A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking

by Marcy Goldman

Book Overview

The updated edition of a kitchen classic, now with 30 new recipes for favorite savory holiday dishes Keep age-old holiday traditions alive and start delicious new ones with A Treasury of Jewish... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0767918487
• ISBN13: 9780767918480
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: Broadway Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

A must for bakers Jewish or not

This book contains great recipes for all Jewish Holidays. I have actually tried 90% of them in this book. Ms. Goldman's recipes will not let you down and are eryacurate If you make one and follow the instructions precisely you will have good results every time !!

Incredibly wonderful!

This book is truly awesome ... tried-and-true specialties, each written very clearly to guarantee success, and each preceded by a brief description telling why it is so wonderful. The first recipe I tried was the Caramel Matzoh Crunch, which has now become a staple. I'm not Jewish; these wonderful recipes should appeal to anyone with taste buds. The only caveat is that the author apparently revised her Honey Cake after the book was published -- and even I, who previously despised honey cake, love Marcy Goldman's. (The revised version was published in the newspaper, and that's the one I tried.) Don't miss this book; it is absolutely wonderful.

So good, I've purchased several for gifts!

After several months of using this cookbook over and over and over, I decided to buy it for friends. It is extremely user-friendly, because many of the recipes use basic ingredients and are uncomplicated to make. The directions are well-written, and the final product turns out exactly as I visualize from the recipe, even when baking unfamiliar treats.I keep reaching for it, because there are so many wonderful cakes, that I can always find something different or unusual, without worrying because I've never tried the recipe before. Variations are often included, as well as cooking times for different pan types and sizes.It's one of those cookbooks where you can flip through it and consistently find something appropriate, without requiring a trip to the store for some odd ingredient. The honey cake is fantastic, but the double fudge cake on pg. 110 "wows" everybody every time. Bring that one to your next family get-together (I use a bundt pan and skip the glaze, or drizzle on a quick confectioner's sugar glaze after it's cooled), and they will think you stopped at a bakery (I'm not kidding).The only minor issue, is that on recipes where a range of flour is given (e.g. soufganiot), I sometimes need to add even more flour. This was the same with another (hamantaschen), where it was obvious that the dough was too sticky to shape. So while some experience is helpful, common sense can tell you if more flour is needed. This has never been an issue with any of the cake recipes, only those which are naturally more flexible on the ingredients. Good Shabbos!

Wonderful recipes

I checked this book out from the library several times before buying it. The Passover Chocolate Torte was a raving success at our family's seder. The honey cake is to die for. And the pareve cocoa cake is delicious! I've served all of these to non-Jewish friends, and they've loved them all. None of these recipes taste like they've been "kosherized". They're wonderful to start with!

The best baking cookbook I have ever seen.!!

I love this book. Easy simple recipes that have superior taste. I have made banana cake,sticky buns,favorite apple cake and others. All came out great

If you only buy one book on baking, this should be it!

I was aware that this volume was coming. In fact, I've known about it for almost a year, and based on Ms. Goldman's other recipes which I'd tried from her website, Baker Boulanger, I have looked forward to it. From the cover design, which screams for you to pick it up, right down to the Source Guide (where to buy equipment, tools and ingredients) included at the end, this book is a winner. What makes A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking so special? Recipes alone are important, but when you read the introduction, you not only learn what distinguishes Jewish baking from all others, why the author set out to put this collection together, and an extensive section on kashruth and the ingredients that play a part. Many authors grind out cookbooks at amazing speed, making it likely that something will be lost, and that "something" is usually the way a dish is fine-tuned to spectacular perfection. The recipes in this cookbook were created, tweaked and honed; they were tasted and refined; then they were taste-tested by others; and finally, they were kitchen-tested by a host of volunteers. Their names occupy four pages. Quality shows. The book is organized by Jewish holiday: Shabbat, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur (as in breaking fast), Sukkot, Chanukah, Purim, Passover and Shavuot. In addition, there is a sizeable chapter on all manner of bread baking, with lots of important and often innovative information about equipment and techniques, plus lots of recipes. One of the things I especially appreciated was the way Ms. Goldman presented challot. For sure, most of us are aware that we bake one kind of challah for Shabbat, another for Rosh Hashanah, etc. While challah is a centerpiece of Jewish cuisine, we have variations for different occasions. Sometimes it's sweeter, such as for Rosh Hashanah, where we celebrate by presenting foods that will usher in the sweetness of the new year. Our Rosh Hashanah challah also takes on a different physical appearance, being wound into a turban shape to symbolize the continuity of life. Rather than lump all the challot into one place, the author introduces the basics of making challah in the first chapter, and intersperses special holiday recipes in the chapters which follow. I consider myself a fair bread baker, but I was intrigued by the section on breads. While I expected to read material already familiar to me, I was mesmerized by new methods and techniques, and I found myself becoming anxious to get to the kitchen to try them out. A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking is packed with information, some about the individual recipes and some which tie Jewish foods to religion and culture. Many recipes are accompanied by variations which often appear to create something completely different, all by changing one or two ingredients. The only (and I do mean only) thing I found disappointing about this book was the lack of color photos. Perhaps when this winner goes to a second