Rather than cover expansive ground, Shannon Sarna takes 7 core Jewish baked breads/sweets and then gives us a number of variations, some obvious, others quite innovative. The baked goods are challah, babka, bagels, rugelach, hamantaschen, pita and matzah. Yes, matzah. Home baked matzah tastes so much better than the cardboard-like mass produced matzah you normally buy in the store. The variations for babka, for example, start with the common chocolate and cinnamon, but then vere off into S'mores, peanut butter and jelly, guava and cheese, and even birthday cake. You get quite diverse alternatives for each chapter.
That would have been enough, but Jewish baked goods are as much about shape as flavor. Sarna gives us instructive photographs for forming the dough. There are 6 different ways to shape challah from the basic 3 strand through the stuffed turban. And of course, there are beautiful photos of the finished products.
This is a fantastic cookbook for the home baker. The one weakness is that the measurements, especially for the flour, are in cups, not by weight. Because flour can vary, it is more accurate to measure by weight.
Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with fast, free delivery
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Frequently bought together
$21.62
Get it as soon as Friday, May 17
In Stock
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Similar items that may ship from close to you
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Reviews with images
Great cookbook for Jewish baking
Photo is of a first attempting making cinnamon babka (went rogue and added chopped walnuts). The book is very good. If you exclusively bake like an instrumental chemist and only want to measure in milligrams or microliters this isn’t the book for you - it mostly deals with measurement by cups/teaspoons... but that’s because a lot of these recipes are forgiving of small variation! You won’t find a recipe that requires a thermometer to measure the temperature of water you add, for example. It’ll simply say “1/2 cup lukewarm water.” There are good descriptions of what the dough should feel like as you are making something, which I think is more important for these types of recipes. The core food types covered in this book are challah, babka, bagels, rugelach, hamantaschen, pita, and matzah, but there are a lot of interesting variations on the basic recipes (s’mores babka? Rye crust hamantaschen? Banana bread chocolate chip challah!?).
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2018
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2024
Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2019
Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2023
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2018
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2017
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2024
Top reviews from other countries
ViJa
Must have for everyone who loves baking!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 7, 2019Ricardo Beck
Interessantes Kochbuch mit nur kleinen Mängeln
Reviewed in Germany on April 1, 2018