ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Beginner's Baking Bible is the perfect book for first time bakers.

This is a true beginners guide with good practices for basic prep and tools to have on hand. great for college students or those new to cooking. I liked the easy to follow layout.

This was a nice primer for new bakers to figure out what they need to get started--and how to get started. There are some basic principles on how to make dough. The recipes are pretty standard, and I would have liked to see a bit more variety--maybe more ethnic or original recipes. Also, more nutritional info would be super helpful. Still, this would be a great book to accompany your quarantine baking.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a digital ARC for the purpose of an unbiased review.

Beginner's Baking Bible by Heather Perine is not just for beginners. I am a seasoned baker, but I marked recipe after recipe that I wanted to try. My first one was the raspberry jam bars which my husband gave one and a half thumbs up. He said ice cream on the side would have been the other half of a thumb. My favorite thing is that the majority of the recipes use basic ingredients. That makes it perfect for quarantine baking and when you need something that can be made with ingredients on hand. I can see myself turning to this cookbook time and time again!

This book is chock-full of scrumptious recipes that will build the repertoire of young or inexperienced bakers. Perfect for older children, young adults, and new graduates to broaden their skills!

This book looks like a terrific resource for those who would like to become better home bakers.  There are so many delicious recipes in this book but I will list just a few;  soft peanut butter cookies, pistachio cookies, pumpkin and white chocolate chip cookies, butterscotch blondies, pumpkin bars, raspberry jam bars, cranberry pear crumble pie, praline pumpkin pie, lemon meringue pie, blueberry muffins, coconut bread, snickerdoodle cupcakes, orange pound cake, buttermilk biscuits, shortcake biscuits and more. 


The book starts with a helpful introduction that covers topics including what is needed in the kitchen, along with what might be nice to have but is not essential.  This is followed by explanations of terms such as folding, creaming, kneading and more.


The recipes themselves are clearly laid out and feel quite doable.  There are photos of techniques and some photos of the baked goods.


I am not a kitchen whiz so the fact that I feel that I could make some of these baked goods is high praise.  If you are more talented, there is still a plethora of recipes for you to try.


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

This cookbook is filled with luscious recipes, from biscuits to buttercream. It's written with the premise that the user is a beginner at baking, but even expert bakers might enjoy some of the unique recipes (e.g., Glazed Orange Ricotta Cookies) scattered among the traditional ones. I was glad to see some photos in the book, but would love to see more--less "artsy" and more substance, as visuals are important to the appetite!

Anyone who has little experience in baking will definitely need to pick up a copy of Beginner's Baking Bible: 130+ Recipes and Techniques for New Bakers by Heather Perine. In fact, even those who are experienced bakers will enjoy this cookbook since the recipes are easy-to-follow and well-written.

The first chapter has excellent information on basic essential baking equipment, basic ingredients that should be in every kitchen, and a glossary of important baking terms, such as creaming, cutting in, etc. Even those who are prolific bakers will benefit from this review, and maybe get a few new ideas.

The cookbook contains dozens of recipes for baked goods – not all sweet – that most people will want to make. And most importantly, the recipes work. Actually, every recipe tried so far has turned out picture-perfect. There are some step-by-step photographs at the beginning of the cookbook to illustrate basic skills that are needed. Unfortunately there aren’t photographs of every recipe, but there are enough to make it difficult to choose which recipe to make next.

Included in the book are lots of mouthwatering cookies (small batches, but batches that can easily be doubled), cakes, brownies and bars, muffins, breads, crackers, biscuits, pies and tarts, and frostings and fillings. None of the recipes are difficult, so anyone can whip up a batch of something in a matter of minutes and be proud of the results. There are several savory cracker recipes that make for a unique baking experience, and the Orange muffins are divine. Trendy Maple Bacon cupcakes fulfill the need for sweet and savory, and the Jalapeño Cheddar biscuits were a big hit.

All told, this is an excellent baking book, not only for beginners, but as a good reference for any cook. It belongs on everyone’s cookbook shelf.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review, "Beginner's Baking Bible" by Heather Perine. As a beginner cook, I was looking for a cookbook to start my baking journey. This book was a great fit. Most of the recipes seem easy enough but some seem a little more advanced. Looking forward to trying out some recipes soon.

Beginner's Baking Bible 130+ Recipes and Techniques for New Bakers by Heather Perine walks readers through all the essential techniques they need to bake over 130 sweet and savory recipes.. For a beginner, baking might seem like magic: mix the right ingredients, add heat, and watch a transformation happen before your eyes. But you don’t have to be a sorcerer to bake a flavorful pie, decadent layer cake, or pillowy loaf of bread. Learn the tools and staple ingredients you’ll need for baking (don’t worry, it’s not as much as you think). Pick up building block skills like measuring, mixing, kneading, creaming butter and sugar, and whipping egg whites. Soon, you’ll impress your family and friends with muffins, cookies, cakes, pies, quiches, and even savory galettes.

Beginner's Baking Bible is a well organized and written cookbook. I like that the author takes the time to share what different instructions in the recipes mean, like the difference between folding, mixing, creaming, and so on. So many people make the attempt to bake, follow the recipes as best they can, and little things like mixing technique or forgetting to grease a pan ruin their good efforts. I grew up in a house where baking and canning was the norm, so I have a good foundation and have been baking on my own for years and binge watch baking shows whenever possible. However, reading these reminders and basic baking information only served to refresh my understanding- it did not feel condescending or simplistic. There were also some measurement charts and information at the end of the book that readers might find informative. I also think that the photography is well done. I think the only change I would make is moving the possible substitutions or additions to recipes closer to the ingredients list to help bakers prepare accordingly- if you are missing an ingredient some bakers might just give up on the recipe rather than reading to the end to discover that they could still make it work. I think that while this is a perfect book for those that have dabbled in baking and want some instruction to improve their skills and results. I think long time home bakers might get just as much out of a read through as new bakers. Sometimes we get moving too fast and forget some of the basics as we go about our day. As I just got some new baking tools over the holidays, I have a list of recipes from the book to try out, for instance I see some garlic dinner rolls in my near future.

Beginner's Baking Bible is a solid resource for new and long time bakers alike, while knowledgeable bakers might want to check it out from the library and newcomers might want to add it to their home library.

As a new baker, this was a fun helpful book! A great mix of things that can help anyone! I’m excited to try some new recipes and skills! This helped me get excited to be back in the kitchen!

I'm not sure what makes this a "bible" but it's a nice compilation of standard baking recipes for cookies, bars, cakes and basic breads.

There are very few photos and no nutritional information is provided.

With the exception of coconut macaroons and frosting, nothing in this book is gluten free. Likewise, no recipes are provided for vegans or folks who are on paleo, keto or low-sugar diets. (Really, you can't toss in two or three token recipes to at least bake for a child or dear friend who eats differently than you do? Trust me, this isn't really that difficult. Anyway...)

Despite this, the recipes are marked on top with whether they're nut-free, gluten-free and dairy-free. The gluten free designation is random though, as some frostings are marked gluten free and others aren't, when they all are quite definitely GF. People don't really put wheat products in most frosting. Shrug.

Most of the recipes use real foods like butter, though it's processed stuff like white flour and sugar. Instructions are fairly simple, and the author explains how to do things like cut in butter and whip egg whites. The layout is crisp and attractive, despite the lack of many photos.

This would make a nice primer for a new baker who wants the standard American baking kind of recipes.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

The book starts with kitchen tools, ingredients, and skills info. Photos provide a visual demonstration of skills required. Recipes are broken into chapters on cookies, brownies and bars, pies/galettes/tarts/quiches, quick breads and muffins, cakes and cupcakes, breads/biscuits/crackers, and frosting and glazes. The recipes included I feel cover a wide variety of popular standards in the categories, with a few special items as well. The recipes are clearly written, with indications if they apply for special dietary needs (i.e. nut free, dairy free). Steps are easy to follow, and they end with a tip for troubleshooting, ingredients, preparation, or substitutions. I wish there were photos of each recipe. The book does not include nutritional information. Overall, a very good book for beginning bakers to make a wide variety of recipes.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An outstanding book for bakers, beginning or not. It has tons of excellent recipes, with clear step-by-step instructions. I loved that each chapter included plenty of recipes, enough to keep a baker happy for years with creative ideas for substitutions and great tips.

I also really liked that savory baking was not ignored, as is the case for many baking books.

The Fannie Farmer Baking Book has long been my go-to book for baking, but I'm substituting this one as a must-have book.

This book was a good 'beginner's book, however I wish it had a bit more information behind the science of baking (that could just be me). The recipes are thankfully numbered, ingredients easy to purchase at the grocery store, and I really appreciated the 'must have' versus 'nice to have' materials. My only wishes were that there were more photos and more exciting recipes (maybe twists on 'standard' bakes). Overall a good book for a real beginner.

Perine has collected basic recipes on everything. Too few pictures. Hope that gets rectified before publishing.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

Beginner's Baking Bible is a tutorial and recipe guide for baking aimed at less experienced bakers by Heather Perine. Released 24th Dec 2019 by Callisto on their Rockridge Press imprint, it's 140 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

The introductory material and first section define the concepts used throughout the book, explaining the techniques, materials, tools, and equipment necessary for successful baking. The author presupposes no previous familiarity with the terms and writes in a supportive and encouraging manner.

The second part of the book contains the recipes and tutorials grouped thematically: cookies, brownies/bars, pies/tarts/galettes/tarts, quick breads/muffins, cakes/cupcakes, breads/biscuits/crackers, and finally frostings and glazes.

The recipes follow the same format throughout. A short description with a header containing extra info labels such as 'nut free', 'dairy free', 'gluten free', etc is followed by a sidebar which contains info about the prep method and yields. Recipe ingredients are listed in a sidebar bullet point list with measurements in US standard measures. (There is a measurement conversion table included at the back of the book, but it's a hassle not to have them included). The cooking instructions (listed in sequential order) are easy to follow and efficiently written. There is no nutrient info listed (but these are desserts, so it's not critical).

My only quibbles with the book (and it's almost universal with the newer crop of cookery and lifestyle books the last year) is that there are very few photos of finished dishes and recipe preparation. None of the recipes are extremely complex, so the omission isn't terribly crippling and there are -some- illustrations. The photos which are included are clear and appealing and are in color (see cover photo for an example).

I received both an eARC and physical copy of this beautifully presented book and I was very impressed with the heft and printing quality of the physical copy and found no errors in either format.

The lack of photos was problematic, but the breadth and appeal of the included recipes compensates to a degree.

Four and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.