The Science of Baking: Everything You Need to Know to Create Perfect Sweet and Savory Bakes, Every Time

This book opens up baking the way an anatomy text opens up the body. Diagrams show gluten structure shifting under the kneading hand. Cross-sections trace how different folds shape the lamination of a croissant. Two-page spreads pair brief text with colorful infographics, anatomical and botanical diagrams, and pairing charts, in the format readers may  recognize from Dr. Stuart Farrimond's The Science of Flavor

Matt Adlard, a self-taught baker turned pastry chef, uses that format to answer the questions home and professional bakers actually ask: what each ingredient is doing in a recipe, how temperature and oven settings change outcomes, and where the small variables that separate a good bake from a great one can be found. Sourdough starters, cake decorating, gluten-free baking, and vegan baking each get dedicated sections.

The 50-plus recipes are designed to illustrate process rather than to break new ground, though a few carry a useful twist of their own, including salt-bottom chocolate chip cookies. Among the showpieces: vanilla burnt Basque cheesecake, crème caramel, and Black Forest Swiss roll.

For bakers who have ever wanted to know why a recipe works, not just that it does.

Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.