March 2003
Consistency and variety are paramount to the success of a small bakery
or pastry business. If the product doesn't look and taste the same every
single day and if there isn't sufficient choice of product on a daily basis,
a baking or pastry kitchen risks losing valuable business. That's just the
way it is - competition and the lure of grocery shelf substitutes make the
baking and pastry world a difficult one to live in. The key to survival? A
hoard of recipes.
It is necessary to have not only a few miscellaneous notes from various pastry gigs or culinary school, but a slew of delicious,
well-tested recipes covering everything from pumpernickel bread to banana
cream pie. There are several different ways in which to acquire such a
collection of recipes: apprentice oneself to as many great baking and pastry
chefs across the country as one can and hope that they are open to share
their knowledge and recipes, engage in copious amounts of culinary research
or fork out the $29.95 for Joseph Amendola's The Baker's Manual. Hmm.
Joseph Amendola and Nicole Rees have done their homework. The recipes
in The Baker's Manual are delicious, extremely well tested, and geared
toward small production bakery and pastry kitchens. The New York
cheesecake, to take as an example, is everything a New York cheesecake
should be - tall, dense, golden, and flavorful. The recipe is given in a
smaller quantity as well as a production quantity with ample notes on
method. Indeed, all of the recipes follow these standards.
The selection in The Baker's Manual is nothing short of brilliant -
these are the foods that people want and will buy! Lemon pound cake, bagels
and cherry pie are examples of recipes that, if produced well and
consistently, will secure a faithful clientele. After all, do people ever
really tire of the favorites? Joseph Amendole understands what will lure
customers.
Lastly, the variety is fantastic; there are over 150 recipes. Although
The Baker's Manual relies on classics, the range of recipes allows for great
variation within a kitchen's daily production. Bread, pie, cookie and bar
flavors can be frequently changed without constant repetition. Ultimately,
Joseph Amendole and Nicole Rees have created an excellent guide for bakery
and pastry chefs alike. The Baker's Manual is certainly a manual to bake
by.