Great American Home Baking Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Let's start with - so how many pages are there really to a complete collection of the cards for each group? Does it really weigh 7.2 pounds? And, last but not least how many recipes did it say there were?
Ah,.....I am glad you asked all the above. Those were the questions on my mind when I started the search for as complete a set as I could come up with.
Let's start with why 4 stars and not 5.....
I have made the coffee cake, bread and cookie recipes from this collection. The yeast recipes are awesome, the cookie recipes had to be adjusted, played with and tweaked, i.e. the "for the experienced cook/bake" tag. The photos are well presented and give an idea of what the recipe is to look like. In the case of the cookies, when your end results seem to have strayed, the photo becomes the map. A bakers sleuth eye, and bit of determination will lend it hand to fixing the recipe. There is the why of the 4 stars. I like picking a picture from any recipe book, and getting the result promised from that recipe. I find that having to don the Sherlock Holmes hat, reason why the failure, and then fix the recipe, is not my ideal creative time in the laboratory of my kitchen. And I do love to create in the kitchen.
Although, the chief detective baker in me tells me the amounts in the recipe might be off just a tad. I, being the good kid, follow the recipe very carefully to insure a perfect result. The perfect result having failed, I check myself on correct measurements and analyze each amount given in the recipe again. While looking at the photo, weighing each ingredient amount with the experienced baker department, I correct the recipe and achieve the picture perfect result.
So, the faint at heart beware - this one can throw you for a tail spin.
But, if you are a courageous, throw caution to wind baker - don your apron baby!!! this book is for you!!! Features tons of fun for the creative!:) The photos are inspiring, adapting the recipes is easy and leftovers get a whole new life using these recipes. For example, the Applesauce-Honey Cookies - group 9 card 5 - amount of applesauce 1/2 cup, the honey 1 Tbl. So change the applesauce to sweet potato, the honey to molasses or corn syrup. Great way to use up the little bit left in the molasses or corn syrup container, and that is the fun that you can find throughout the pages in these spirals.
Now for the spirals and description of what you can expect.....
Complete collection - takes up three 3 D-ring spirals, again that is 3 spirals.
Weight each spiral - spiral 1 - 6.6 pounds, spiral 2 - 6.8 pounds, spiral 3 - 5.2 pounds. For a whooping total of 18.6 pounds in 3 spirals!
Now for, what is in each spiral. Each spiral can hold 4 divider cards with recipes, and there are a total of 12 Divider cards, or group cards as they are called.
# of Pages in each group;
1 - Biscuits & Rolls - card 1 to card 68 (total recipes 136).
2 - Quick Breads & Muffins - cards 1-62 (recipes 124).
3 - Breads - cards 1-61 (recipes 122).
4 - Main Dish Baking - cards 1-65 (recipes 130).
5 - Cakes - cards 1-80 (recipes 160).
6 - Pastries - cards 1-52 (recipes 104).
7 - Pies & Tarts - cards 1-68 (recipes 136).
8 - Coffee Cakes - cards 1-60 (recipes 120).
9 - Cookies & Candies - cards 1-73 (recipes 146).
10 - Cobblers, Custards & Fruit Crisps - cards 1-32 (recipes 64).
11 - Holiday Baking - cards 1-51 (recipes 102).
12 - Baking School - 1-60 (1 page front and back per technique).
Most of the recipe pages will have a "Baking Tips" on the page, but not all pages have this tip.
Easily, over the 700 recipes that are stated on the beginning index for the recipes.
An index fold out is also provided listing the group and alphabetized recipe names.
My suggestion, hit the coffee cakes first for "orange glazed coffee cake" on the back of card 3. I have enjoyed this one enough to use just for bread. And I do have to say, I have tried to mess this recipe up, on purpose. And for the life of me, I can't. That makes it a keeper in my book, as well as a recipe to share with others, even the faint at heart.
If you enjoy baking, sharing, or impressing these recipes will give you lots to work with. The photos are inspiring, the recipes are easy to work with, and the instructions are concise and to the point. But that also leads to, a little previous baking/cooking experience is needed when approaching these books. The possibilities are endless with this collection, but do try to get as complete a set as you can.
Good Luck! Great Baking! Enjoy!!!

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