Nancy Silverton's Pastries from the La Brea Bakery

by Nancy Silverton

"The pastries we make are deliciously simple and rustic and never too sweet. Woven into many of them are my favorite flavors: butter, cinnamon, nuts, and fruit. They're familiar, uncomplicated, and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375501932
• ISBN13: 9780375501937
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: Villard Books
• Length: 403 Pages
• Weight: 2.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 7.7" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Flawless Recipes

I have baked my way through this fabulous cookbook for the last couple of years and have yet to come across a better cookbook for baking. Actually, I have to respectfully disagree with the reviewer who recommends Rose Levy Beranbaum's Pie & Pastry Bible over Pastries from the La Brea Bakery. Though I love Beranbaum's Cake Bible, I have found the recipes in The Pie & Pastry Bible to be fussy and rarely turn out as promised. I consider myself a fairly experienced baker, but have always been intimidated by pastry. Yet I have tried several pastries from this cookbook and all have turned out beautifully (including the Pumpkin Pie, which is indeed the best I have ever had and got rave reviews from my Thanksgiving guests). The directions are clear and easy to follow and the sections on muffins, quickbreads, and scones will keep the novice baker busy for a while until she or he gets up the courage to try the croissants and tarts. Pity not the poor bride who gets this for a wedding gift --maybe her husband will give it a try while she's at work. One word of caution --get ready to spend some money on kitchen equipment if you get addicted to Nancy Silverton's fabulous recipes. Some of them require cake rings and molds most home bakers don't have on hand. However, lest you be discouraged by that warning, I also have to say that many of the recipes require basic pans and tools.

Family favorite - Raspberry Bars

Starting with the raspberry bars and going through the book, Silverton does a great job in bringing classic American favorites to our tables. I'm an experienced baker, educated by Maida Heatter's books. In between then and now I have collected hundreds of cookbooks and Pastries From LaBrea Bakery is up there in my top 10. It's takes time and patience to learn any craft. You have to collect good equipment and have a pantry ready. But why bother making it if it's not great???

Superior pastry making

This is an amazing book. Not for the beginner. This is serious pastry making. Everything I made is incomparable! Probably because her basic doughs (puff pastry, croissant, streusel, bobka, etc.)are unbeatable. Try her classic croissants, prosciutto pie, breakfast bars, ginger scones, chocolate almond cake...everything is probably just a little better that what you had been doing until then!

A must-have for your cookbook collection

I've made numerous recipes out of this cookbook, and have had great results with most all of them. The author provides very clear and concise instructions that are easy enough for virtually anyone to follow and produce good results. Admittedly, some of the ingredients / equipment are specialty items, but the result is well worth the extra effort. The Creme Fraiche Coffee Cake, touted as the best coffee cake ever, was indeed just that; the Breakfast Bars, while somewhat time-consuming, were fabulous, and the Farmhouse Tortes, a recipe so quick and simple that I whipped it up in just minutes, were simply divine. If you enjoy baking, this is a must for your collection. BTW - King Arthur Flour (kingarthurflour.com) is a great source for some of the specialty ingredients (including unbleached pastry flour) and tools required for some of these recipes.

immensely satisfying

This book distinguishes itself by offering perfected, sophisticated recipes for rustic and gratifying sweets. Everything offered here has been thoroughly thought through-there is no haphazard combination of ingredients, instead it seeks subtle tastes and refined texture. It is an immensely valuable addition to my kitchen. I have made several items from the book since buying it (and they are many many more to go, this book doesn't skimp on the number recipes), and I would say that after years of baking, many of the recipes here are the best I've ever come across. I was introduced to Ms Silverton on the PBS series, Baking with Julia, where she made not only awesome brioche, but then used the dough for other treats, like her divine sticky buns. More recently I enjoyed seeing her in Gourmet magazine where she made French croissants seem doable. I can since attest that they are indeed-and from there I bought her new Pastries. For all its many qualities, to me to the most notable is that it brings me several yeast-risen pastries that resonate with my eastern European roots, and are immensely satisfying, to bake, share and eat.