How Baking Works: Exploring the Fundamentals of Baking Science
About this product
An up-to-date, comprehensive guide to understanding and applying food science to the bakeshop.
The essence of baking is chemistry, and anyone who wants to be a master pastry chef must understand the principles and science that make baking work. This book explains the whys and hows of every chemical reaction, essential ingredient, and technique, revealing the complex mysteries of bread loaves, pastries, and everything in between. Among other additions, How Baking Works, Third Edition includes an all-new chapter on baking for health and wellness, with detailed information on using whole grains, allergy-free baking, and reducing salt, sugar, and fat in a variety of baked goods. This detailed and informative guide features:An introduction to the major ingredient groups, including sweeteners, fats, milk, and leavening agents, and how each affects finished baked goods
Practical exercises and experiments that vividly illustrate how different ingredients function
Photographs and illustrations that show the science of baking at work
End-of-chapter discussion and review questions that reinforce key concepts and test learning
For both practicing and future bakers and pastry chefs, How Baking Works, Third Edition offers an unrivaled hands-on learning experience. Read more
Editor's Take
Amazon reviewers and Goodreads readers describe How Baking Works: Exploring the Fundamentals of Baking Science as a highly technical, science-focused baking reference that explains the reasons behind ingredients and techniques. Goodreads reviews praise it as a great resource for understanding baking as an exact science, while a common complaint is that it can feel difficult to use outside a class or structured study setting.
Baking Bites describes the book as a strong scientific guide that makes baking theory interesting and useful, especially for readers who want to understand the “why” behind recipes. Reddit users in baking-focused discussions recommend it as a beginner-friendly baking science book, which suggests it has a good reputation among serious home bakers and students.
Several YouTube videos mention Paula Figoni and cite How Baking Works as a reference for baking chemistry topics like muffins, yeast, sugar, starch, cocoa powder, and cake flour. Those videos appear to use the book more as a technical source than as a subject of a direct review, so they support its credibility as a baking science standard.
- Strengths: clear scientific explanations, broad coverage of baking fundamentals, useful for learners who want to understand ingredient function.
- Weaknesses: can be dense, technical, and less immediately practical for casual bakers.
- Overall sentiment: strongly positive among baking enthusiasts, students, and science-minded readers.
Price History
Specifications
| Publisher | Wiley |
| Publication date | November 9, 2010 |
| Edition | 3rd |
| Language | English |
| Print length | 528 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0470392673 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0470392676 |
| Item Weight | 2.65 pounds |
| Dimensions | 8.5 x 1.2 x 10.8 inches |
| Best Sellers Rank | #29,599 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #56 in Bread Baking (Books) #665 in Culinary Arts & Techniques (Books) #1,328 in Textbooks (Special Features Stores) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars (761) |
