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| The Pie and Pastry Bible | 
 enlarge | Author: Rose Levy Beranbaum
Brand: scribner
Category: Book
List Price: $50.00
Buy Used: $15.49
You Save: $34.51 (69%)
New (39) Used (43) Collectible (2) from $15.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  76 reviews
Sales Rank: 12029
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 704
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.8
Dimensions (in): 10.1 x 7.1 x 1.4
MPN: 54500
ISBN: 0684813483
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.865
EAN: 9780684813486
ASIN: 0684813483
Publication Date: November 11, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Visible shelf wear -- may have some notes/markings on pages
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| Customer Reviews:
 Perfect ! January 30, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Mme Rose's book is one of the best cooking books around! All is complete: the details are absolutely incredible and all the tips are real and effective. Plus the section "understanding" gives an extra level of comprehension on what you're doing. No wonder why she spent all these years experimenting and trying all the possible ingredient combinations.
If you want to climb up to excellency in pie and pastry standards, it's the guide you need.
Not only HOW, but also WHY December 30, 2006
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
I'm new to pastries and have been using this book for about 6 months. It's like having a graduate course in baking and I feel it's the book to buy if you're only going to buy one. And if you're going to buy more than one, it's still the book to buy. I've noticed that some of the reviewers complain that there's too much information. Difficult for me to understand how there can be too much information if your goal is how to make great pastries. The book is complete. You don't need anything else.
 Pumpkin Pie warning November 24, 2006
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
I made the pumpkin pie recipe just by following the directions to the letter and--what a disaster. It said to bake the pie on the floor of my oven. This caused the pie to get done way too quickly, the crust started to brown too much before the custard was done, and the butter from the crust oozed onto the oven floor. The pie was overdone and the bottom crust burned black. I had bought The Cake Bible and Christmas Cookies and loved using both books with fine results, but this recipe was a mess. Just can't understand what happened. I've had a lot of baking experience (45 years or so), and I don't usually fail. Probably the other recipes are great from other readers' comments, but be careful with this one.
Another Bernbaum masterpiece March 21, 2006
1 out of 9 found this review helpful
Great recipes, easy to follow. If you like the Cake Bible this is a perfect companion.
What I've Been Looking For November 21, 2005
20 out of 20 found this review helpful
Now this is what folks mean when they talk about a definitive book. I will never have to purchase another pie and pastry how-to. This book covers it all with a depth that satisfies all questions. If you love Alton Brown and judiciously read all of the Cooks Illustrated background testing info, this book is for you. I am so happy with this book that I am not just looking up specific recipes, I am literally reading it as if it were a novel. (I am a curious cook.)
For the novice pie and pastry baker, you may think this will be too overwhelming for you. I think this is written in such a way that you will "get it" and thus start out making things correctly. For the experienced, this book is a problem solver and is the road to perfection.
This book contains more than 300 recipes. There are more than 15 recipes for pie crusts plus variations. With that said, obviously not every pie under the sun is here, but there is enough information for you to make improvements on any recipe that is not covered.
This book is so close to perfect, I gave it five stars. However, I do have some criticisms. First, this book needs to better catalog the recipes. The table of contents lists simply the chapters, such as fruit pies, tarts, custard pies etc. The chapters delve into the subject without listing the recipes. I would prefer that each chapter had a mini table of contents that listed individual recipes.
My second criticism is the altering of classic recipes to suit her personal tastes. I realize this is completely subjective, but if she were a Southerner, I wouldn't have to continue to hunt for recipes for chess pie and coconut custard pie. This is the same criticism I had of the Cook's Illustrated baking volume too. However, we're talking about two or three recipes in each book that I don't agree with, so the books were still worth the purchase.
Speaking of Cook's Illustrated, if I had to choose between this book and Baking Illustrated, I would go with this book. If both are an option for you, get both. Cook's does a good job of balancing flavor with speed. The bible series seems to be all about flavor with little regard to speed.
My last criticism is a minor one and I realize it is as subjective as the author's taste when writing the recipes; I find the language and recipe structure awkward at times. I think the Williams-Sononma Collection, while not the most exhaustive collection of recipes, is the best example of recipe writing.
I wanted to make pie crust from scratch for Thanksgiving, so I paid rush shipping charges to get this book here and it is worth the expense. I made a test basic flaky pie crust and it came out perfectly.
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