The most comprehensive guide on the market for aspiring or professional bakers and pastry chefs and serious home bakers This complete guide to the art and science of baking and pastry from Wayne Gisslen offers straightforward, practical guidance on the fundamentals of baking. Covering everything from how ingredients interact to mixing methods for doughs to step-by-step baking advice, this is an essential resource for professionals who want to brush up on technique as well as home bakers who want to take their hobby to a higher level. The book offers a complete guide to the basics of preparing breads, pastry doughs, cakes, creams, icings, and much more. Throughout, step-by-step photographs explain key techniques while luscious illustrations of finished items offer plating and decorating suggestions. Ideal for professionals and home bakers at almost any skill level, covering everything from the fundamentals of baking to the complexities of chocolate and sugarwork Features nearly 750 recipes and variations, many including both large and small batch measurements Written by Wayne Gisslen, bestselling author of Professional Cooking, Professional Baking, Essentials of Professional Cooking, and The Chef's Art and coauthor of Professional Garde Manger, all from Wiley

Table of Contents:
Preface  8 Acknowledgments  10 Special Contributors  11 1 Introduction to Professional Baking 12 Formulas and Measurement  13 Measurements  14 Baker’s Percentages  16 Formula Yields  17 2 Fundamentals of Baking 20 Ingredients  21 Basic Baking Principles  44 3 Fundamentals of Yeast Dough and Artisan Bread 56 Lean Dough Products  57 Rich Dough Products  57 Laminated or Rolled-In Yeast Dough Products  57 Yeast Dough Production  57 Types of Dough-Making Processes  68 Controlling Fermentation  68 Bread Faults and Their Causes  71 Artisan Breads  72 4 Yeast Dough Formulas 80 Introduction to Handcrafted Breads  81 Crisp-Crusted Bread Formulas  81 Soft-Crusted Bread and Rye Bread Formulas  87 Sourdough Formulas and Specialty Breads for the Artisan Baker  92 Rich Yeast Doughs  105 Sweet Dough and Rich Dough Formulas  105 Laminated Dough Formulas  112 Fillings and Toppings  118 Makeup Techniques  124 5 Quick Breads and Fried Items 144 Quick Breads  145 Doughnuts  160 Fritters  165 Pancakes and Waffles  169 6 Syrups, Creams, Sauces, and Fruit Preparations 176 Sugar Cooking  177 Basic Creams  181 Dessert Sauces  196 Basic Fruit Preparations  202 7 Pies and Baked Fruit Desserts 210 Pie Doughs  211 Assembly and Baking  214 Fillings  218 Pie Faults and Their Causes  239 Baked Fruit Desserts  240 8 Pastries and Tarts 244 Pâte Brisée and Short Pastries  245 Puff Pastry  249 Éclair Paste  264 Strudel and Phyllo  269 Baked Meringues  276 Tarts and Tartlets  281 Special Pastries  290 9 Cake Basics 300 Mixing  301 Cake Formula Balance  310 Scaling, Panning, and Baking  311 Altitude Adjustments  314 Cake Formulas  314 Icings  336 Assembling and Icing Simple Cakes  349 Basic Decorating Techniques  353 10 Advanced and Specialty Cakes 360 Planning and Assembling Specialty Cakes  361 Procedures for Specialty Cakes  367 11 Cookies 390 Cookie Characteristics and Their Causes  391 Mixing Methods  392 Types and Makeup Methods  393 Panning, Baking, and Cooling  396 Petits Fours Secs  396 Formulas  398 12 Custards, Puddings, and Frozen Desserts 422 Custards and Puddings  423 Bavarians and Mousses  436 Soufflés  454 Churn-Frozen Desserts  456 Still-Frozen Desserts  466 13 Advanced Techniques 474 Introduction to Chocolate  475 Working with Couverture  476 Molding Chocolate  479 Chocolate Decorations  480 Chocolate Truffles and Confections  488 Marzipan  497 Pastillage  501 Nougatine  507 Boiling Syrups for Sugar Work  509 Spun Sugar and Caramel Decorations  510 Poured Sugar  514 Pulled Sugar and Blown Sugar  516 Boiled Sugar Confections  524 14 Plating and Presentation 530 Overview of Dessert Plating  531 Practical Plating Guidelines  533 Appendix 1: Metric Conversion Factors  562 Appendix 2 : Approximate Volume Equivalents of Dry Foods  563 Bibliography  564 Recipe Index  565 Subject Index  572