Joe’s Book Club

Below is a list of Joe Pastry-recommended books. I own almost all of them, and those I don’t I covet. They’re listed in the order I suggest you acquire them. I receive all recommendations with great enthusiasm.

Core Books for the Home Pastry Enthusiast:

The Cake Bible, Rose Levy Berenbaum
The Pie and Pastry Bible, Rose Levy Berenbaum
Baking with Julia, Julia Child & Dorie Greenspan
Sweet Seasons: Fabulous Restaurant Desserts Made Simple, Richard Leach

Core Books for the Home Bread Baking Enthusiast:

The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, Peter Reinhart
Crust and Crumb, Peter Reinhart
The Bread Bible, Rose Levy Berenbaum
Chez Panisse Cooking, Paul Bertolli

Other Fine Books for the Home Baker

Baking: From my Home to Yours, Dorie Greenspan
Baking Illustrated, The Editors of Cook’s Illustrated Magazine
Breads from the LaBrea Bakery, Nancy Silverton
Pastries from te LaBrea Bakery, Nancy Silverton
In the Sweet Kitchen, Regan Daley
Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme, Dorie Greenspan
Bernard Clayton’s New Complete Book of Breads, Bernard Clayton
Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook, Martha Stewart (for food design only)

For the Pastry Professional (or devoted enthusiast):

The Professional Pastry Chef, Bo Friberg
Cakes to Dream On: A Master Class in Decorating, Colette Peters
Grand Finales: The Art of the Plated Dessert, Tish Boyle, Timothy Moriarty
Grand Finales: A Neoclassic View of Plated Desserts, Tish Boyle, Timothy Moriarty
Grand Finales: A Modernist View of Plated Desserts, Tish Boyle, Timothy Moriarty
The Advanced Professional Pastry Chef, Bo Friberg

Core Books for the Home Cook

Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child
The New Making of a Cook, Madaleine Kamman
Jaques Pepin’s Complete Techniques, Jaques Pepin

Other Fine Books for the Home Cook

Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home, Julia Child and Jacques Pepin
The Cook’s Book, Jill Norman
Cooking by Hand, Paul Bertolli
The Whole Beast, Fergus Henderson
The River Cottage Meat Book, Hugh Fearnley
Bouchon, Thomas Keller
Think Like a Chef, Tom Colicchio
Happy in the Kitchen, Michel Richard

For the Professional Cook (or devoted Enthusiast):

Le Guide Culinaire, Auguste Escoffier
The Professional Chef, Seventh Edition, Culinary Institute of America
Grand Livre de Cuisine, Alain Ducasse

Books on Food Science

BakeWise, Shirley O. Corriher
On Food and Cooking, Harold McGee
CookWise, Shirley O. Corriher
I’m Just Here for the Food, Alton Brown
I’m Just Here for More Food, Alton Brown
Molecular Gastronomy, Hervé This

Books on Food History

The Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson
Larousse Gastronomique, Prosper Montagne (Editor)
English Bread and Yeast Cookery, Elizabeth David
A Mediterranean Feast, Clifford A. Wright
Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith (Editor)
The Artful Eater, Edward Behr