Comments on: Book review: A Baker’s Odyssey by Greg Patent

By: Fearless Kitchen

Fearless Kitchen — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:10:00 +0000

Interesting – I’ve been looking to improve my baking skills (which are abyssmal), but since I’ve always been a lousy baker I haven’t really gone after baking books with the same gusto as the rest of my collection. This is going on my wish list – it sounds like exactly the sort of book I like, pictures or not, and I’ve got a ringer pastry chef to explain the hard bits.

By: Manggy

Manggy — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 03:27:00 +0000

It’s not the fanciness of the pants, Allen– it’s how well you fill it :p The trick is to make the rustic appear sublime!

I think phyllo is still much thinner, but strudel is a feat nonetheless- and I need special permission from the laundrywoman (uh… that sounds like it needs a cultural explanation) to use a whole tablecloth for making it!

By: Ginny

Ginny — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:03:00 +0000

I am very intrigued! I like a good adventure and trying something new!

By: Allen

Allen — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Manngy: Hmmm, it probably would be a good for you … but are you sure it wouldn’t be too rustic for you? You’re Mr. Fancy Pants when it comes to desserts :-)

I was amazed at how thing the strudel dough must become … it looked much thinner than phyllo.

I think the recipe only uses a cup or two of flour, but the dough is stretched by hand to the size of a dinner table ?!?! I’ll send you a copy if you’ll make the strudel as shown in the book, Mark!

By: Manggy

Manggy — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:48:00 +0000

Gasp! Then it would be a great book for me, haha :) I like being the first to blog about long-forgotten foods, which usually come from cryptic descriptions in old books. But in reality I too get frustrated when there’s no pictures and the directions are unclear (not that you said they were). Doubtful the dvd covers all 400 pages.

I’ve long planned on making strudel when I fall ass-backwards into some apples, which happens sometimes :) It takes a lot to fill a dinner-table’s worth of strudel dough!