Before opening Sadelle’s, a bakery in the Soho section of New York City, Melissa Weller worked as the head baker at some of the best restaurants in the country (Babbo, Per Se), and her chocolate babka and sticky buns are legendary. It’s no surprise, then, that her first book, A Good Bake: The Art and Science of Making Perfect Pastries, Cakes, Cookies, Pies, and Breads at Home (Alfred A. Knopf, 2020; $40), written with Carolynn Carreño, is an inspiration for bakers everywhere. In this comprehensive guide to the hows and whys of baking, Weller uses her scientific background as a former chemical engineer to explain a variety of techniques, fine-tuning the process with a detailed approach that allows home bakers to feel confident, whether they’re making a simple muffin or a more challenging pain au chocolat. The book includes a variety of recipe categories, including cakes (i.e., Pumpkin Layer Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream and Brown Sugar Frosting), bakery classics (Milk Chocolate and Raspberry Blondies), Pastries (Croissants and Salted Caramel Sticky Buns), and even savory offerings (Khachapuri with Cheese, Baked Egg and Nigella Seeds). With beautiful photographs throughout, this book is a must-have for any serious baker or pastry pro.
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