Book Review: A Good Bake by Melissa Weller
That's how the cookie crumbles
(Not too sure why I’m posting another book review. I don’t want to give the impression that I actually read, but I did use a recipe from this book just recently so it’s pretty fresh in my head right now.)
A Good Bake is essentially a cookbook but for all of you bakers out there, technically a… bakebook. But no one really uses that term. Written by Melissa Weller, it’s a supposed to be a consolidation of fundamentally strong recipes for the home baker/enthusiast/hobbiest.
For the many of you who might not know who Melissa Weller is, she’s… in a word, amazing. Essentially, she’s the kind of person who found her dream job and just went for it. Having worked part-time from a small bakery in San Diego, she moved on to better and bigger opportunities including 4-star restaurants in New York City and other cities nationally, ultimately winning a James Beard award. So yeah, kind of a big deal.
I stumbled on Melissa’s book kind of by accident. I’m a frequent reader of the New York Times, but, the Food and Cooking sections if I want to be honest. It wasn’t until I got to read and test try an oatmeal cookie recipe from Sadelle’s in NYC that I was impressed with her work. Food critic, Pete Wells of the NYT complimented her cookie as the best oatmeal cookie ever. To get that reaction from a food critic, no less, probably means it’s pretty good…?
Anyway, I found A Good Bake on Amazon for less than 20 dollars. It’s a great resource if you want a modern day dessert book mixed with some classic recipes. After a well written introduction and very educational section on ingredients and technique, you’re off to the races! I feel that these are more of the heart of the book than the actual recipes. They are carefully written with Melissa’s wisdom and experience over the years. That being said, it definitely… could be longer. At the same time, I’m probably the only one who wants more of “the boring stuff.” Everyone else wants to wow their friends or families with the goods.
I’m more of a cookie afficianado if anything. My cake skills are decent, but I can whip a batch of cookies in 15 minutes with little practice. Her oatmeal cookie and spice cookie recipe are quite nice. (Translation: highly recommended) They can be done with household ingredients with little risk. Some recipes, like her classic brownie, are as simple as you can get. Sometimes you don’t need much for a crowd pleaser. She says it’s her go-to and the best thing about a recipe is in its ease! There are, obviously, fancier and more difficult recipes for those looking for a challenge. These were probably developed later on in her career while catering to higher end restauranteurs.
The book is not for the feint at heart. Either you’re willing to try and fail or not. There are some precise instructions to making the yeasty breads like challah or laminated pastries like croissants. After mastering these techniques, you can move on to the many variations of these recipes. I’ve made challah and croissants on my own and they are time consuming without proper guidance. But it literally has everything from cookies, pies, cakes and more fanciful desserts like kouign amann.
How can you really condense your entire career into a book that makes everyone happy? The answer is… you really can’t. The book is just a small slice of her life’s experience at the basic level to the high end. Being an accomplished chef has its own burdens. You want to exemplify your achievements but at the same time, appeal to the fundamentals. It’s not titled “An Introduction to Baking” for a good reason. I’m sure she has a slew of entry level recipes that are just as good. (Maybe that’s another book for another time though.)
The Good:
Great reference for average to higher end baked goods (breads, cakes, pastries, and cookies) written by an award winning chef. Real recipes from real restaurants, no substitutes, no shortcuts.
The Bad:
Intimidating to beginners or the occassional baker. There are a handful of good recipes for this audience, but only a handful.
Conclusion:
For less than 20 dollars, you really can’t go wrong. In the end, Melissa Weller gives you a lot of space to grow as a baker. Even the small number of simple recipes is a good starting point. The recipes, in general, are very solid and reliable. Apparently, it takes hard to work to make something delicious. It’s up to you to meet the challenge. Maybe you’ll never need to make a kouign amann in your lifetime, but you have the resource and opportunity to if you should ever want to. You’ll never know when the next global pandemic will hit!