Book Release: Inside the Jewish Bakery
As many folks on the site know, long-time TFL community members Stan Ginsberg (Elagins) and Norm Berg (nbicomputers) have been working for a couple of years on a baking book. Their hard work is about to pay off as Inside the Jewish Bakery: Recipes and Memories from the Golden Age of Jewish Baking will be released on Camino Books October 15.
I was lucky enough to receive page proofs of Inside The Jewish Bakery and have to say it is tremendous. Norm's recipes collection from his years as a professional baker was already legendary on this site, but Stan and Norm together were able to put together a wonderful book that mixes in the cultural, historical, and religious contexts that make these recipes so precious.
Congratulations, Stan and Norm.
-Floyd
Inside the Jewish Bakery will be released October 15th and can be purchased on the Inside The Jewish Bakery website, on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Barnes & Noble, or at your local bookseller.
As you can imagine, Stan and Norm are extremely busy with the book release, but as time and energy permit they've offered to answer anyone's questions about the recipes or the book. Just comment below.
Congratulations to both of you! I'm very eager to take a look at this book.
Your book looks like a wonderful example of breads and sweets baked in the Ashkenazi tradition. But I'm guessing at least a few items found during this golden age of the Jewish bakery had its roots in the Levant. Aside from Challah, of course, are there recipes in your book that can be traced back to a pre-diaspora Jewish life? I'm curious about this as our traditions follow us from country to country but prior to our dispersion, we were one people without the need to distinguish ourselves as Ashkenaz, Sephardi, Mizrahi, etc. For example, Halva could be found in the Jewish bakeries from Egypt and Israel, to the shtetls of Poland, to Brooklyn and beyond. And this kind of culinary archeology is fascinating to me!
Until Stan is able to give you are real answer, you might find the index that's posted at http://www.insidethejewishbakery.com/files/IndexFINAL.pdf helps.
That index makes me hungry... I think I'll order the book! Thanks!
that deserves an appropriately Talmudic response.
First, even challah is not pre-Diaspora. In fact, there's no mention of special Shabbes bread anywhere in the Torah or Talmud, and current scholarly opinion is that the braided loaves we associate with challah in fact were adaptations of the braided Sabbath breads common among Central European Christians in the Middle Ages. What distinguishes challah from other breads is neither its recipe nor its shape, but the fact that it's been sanctified by removing a piece of dough and offering it as burnt sacrifice to God, recalling the sacrifices made in the Temple.
As for halvah, etc., who knows? Most of the Jews in the Western Diaspora, i.e., France, Germany, Hungary, Bohemia, are thought to have been Jews of the Roman Empire (where there was a sizable population) who migrated north with the fall of Rome. At its height, by the 15th-16th centuries, the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe had developed a vast international commercial network that literally spanned the known world and along with the exchange of goods, money and information came the spread of food customs and favorite dishes. So in the case of halvah, for example, and other Middle Eastern and Levantine foods, it's most likely they entered Eastern Europe via Odessa or some other Black Sea port, or overland from Turkey, rather than being a recipe that Jews carried with them from the Holy Land for 2,000 years.
Stan
I'm looking forward to my copy. Anyone else who enjoys cooking from a historical perspective should check out 97 Orchard (http://goo.gl/6QvLe). It examines what was eaten by different immigrant groups in NY around the turn of (the last) century.
I wonder is anyone interest in baking challenge of the book. I'm looking forward to receive my copy.
siuflower
You can hear it on the new Inside the Jewish bakery Media page.
Enjoyed the show Stan. Thanks for posting it.
I have pre-ordered and am eagerly awaiting my copy! The index and pictures just really whet my appetite. Just in time to try my hand for the holidays.
Hurry up, Amazon, and thank you, thank you, Stan, I can already taste my creations with your tutelage :)
Anna
Just posted this on YouTube. Take a look! http://bit.ly/qMDBWs
Stan
Gee, I might even try a six-strand braid now! The video makes it very clear.
David
Follow this link and enjoy: http://bit.ly/of71jp
Stan
on sale for $16.47 plus shipping.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_13?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=inside+jewish+bakery&sprefix=inside+jewish
Boy! What a good news - bad news story! I pre-ordered and just got an email that said my copy is on the way ... but it cost me the full $24! (I don't mind the $24... cheap for all the info that's in the book, worth every cent.)
Brian
of their page, you will be charged the lesser amount based on pre-ordering.
>>Our Pre-order Price Guarantee covers one or more item(s) in this order. If the Amazon.com price decreases between the time you place your order and the end of the day of the release date, you'll receive the lowest price.<<
Anna
I'd never noticed that before! And just this morning, I got a notice that said I was saving $8+ because of this price guarantee and that they are charging me the $16+ price after all. It's OK though... The book is low-cost at either price.
Brian
but no worries ... they'll get more. In the meantime, if you want a signed copy, go to http://bit.ly/ogSwiP
Stan
How are plans for the book signing tour coming?
Do you have dates for the Bay Area events yet, Stan?
David
which is the Sunday of the Presidents' Day weekend. I'm planning on driving up so that I can arrange other stops along the way, e.g., Santa Cruz/Monterey, Sacramento, Fresno/Visalia, Ventura/Oxnard. Got any thoughts on potential venues?
I'll keep everyone posted as schedules take shape.
Stan
PS. Also gonna be in S. Florida (Boyton/Palm Beach area, plus Ft. Lauderdale and Miami) in mid-January, so if anyone wants to help set up a signing ... I'm game.
Wave to Monterey as you drive through it, my old home for 6 beautiful years :)
Still waiting for my book, Amazon tells me not until Oct 25-28, boohoo :(
Anna
Amazon.co.uk is also showing out of stock! Congratulations on selling well! (I've got it on back order)
cheers
Keep us in the loop, Stan!
Joy
Any idea of when the book will be mailed? Thanks
Books went out Saturday, yesterday and today, USPS media mail for domestic addresses, Int'l first class for Canada, Int'l Priority Mail for rest of world.
Enjoy!!!
Stan
One favor I would ask: would everyone who gets a copy post a review on amazon? I want to see if guerilla marketing really works!
Just can't wait to have your and Norm's book in my floury hand! It's so nice to have been a small part of it - no doubt all the TFL tester bakers feel this way. Really special.
Can already write a glowing review for Amazon based on the test bakes, but guess I should at least wait for the book to arrive.
You and Norm must feel so satisfied and proud to see your labour of love materialise in concrete form like this. Hope the sales go through the roof.
Cheers
Ross
First, we also hope sales go through the roof. But more importantly, our real reward is in having the opportunity to share a very special part of our lives, and to know that others are responding to that in so positive a way. There's nothing better than bringing pleasure to others.
To you and our other testers, we can't say thank you often enough: without you, none of it would have been possible.
Stan
Stan:
Thanks for your quick response - as usual. Pleasure doing business with you.
Stan and Norm: So exciting to finally have it in my hands after all the hard work you two put in - I feel very lucky to have been a tester - it is one of the most enjoyable things I have ever done and to have two of my photos used is just icing on the cake:). I can't wait to dig in and try some of the recipes that I didn't get to test. I'll get my Amazon review in today!
"Trish in Omaha"
Its time to resurect the old testing threads to look at all the yummy photos. I remember drooling over the photos of the kornbroyt.
First Thread
Second Thread
A few days ago, I intended to make Beth Hensperger's Sweet Vanilla Challah this Wednesday, my usual best baking day of the week. The day after I decided to do that, Inside the Jewish Bakery arrived in the mail! Now really, which challah should I make? Obviously, one from my cool new book, specifically, the Sweet and Rich Challah on page 33. So not only did I get to use a hot off the presses very good recipe, but I also got to use eggs from our four backyard chickens to boot! I was unable to wait the full recommended hour before slicing it, and was rewarded with a lovely eye-crossing yummy experience that was entirely legal, let me assure you.
I gave the second loaf to my most official Jewish friend (grew up on Long Island), and am eagerly awaiting her opinion.
Thanks so much, Stan and Norm, for the enormous amount of work you put into this effort. The research and testing must have dominated your lives for a good long while.
Sue
The first time she made it, she said that it was the only challah she'd ever eaten where she didn't think about how much better it would taste with raisins. It's become her standard Friday night bread.
And yes, it was a lot of work that made our wives/lives crazy, but responses like yours make it all worthwhile.
Stan
I received my copy (yeahhhh!!!!) 2 days ago ON the 18th... from Amazon. I pre-ordered it sometime shortly before I made the post on the 14th (above). My wife has already committed me to making several items out of the book... although I'm a bit short on time right now (finishing up projects before the first snow). In any case, the book looks wonderful ...very attractively produced, laid out well, and has lots of photos (I love lots of photos on in cook books).. can't wait to try it!!
Brian
I'd rather support my local bookstore, even if it means paying a higher price. Anyway, my order went in a couple weeks ago and I'm really looking forward to it!
Rosalie
I´m thinking of buying Stan´s book as soon as my husband goes to US. I´ve read there are tutorials and photos which is really great!!!
Please, could anybody specify whether there is also a commentary with each recipe - how it is connected to jewish cuisine, when it is traditionally prepared, where does it come from... And do you think many recipe could be adjusted for vegan friends?
Thanks!
zdenka
best way to get an idea of the book's contents and approach is to visit the website http://www.insidethejewishbakery.com and take a look at the excerpts, revised index and photo gallery.
Stan
Thank you, Stan, this is what I did. But in the excerpt there isn´t an example of a recipe layout and I can´t see whether there is a commentary with each recipe. It is also hard to imagine the amount of eggs, food colorings or other non-vegan ingredients just from the index.
Otherwise your photos look wonderful! and the unpublished chart of weights of ingredients shows that the book was certainly made with big care.
zdenka
Zdenka, One of the things that impress me the most about this book is the first hand insight into the life and history of the bread. In addition to history there are also several "Norms Eye Views." These are insights into the working life of Norm in the daily grind of the bakery. I think many of us romanticize the life of a baker, But norm helps pull me back to the reality that baking is hard, hot work with long hours. These first hand stories are told with honesty and humility and really add flavor to an excellent book.
If you removed the recipes I would still recommend this book.
As for the vegan content, I will side with Chef Ramsay, "Let them eat Steak"! (Wink)
Thank you for your comment, alabubba.
There is no doubt that working in a bakery is hard! I did a short summer job there myself. Although the history and daily life of bakers should not be underestimated, this is not what I expected to read in this book :( I hoped it would be more focused on the connection jews - baking.
Maybe I would not be so harsh and intolerant towards people who choose to eat less heavy food and / or more naturally ...
zdenka
and come to your own conclusions based on what you yourself learn, rather than depending on the opinions of others as fact? Making judgments about people based on what and how they eat is as offensive to me as making those same kinds of judgments based on race, religion or lifestyle.
Our book is not vegan, not intended to be vegan or to pander to whatever the prevailing definition of "healthy" happens to be at a given moment. If that's your yardstick for acceptability, please do us a favor and don't waste your money on something that you clearly will never be open-minded enough to understand. We didn't write this book with you in mind.
Stan Ginsberg
I did not want to offend anybody. I only asked whether there are commentaries about how each recipe is connected to jewish cuisine / tradition because I do not have the possibility to have a look myself (before buying). Nothing more. I am sorry. I am not vegan and do not like promoting one specific diet. I am also aware of the fact that jewish feast meals are very rich. However sometimes I like adapting recipes to more whole wheat, less eggs, without artificial additives etc.
What I really appreciate are good photos, tutorials, tips and tricks... and your book probably contains all of these. That´s why I am considering buying your book and I only asked for a small additional information. I beg for understanding.
zdenka
Addition 2 minutes later: (only now have I noticed Gary´s commentary bellow. Wonderful! This is just what I asked about. :))
Hi zdenka
I think your questions were valid and posed in good faith with a positive attitude. For a lot of us, a new baking book is not a trivial investment, and the more information we can get about it beforehand, the better. I hope you share some of your recipe adaptations with us in the future :-).
that's my baby (and Norm's) ... and I can get awfully prickly.
Stan
Gorgeous book!
promised for Oct 25, grrrr and I was looking forward to that tongue sandwich creation !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just in time! I am going to make Norm's double knotted rolls tomorrow. I hope the formula is in the book so I don't have to read the telegraphic version I printed from TFL.
David
The formulas are clear and well formed. Comments tell us why things were as they were, and why they're different today. Helpful, too, are the diagrams and instructions for shaping the various items. That said, The book is definitely worth a shekel1 for the Jewish history and culture lessons.
Thanks, Stan and Norm, for writing such an interesting book that happens to teach us not just about a people, but about how to make some great tasting baked goods on the side.
cheers,
gary
1. Back in the day, I photographed a few (Reform) Jewish weddings.
Thank you very much Gary!!!
Your short description greatly answers my question.
zdenka
I finally got around to posting my review at Amazon. It is basically as I wrote above with some revision and expansion. Stan and Norm, I hope you do as well as Fanny Farmer's Boston Cooking-School Cook Book (1896), with sales approaching 4 million copies.
cheers,
gary
nice review ... 4 million .... can't even imagine it, but hopefully to folks who'll enjoy and appreciate it as you clearly do.
Stan
Stan,
Just got the book (and I haven't purchased a baking book in many years) and haven't had time to do it justice. But I was interested in the publisher and found that they had also published the Frog/Commissary and the Reading Terminal Market cookbooks. I've got no memories of great Jewish baking but have some seriously good ones around the food scene in "Fluff-ya."
Which got me to thinking how tastes or smells or even the recipe from which they are derived can freeze time.
I'm pretty sure that with a bit of effort I could develop formulas for the types of breads that I crave (and mostly, that's where I put my effort these days) but what a wonderful thing to preserve the way it was done at a point in time by a particular person or persons.
If your book does that for even one person - you have a success on your hands.
Our goal was/is to preserve this small but meaningful piece of the culture and traditions from which our grandparents came. The forces of assimilation are so powerful today ... convenience trumps quality (we hear that everywhere) and technology/marketing/mass production have robbed us of our competence. The book is one small blow against the Machine ...
Stan
I grew up in a German neighborhood in Chicago where one of the older folk had a saying"the whiter the bread the sooner your dead". I guess they knew something about health. Freida was referring to rye bread and used to bring pumpernickle and black rye over for us. Being kids-we disliked it intensely-it didn't compete with marshmallow white bread. It took me a while to come to appreciate good bread.
Also the area where I grew up was an ethnically diverse area. What that meant back then was-I lived in "German town" and a few blocks over was "Greek town" and over the other way was "Jew town". Not meant in any biased way-it's just that people of that culture predominated there (usually around their places of worship) and that's where you went for the German,Greek or Jewish grocery stores,bakeries and restaurants. It was great! I had friends from all over so I ate well and learned a lot about different foods and cultures.
I love your book! Food is so meaningful in its cultural context and that's what you are providing. The pictures are priceless and I swear I know the people in some of them. Your life experience and understanding of baking really comes through. Rye is starting to make a lot more sense to me,now.
Thank you!
Amazon says "Usually ships within 6 to 12 days." Anyone know why this book ships slower than most others? I'm used to having the book on my doorstep in two days.
unknown authors, small regional publisher; who knew? :)
Ok, thanks. BTW, I had to order after seeing the rainbow cookies on the main site. :-) And you provide the weights, all the way down to the drops of food coloring. It makes me want to cry in gratitude.
Can't wait to dig in !
Well... I do tear easily, but apart from that, your introduction about the culture of Jewish baking and old ways of life in New York did really move me. I am so excited to have your book which I received today. I grew up on Long Island and remember those special Sundays when my father went out and brought home that wonderful bagel and lox feast. It was wonderful to re-live it in my mind. I can see that your book is more than just a recipe book.
I am equally impressed that you did not try to "dumb it down" the way some authors do. I am pleased that weights are given for the formulas, and thought your explanation of the baker's percentage allowed me to finally understand its practicality.
I hesitated a bit before buying this book, because I already own too many baking books, ...or is that not possible?!! And I certainly have no regrets adding this to my collection. I can't wait to try some more of the recipes from it. I tried the whole wheat challah recipe posted here, and it came out great, plus I loved watching your videos on braiding which made the process even more fun. They, too, were the best I had ever seen on the subject.
I noticed that your publisher is based in Philadelphia which is the area where I now live.
Thanks again for your lovely book, sure to make others pleased as well.
Amazon.co.uk are now saying this is not available through them?
Any news on whether this is likely to change?
thanks!
Amazon are still saying they are no longer selling this (inthe UK) - any update please on whether this will change? Otherwise I need to buy secondhand I guess...
thanks!
Hi,
I got it via http://www.insidethejewishbakery.com/index.php - they ship to UK.
Juergen
Thanks Juergen - I did check that, but with the postage it comes to $38.94...
I can get it through Amazon private sellers for £9.72 + £2.80 P&P, but I just wondered if it would return through Amazon.co.uk direct or not - perhaps there is not so much of a market in the UK?
cheers
S
Amazon.co.uk are now stocking the book - current price £12.15 - in case anyone was waiting
Too late for me, I went through a private reseller - not yet arrived but keeping fingers crossed!
cheers
S
I picked mine up at my local bookstore the other day. Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to spend much time with it. But the pictures on the dust jacket got me to reminiscing.
Mind you, I'm Italian, 100%. But my father worked around the corner from a Jewish bakery owned by Sam in Schenectady. He would bring home real rye bread (crusty, with a lusty crumb and lots of caraway seeds), "twist bread" (that I know now is challah), kaiser rolls, and I don't remember what else. I was too young to not take it for granted. But when I moved to California I kept looking for that rye bread.
I'm looking forward to playing with the recipes. Those Jews, they knew how to make bread!
Rosalie
so do the Italians!
And I'm looking forward to geting into it. As a Jewish boy from New York, I'm looking foward to may connections with my own memory.
I also was interested in the comment near the top about the movements of populations and the relationship to culinary development. It's always fascinating to step back and take a long view. My wife comes from a very large Sephardic family, and many of their cooking and baking traditions arise from a shared history of movement and life with Arabs.
Congratulations to both of you and best of luck.
yesterday--and already reading like crazy. The introductory material is so wonderful and truly scholarly. We (that is, hubby and I) loved the talmudic reference. I had always heard the phrase "ein kemach, ein Torah," (rough translation: no flour--bread, that is--no learning), but the material in the book was so great. I told my hubby that now I know why he craves pastrami on rye (just one of "those" rabbis)!
I also was blown away by Norm's stories of the "real" baking life. It's no wonder he's had to take a long break from professional baking. I hope he's doing better.
I was a little scared by all the egg yolks in the bakery challah, so I didn't venture there. You know, "eggs are in; eggs are out." But the variety of recipes is nice, and I do like the honey/whole wheat approach (I use honey and spelt whole-grain flour for the whole wheat part regularly, but in a smaller percentage.) The braiding directions are easy to follow, and your 4- and 6-braid videos are great. Thank you, thank you for this wonderful book; it's already a classic!
Congratulations, Stan and Norm, for doing this. There's so much soul in there and so many recipes to try. I'm telling all my baking friends and family (esp. the cousins who own Rustic Bakery in Novato and Larkspur) that they have to have this book! It will make a great gift as well!
Joy
... to decide what to bake first.
My copy has arrived, and my jewish wife (who doesn't bake bread) read it first, almost cover to cover!
What a radiant book!
The sour for Black Bread is going into the fridge in an hour, and I am just preparing the ingredients for some cookies.
Thank you, Stan and Norm for your hard work.
Juergen
The book came a couple of weeks ago, and can I say I still get twitterpated when I think about it? Thank you both, Stan and Norm, for such a wonderful and diverse book. I'm particularly taken with the culinary and cultural history given in the book -- I love feeling that I understand the origins, history and place of a certain recipe as well as the directions. Looking forward to baking my way through the book -- maybe we need a challenge here on TFL. I'm in!
Also, Santa Barbara has the lovely Chaucer's Books as well as The Book Den if your trek up to Santa Rosa brings you along the coast route.
Kendra
will hopefully take me up the coast and down the 5, or vice versa, so SB is definitely on the way.
Stan
I suppose it might be too much to ask you to stop in Morro Bay, but is San Luis Obispo on your itinerary? It's 100 miles north of Santa Barbara on 101.
Rosalie
if you can arrange a signing/appearance, I'll be there
Stan
checked out Linzer Cookies which I love for Christmas and find that you incorporate "Cake Crumbs", ok, does that mean I have to bake a cake, let it go stale, and them crumble it ? Is there a way around this ?
Thanks much,
Anna
I don't know the answer, but I'll admit to finding a lot of these Eastern European (not always Jewish) recipes infuriating because of the "cake crumb" ingredient.
I can't tell you how many times I've shelved a recipe (like the Poppy Seed Torte I bought 2 lbs. of poppy seeds for) because it calls for "cake crumbs".
I know it's easy enough to whip up a scratch genoise in 30 minutes, so don't know why I find it so annoying.
Also don't know why it's so common in Eastern European baking?
Did they live on cake most of the year?
It doubles the rich flavour and gives a delicate structure for the batter to cling to. It's physics and a pain in the butt if you don't have crumbs around. So bake a simple cake and crumble it. Or go to your baker and ask for a kilo of cake crumbs, the "cut offs" from the edges so that each piece sold looks the same. Or better yet, make a jelly roll cake, easy enough in a large flat pan and bake that, cut into strips and crumble! Want a recipe? Here is my simple fall back emergency jelly roll recipe: Somewhere from my memories of Betty Crocker. :)
3 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup AP flour or 1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
Oven 375°F Line jelly roll pan with baking parchment (15.5 x 10.5 x 1 inch pan)
Beat eggs in a mixer bowl high speed for 5 minutes, really beat the heck out of em, until very thick and light yellow. Gradually add sugar. Low speed: add water and vanilla. Add dry (well stirred flour, baking powder and salt) slowly beating just until batter is smooth. Pour into lined pan and spread around, no need to get fancy or fill in the corners. (without a mixer separate yolks from whites and use a whisk to make the whites stiff, folding whites alternately with flour mixture.)
Bake until a wooden pick comes out clean 12 - 15 minutes Easy peasy! and Fast! Let the cake dry out on a rack.
...so much as eating the entire thing while it cools.
Then I'm back at square one: where do I get cake crumbs?! ;D
You have to put them out of reach! Make something better at the same time so you can snack on a roast or meat chops or baked chickens (shove them into the oven before the cake.) That way when that warm cake comes out, you're full of chicken wings and potato wedges!
...I must have cake. Three layers, almond buttercream. At once!
WHAT IS THIS?
NO BUTTER ANYWHERE TO BE FOUND?!
How can there be cake without butter? How can there be buttercream without butter?
I am vanquished.
our buttercream was always made with butter not lard, that would be lardcream :(
make buttercream without butter by using vegetable shortening and butter flavoring (or unsalted margarine, which amounts to the same thing except for the 20% water component). In fact, Norm tells me that in some of the bakeries he worked in, where the owner was stingy, they always used shortening and flavoring.
Stan
PS: a bakery never lacks for cake crumbs. Generally, I'll just do a quick and dirty high-ratio yellow cake or chocolate cake, crumb it after it cools and let the crumbs air-dry (baking them to dry them out takes away their absorbency by toughening the proteins). They freeze beautifully; in fact, at this very moment, I have a whole plastic bag full of sponge cake trimmings sitting in my freezer ...
cake posthaste :) Then off to the other 100+ delicious recipes in your book !
Anna
guess I'll throw together a cake and watch it go stale, argh..... :)
She was "the baker" in the family and weekly doled out an allotment of home baked cookies and bread. We received a square compressed paper egg carton's worth of cookies weekly. My favorite, she called "strudel cookies", (very similiar to the mini -schnecken you discribe in the book) which she filled with chopped raisins, nuts and a little jam. I know she never had margarine in her house and rarely used Crisco. This was an oil based dough but hers were never greasy. My great aunt Ethel made similiar cookies but they were always dripping with oil. Is it possible to substitute oil for shortening in the 1-2-3 Dough? Could that be the dough I've been trying to recreate for 40 years? Bonni
because the 123 dough won't hold together: the flour absorbs the oil and remains granular, whereas the shortening doesn't get absorbed and acts as the glue. i would, however, start with the standard short dough recipe in the book, reduce the fat by about 1/2 and substitute the oil, then increase the egg until you get a fairly firm dough. i'm sorry, but i don't have a formula; i'll check w/Norm on it as well. in the meantime, you may just have to do it by feel, but the increase of the egg should give the dough the moisture and protein matrix it needs to hold together well, while the oil will keep the crumb tender.
let us know how you make out.
Stan
I found this online and thought I would pass it on to you, bonnibaker. Does this approximate grandma's recipe?
http://www.oukosher.org/index.php/consumer/recipes/basic_hamentashen_dough_pareve/
Here's one on AdviceSisters.com http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/25269/book-release-inside-jewish-bakery
And another on HubPages.com http://mgwhite.hubpages.com/hub/Cookbook-Review-Inside-the-Jewish-Bakery
If anyone's in the mood, Norm and I would really appreciate your reviews on amazon; we've gotten such nice feedback here, we'd love to see it shared more widely.
Thanks
So, my wife asked me "What are you going to bake first?". I said that I wanted to read the book, at least up to the first formulas, before deciding. I sat down and did so! Now that I am there, I have to go to the store and buy eggs because I don't have enough. (I think eggs are going to be more difficult to keep around now.) I want to bake the first formula I came to: Baker's Challah!
Stan and Norm, thank you for what is not just a cookbook, but also a rich vision of another world, both spiritual and cultural. I'm sure the formulas will all bake up nicely. I'll do them what little justice my clumsy paws can manage. The picture of Norm's old notebook page, though, brings it all alive for me. Coupled with the stories of walking the village on a Saturday morning, hand in hand with your fathers, to buy bread, cheese, and treats... These are images that should not be lost any more than the heritage you describe should ever be forgotten. Thank you for enlarging my perspective, not just on baking, but on larger things as well.
Many thanks
OldWoodenSpoon
Almond horns. When the recipe is first introduced on pp. 232-33, it includes the ingredient "granulated sugar." When it's reintroduced for Passover, there's a note saying to make sure to use "cornstarch-free powdered sugar." Is powdered sugar to be used at all? My guess is to stick with granulated. Correct? BTW, how great to have a recipe for almond paste.
Joyful
granulated it is
244 and 246 change cornstarch-free powdered sugar to granulated.
The buttercream recipe on pg 371 of your book calls for shortening and butter flavoring. The variation on that page says to substitute shortening and butter flavoring for the butter. I think you must have swapped out the main recipe at some point and the variation did not get updated.
If I want to make my buttercream with real butter, how much butter should I substitute for the shortening and butter flavoring?
Thanks
OldWoodenSpoon
On Edit: Stan, is there a central place where you would prefer these questions be asked, so I/we/readers can go there to look for answers as well? That way you can answer the question just once. Maybe an "Latest Updates" page in the book home page, or some such?
I suppose it had to happen. The original recipe calls for 16oz/455g of butter.
Sorry! It will get fixed in the next printing.
Stan
I'll print this on a sticky note, fix it to the page, and that will be that.
OldWoodenSpoon
Baking powder listed as 18 grams, should be about 3. An errata page might be a handy resource for those of us who use the first edition.
I checked the original formula and BP is around 3-4% of flour weight - same proportion as the Wine Cake (p. 180), which forms the basis for the b&w cookie batter.
Stan
I wonder if 18 grams can be correct if 1 1/4 teaspoons (in the same formula) is also correct? To double check, I've just weighed 18 grams of baking powder again — it's over 1 1/2 Tablespoons. The batch I made turned out great with the lesser measure of 1 1/4 teaspoons/3 grams.
You're right; should be Tbs, not tsp. According to USDA equivalent for BP, 1 tsp = 5g, so 18g = roughly 3 1/2 tsp. Correction will be noted. Thanks!
Ditto on an errata page on your web site. Writing a book is a huge undertaking and we're all human... I wouldn't sweat finding a typo here and there. Thank God for the web ...it's so easy to get updates nowadays! Keep up the great work and thanks again for the book!
Brian
1. The recipe for Orange chiffon cake on page 198 has only 3/4 tsp of sugar listed in group A as opposed to 1+cup in the other chiffon cake recipes. I see no other ingredient to make up this lack of sweetener. Is the recipe correct?
2. Is a 'block' of chocolate 1oz?
3. Can butter be successfully substituted for shortening in most of the recipes?
Just got your book today and planning what to bake first. Patsy
hi, here are your answers
thanks to all of you for finding these inconsistencies and errors!
Stan
OWSpoon has a larger book than I with more pages, :)
with tananaBrian about a publication like this being an enormous undertaking. And there are so many details! But, just think how great it is to have a first edition of this wonderful book.
Joyful
hi all,
We just posted an Errata tab at http://www.insidethejewishbakery.com. Please let us know if/when you find errors or typos. Thanks!
Stan & Norm
Awesome! I appreciate all those unpublished chapters as well ...you guys are top-notch!
Brian
should read 244, 246
Thanks
anna
http://www.forward.com/articles/145900/
Stan
You've hit the big time!
My book has arrived at last! Many thanks, Stan and Norm.
What a handsome-looking cover! And inside, a personal inscription that makes this book even more special. As I thumbed through and saw two of my pictures, as well as others I recognised from the TFL bakers who took part in the test baking, it brought back that time, which was intense and unique, and pushed my baking to places I never dreamt of going. I was quite moved to contemplated this concrete realisation of Stan and Norm's dream come true, and to feel their dream was in tiny part also my dream, and that of this great online baking community of which I am a proud and appreciative member.
You done good, guys; we done good.
Cheers!
Ross
and if you look on the Acknowledgements pages, you'll find your name and the names of every one of our testers who made it through the whole 13 weeks. We couldn't have done it without you!
Stan & Norm
in the Canadian Jewish News http://bit.ly/u2Fb39
Stan mentioned this article before (he had advance notice, no doubt), but I just opened my November 18 issue yesterday, and on the outside back page of the Culture and Arts section I found this terrific article by Leah Koenig ("Ingredients" column in the Culture and Arts section on the "Fast Forward" page) about the publication of Inside the Jewish Bakery. The title, a little different from the previously noted article, is "Dough Eyed and Ready to Eat." http://www.forward.com/articles/145900/#.TtRL3b1na2k.gmail. The printed version has a big picture of Stan on top, with photos of egg kichel and one of a baker putting rye breads in the oven. I've been sharing the article with everyone in sight. How great is this! Kudos, Stan and Norm.
Joy
I am so jazzed! I got Inside the Jewish bakery "and " Artisan breads Everyday under the Chirstmas tree this morning. I test-baked for ABED but didn't have the time to volunteer for ITJB. I have read just the first few chapters of ITJB and have to commend both Norm and Stan for their wonderful book. I can't wait to begin to work my way through both books. I can tell by the look of my daughter and son-in-law's eyes that I had better keep a tight grip on ITJB as he grew up in a traditional Jewish family.
As for Peter's book, what can I say. It's truly an Artisan book for the masses, I hope it outsells BBA.
Hi all—
i am definitely late to the party but when I missed Stan’s Rye class in LA last year (2017) I got the kindle edition of Inside the Jewish bakery (rye bread volume). Loved the history in the book, and really wanted to make razeve broyt, inspired it’s almost purple-black color. But I think there is an error in that recipe— the second part with the boiling asks for 510 g of boiled water (calling it 80% bakers percentage) but the whole recipe only has 505 g of flour/meal. The “moderately stiff deep brown dough” is soup for me so figure that must not be right. Later in the book, the next recipe (for pumpernickel) seems to hAve the same boiling stage but it has 400g boiling water listed as 80% so that must be the right weight to use in the first recipe, but in both it’s asking for 18oz if boiling water which would be like 540g, so the oz weight is wrong in both. When are you coming back to LA, Stan? Meanwhile is there an erratum for the kindle edition that already has the correct weights?
zack
hi Zack,
Unfortunately, there are a TON of errors in ITJB; it was a first book with a penny-wise, pound-foolish publisher who refused to invest in editors who actually edited and found errors. Also, the baker's percentages protocols were still evolving, and if I were to do the book today, it would be very different. Finally, I knew far less about rye bread back then than I do now.
None of that excuses the errors, since people expect reasonable results from books they spend money on. That said, I've revisited the formula and made some significant revisions. The revised formula is as follows:
If you're really interested in rye breads, I strongly suggest you look at my latest book, The Rye Baker. Amazon is currently selling the Kindle edition for $1.99, which is a good a bargain as you'll find anywhere.
Man that is quite a bargain, I feel like I'm getting in on the ground floor of rye. But then again I guess this is the resurgence!