The Pie and Pastry Bible (Gebundene Ausgabe)

While the fillings are generally about as delicious as they come, there are a few serious errors (I was very careful about measuring and using an accurate thermometer, and the Lemon Merangue Pie still came out like Lemon soup, twice), and the techniques required to acheive these results can be VERY time consuming. If I'm going to spend this kind of time, the recipe better be accurate. In a similar vein, the recipes for sauces, ice creams, and danish produce wonderful results. But again, do not underestimate the amount of time involved in producing them.

The verdict on Rose's pie crust is more problematic. Have you ever tried kneading and pounding pie crust in a ziploc bag? Try it and watch everything stick to the inside; I don't care how cold she says it should be. It sticks and is a mess. Also, she seems to be striving for the ultimate in tenderness for her pie crusts. But using a combination of soft pastry flour, plus vinegar, plus baking soda, plus a two step blending technique (a technique which, minus the ziploc bag, can be very good) results in a crust that is, in my opinion, too tender. It loses some of the crispness that makes that makes pies, especially fruit pies, so wonderful. Also, watch out for that blending technique. If you pound a portion of the butter into the dough with a rolling pin like she says, unless you know what finished dough should look like, the butter pieces may very likely remain too large and will result in them separating out and melting during baking. Another disaster; trust me, it happened.

This is a good effort, but is only for someone who loves pies and pastry and already has a good knowledge of baking which will enable them to slightly modify certain problematic techniques and recipes.

In reviewing The Pie and Pastry Bible I made the Lemon Pucker Pie, Brownie Puddle, Great Pumpkin Pie, and the Open Faced Designer Apple Pie. Every recipe turned out and tasted wonderful. It is obvious that Rose Levy Berenbaum has tested every recipe to ensure perfect results. This book however, is for the professional or serious baker. To go through this amount of trouble to make something, you must really know and appreciate quality. This is not the sort of book you buy if you want to make something quickly as it could easily frustrate the novice baker. For example, making the apple pie involves many steps. The apples are first cut, mixed with ingredients, macerated for 30 minutes to 3 hours, and then placed in a colander to drain. The liquid is reduced and then re-added to the cut apples with cornstarch. This does result in a wonderful apple flavor, but is it worth the effort? When I weigh the extra time and effort involved, I would rather sacrifice a little taste and make it the old-fashioned easier way.  Rose Levy Beranbaum has aimed for perfection and this takes a lot of time and much effort. This is a great book for the serious baker who wants to make perfect pies and pastries and understand the science behind it. The recipes are given in both volume and weight, which I appreciate. She gives storing instructions for every recipe and pointers for success. At a list price of $35.00 it is a great textbook.

Although it's geared towards the more serious baker, it's useful for novices too, as the instructions are very detailed and she goes to great lengths to explain why she does everything she does (this is good for bakers of all abilities, because some of her techniques are nontraditional).

Many of the recipes are time consuming, but they are worth it--gorgeous to look at and delicious to taste.