Anna Olson’s Baking Wisdom is the most recent release from best-selling cookbook author Anna Olson. Released in March 2023 by Penguin Random House Canada, Anna Olson shares tips and tricks to help readers be successful bakers.
I want to thank Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Anna Olson’s Baking Wisdom. All opinions presented here are solely mine.
Synopsis from Goodreads
Inside Baking Wisdom lies the answer to every baking question you’ve ever had (and many you haven’t yet), plus over 150 perfected recipes—both savory and sweet—for bakers of all skill levels. Get inside Anna’s baking brain, as she shares a career’s worth of experience to build a true masterclass in baking. In this incredible baking compendium, you will learn the hows and whys of baking through her flawless techniques, patient advice, and literally hundreds of photos. This is an all-encompassing guide, guaranteed to make you a better baker. With recipe
PIES & TARTS • PASTRIES • CAKES • CUSTARDS & CREAMS • CONFECTIONS • COOKIES & BARS • BREADS
Within each chapter, Anna’s triple-tested recipes are grouped together by commonly shared technique or principle, so you can see how one foundation recipe can be built upon to create many more complex creations. In every one of her perfected recipes, Anna leads the way with notes of baking wisdom directly included in each recipe’s method. And she does this all with one goal in to help you achieve the very best baking results every time.
Baking Wisdom is a must-have collection of baking recipes, techniques, and advice, and is Anna’s most comprehensive cookbook yet.
Positives
- Technical recipes with step-by-step directions in common sense language.
- Lots of photographs to go along with with the recipes.
- Great tips.
Negatives
- Several recipes contain nuts.
- Many recipes require unique ingredients and/or special tools.
My Opinions
Anna Olson is a Canadian baking treasure. She has published several cookbooks, all of which have been best sellers. Her Baking Wisdom is the culmination of her years in the kitchen and is full of several tips and tricks.
While this cookbook contains over 150 recipes, I could not test them. Why? Because quite a few contain nuts which is a no-go in my household. Those that did not contain nuts were ones I couldn’t test either. Why? Because they assumed I had counter space to make French pastries, the budget to purchase unique ingredients or tools.
On the plus side, roughly a third of the book contains Olson’s tips. She includes her preference for ingredients, temperatures, and substitutions. Also included are her preferred baking tools and how to prepare them for baking. Olson also had a glossary of baking terms, how-tos (tempering eggs and toasting nuts), and even how to fix baking blunders (seized chocolate). She also included a glimpse at the science of baking (high-altitude baking).
I wouldn’t mind having this cookbook as part of my collection for the first third of the book. But it would be a waste as I couldn’t make most of the recipes.
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That’s a shame that so many of these recipes include nuts. It really bugs me when recipes include common allergens and no notes for how to cook the recipe without them or substitute something else.
I also know what you mean about the fancy equipment needed in some recipes. For example, I was really glad when the Mexican cookbook I own didn’t say that I needed a tortilla press, but instead gave me other options for what to do if I didn’t own one. (Though I *want* a tortilla press. That’s an entirely different story.)
I love when a cookbook gives options like that. You get to try the recipe, and if you like it then you can get the tools they originally suggest.
I find many cookbooks have recipes that have ingredients I don’t have, can’t find or are too expensive. I have no allergies so that is not an issue. I’m glad there were some you could make, Pam.