methods (common baking techniques, essential rules of baking)
• “Master” recipes that are customizable, as well as easy to make (like the Sweet Batter and Savory Batter Bread Master Recipes for quick breads and muffins; the Drop Cookie Master Recipe; the Classic Chocolate Cake Master Recipe; Pound Cake Master Recipe; Fruit Pie Filling Master Recipe—just to name a few!)

The recipes and tips are divided into five sections: Quick Breads, Cookies & Bars, Cakes, Pies, and Yeast Breads. So you’ll find quite a number of recipes for goodies like breads, biscuits, scones, muffins, quick breads, pizza dough, cakes, cupcakes, pies and crusts, cobblers, cheesecakes, cookies, brownies and blondies, and more…plus great tips on how to get the best results in your baking! I also like that there are step-by-step pictures included throughout the book, and wonderful full-color photos of the recipes on just about every page.

So if you are a beginner or amateur baker, or if you’ve been baking for awhile but want to learn helpful tips and info from a professional chef, this would be a great book for you! Or maybe you know someone who is a beginner baker—this would make a thoughtful gift for them, with the holidays coming up! So keep Baker Bettie’s Better Baking Book in mind—and see if you can say THAT fast three times! 🙂