Imagine the chance to take a baking class or two in your own kitchen given by a master pastry chef. She would demonstrate to you her baking secrets, techniques and the importance of using the best ingredients available.
"She" is Marcy Goldman of Montreal, who has earned the title "maverick baker" for her over-the-top, decadent, grand and gooey baked goods. And she gives her sweet and savoury treats wonderful names, such as Hot Buttered Popcorn Bread, Cheesecake Truffle Bombs and Red River Valley Bread.
These and 217 more recipes for bread, biscotti, pies, cakes, muffins, pizzas, buns and other goodies encourage readers to don an apron and spend a few hours in the kitchen with Goldman's latest book, "A Passion For Baking" (Oxmoor House).
"I just saw that there were amazing techniques that I follow that can be distilled down to people in a simple way and marry it to the trends of the day," says the mother of three sons, all of whom have grown up on her baking - "not an Oreo in sight," she says with a giggle.
Goldman believes that as people cotton on to the fact they are missing traditional good taste and quality in baked goods, they "want better stuff and they are more likely to value a good recipe with homestyle taste and goodness."
She is extremely saddened by the poor quality that passes as baked goods these days.
"It's so hard to get something that tastes wonderful and home baked," she says, "and that's because there are fewer and fewer family and private bakeries in this country."
Here is one of Goldman's signature cookies from the book. She explains, "Health-food stores always have neat (but expensive) big cookies just near the cash register to tempt you. I found the 'skinny cookie' in such a place and bought it.
"One bite and I couldn't believe such flavour and chewy goodness was 'skinny.' Here is my version. It has no butter, no eggs, very little flour (and it is spelt, to boot), and tons of oats. It is about the best thing you will ever indulge in."
The Skinny-Jeans Cookie
325 ml (1 1/3 cups) firmly packed brown sugar
125 ml ( 1/2 cup) water or orange juice
7 ml (1 1/2 tsp) pure vanilla extract
125 ml ( 1/2 cup) canola oil
175 ml (3/4 cup) spelt flour
30 ml (2 tbsp) cornstarch
750 ml (3 cups) rolled oats
3 ml (3/4 tsp) baking soda
2 ml ( 1/2 tsp) salt
1 ml ( 1/4 tsp) ground allspice
2 ml ( 1/2 tsp) ground cinnamon
250 ml (1 cup) raisins, plumped and dried
250 ml (1 cup) bran flakes cereal
Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F). Stack 2 baking sheets together and line top sheet with parchment paper.
In a mixer bowl (or by hand), blend brown sugar, water, vanilla and oil. Fold in spelt flour, cornstarch, oats, baking soda, salt, allspice and cinnamon. Fold in raisins and cereal. You will have a thick, gloppy batter.
Deposit heaping 75 ml (1/3 cup) mounds of batter 5 cm (2 inches) apart on prepared baking sheets, pressing down slightly with wet hands.
Bake until nicely browned and dry or set to the touch, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets for 15 minutes before removing. The longer you bake these, the crisper they'll be. They will further crisp as they cool. These are big, chewy cookies.
Makes 10 to 15 cookies.
Note: To plump raisins, cover the fruit with very hot water and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes; then drain and pat dry with paper towels before using in recipe.
Goldman's website is BetterBaking.com.
