Category Archives: Art & Soul of Baking (The)

By Cindy Mushet

Chocolate Cream Scones

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Currently baking from The Art & Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet.

I’ve been searching for the perfect scone for several years, now. When I get a new baking cookbook, it’s one of the first recipes that I scrutinize. I’ve found some fairly good ones and some pretty bad ones. But the one thing they all have in common, when I make them, is that they turn out ugly. I have yet to make a scone that rises up, instead of out. The flavor may be fine, but the misshapen blob sitting in front of me just makes me sad. Continue reading →

Herbed Fougasse

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Currently baking from The Art & Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet.

Okay, I had problems with this recipe right off the bat. The first step is to make a biga, which is a pre-ferment that should have the consistency of bread dough. Mushet’s instructions are to mix the biga, turn it out onto the counter and knead until smooth and elastic. My biga looked more like paste. I double and triple checked the amount of flour versus water, but with 4 ounces of water to 4.5 ounces of flour, it’s going to be somewhat runny. I settled for whisking vigorously. Continue reading →

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Marble Brownies

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The first book I’ll be baking from is The Art & Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet. It’s a hefty volume (my favorite kind) with lots of pictures. I had some reservations about it as it is part of a cookbook series by Sur La Table. I was afraid the book would turn out to be a very expensive advertisement for their stores, but I was wrong. The book covers a wide variety of baked goods, including a pretty good section on yeasted breads. There are also some savory recipes scattered throughout. In thumbing through the book, I quickly realized that I wanted to try just about every recipe in there. Another good omen is the fact that Mushet includes weights of ingredients as well as volumes. Oh yeah, baby! The first recipe that caught my eye was the peanut butter and chocolate marbled brownies.

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