Recipes looked good. I meant to try a few before writing my review, but the file expired before I could do so.

Stephanie Wise captures the magic of baking for oneself and for others with Comfort Baking. The recipes are simple and easy to follow the directions. Wise includes helpful tips with every recipe and how to save the bake for later, after all you won't always eat the whole loaf of bread in a day. One of my favorite components of this cookbook are the copious pictures. Every recipe has a picture to guide the baker with how the bake could turn out and even step by step pictures when the recipe calls for a more complicated technique. This cookbook is a must for any library!

Delicious looking photos! and good looking recipes. I really enjoyed this cookbook and would recommend.

Love to bake? Stephanie Wise, popular food blogger, has included dozens of mouthwatering recipes in her cookbook, Comfort Baking: Feel-Good Food to Savor and Share. This is an excellent cookbook for those who love to make breads, cookies, desserts, and even casseroles.

Every recipe has notes, comments, or vignettes at the beginning, followed by a list of ingredients, then step-by-step instructions which make it easy to follow for both beginning and advanced cooks. The recipes call for mainstream ingredients that can be purchased at any grocery store, and most have minimal ingredients. This baking book is a bit different in that it not only has regular baked goods, but also casseroles and baked main dishes and casseroles that the whole family will love. Although most of the recipes are for “comfort food,” most of the recipes are good enough to serve company or take to a pot luck gathering.

Almost every recipe is accompanied by a beautiful, professional photograph that shows what the finished product is supposed to look like. And the recipes I’ve made so far have turned out picture-perfect. This beautiful cookbook has a huge variety of baked goods to keep everyone happy. Readers and bakers who peruse this cookbook will find that their queue of “must bake now” recipes keeps growing.

All told, this is definitely a cookbook for everyone and belongs on every cookbook shelf. It will be used often and will become a favorite.

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

After the pandemic, I've embraced the "hygge" aspects of home living--especially the comfort baking! This cookbook is the PERFECT cookbook to accompany you on your cozy baking adventures at home. From the ultimate baked mac n cheese to the huge cinnamon rolls--this cookbook stole our hearts in this house and became a go-to favorite! I recommend this book to all bakers of every level, and I love how the emphasis is on taste and comfort of the food over aesthetics.

Thank you NetGalley and Herald Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-ARC of Comfort Baking by Stephanie Wise.
Thank you for the opportunity to sample this beautifully illustrated cookbook. I look forward to checking this cookbook out from my library, so I can try out the recipes!

*Comfort Baking grows out of a time where many of us were literally baking for comfort. This cookbook has a range of baking from sweet to savory. Wise provides us with ideas for using baking not only for breakfast and brunch but also to create complete family meals. Each section has a wide range of recipe choices that are not overly fussy.

*What I tried to do was bake from different sections of this book. While some of the recipes were just OK, many of the recipes baked well and some were definitely keepers. Most interesting was the inclusion of fun ingredients (like an everything but the bagel spice use) or standard but in a way that actually works (Earl Grey tea leaves).

*This book has many standards and would be most useful for beginners or maybe intermediate bakers.

All lovely, delicious recipes. I don't always buy cookbooks, but this is definitely one that I would want to own for my own personal collection rather than having to always borrow it from the library.

I've been a baker since I was a kid, and I really enjoyed this book! Ms. Wise presents some really enjoyable recipes and the photography was great!

As a social baker, I loved this cookbook.
Containing great examples and instructions for ingredients, equipment and of course recipes, this cookbook has it all.
This cookbook allows for bakers to bake the recipes with ease from start to finish. Including both classic comfort foods and unique flavors combos, this book is great for bakers who like to play with their food.

Love this Cookbook. Amazing recipes. Perfect for your sweet tooth. Tried some recipes during the holiday and they were a hit!!!

This is a good basic cookbook. Readers will find some old favorites as well as some new recipes. I added a peach muffin recipe to my to try list. The author does discuss her faith. It is mentioned throughout but is in no way overbearing.

I have to have a copy of this book for my kitchen. I loved almost every recipe in this book. I love the variety of recipes from oatmeal, granola, muffins to my favorite Dutch baby. The photos are great as well

This was an awesome cookbook. It truly is filled with recipes and stories that fill you with comfort. I would see this as a great cookbook for at home but also a coffee table book.

It's rare to find a cookbook I so categorically, across the board, want to make every single recipe from. (Okay, except for the eggplant parmesan in this one ... :D but maybe if I put chicken in instead?!)

Stephanie Wise is a new-to-me author--and I am super stoked to start following her blog. If it's anything like this cookbook, it'll be excellent.

I especially appreciated a few references in the introduction to Bible verses and studies--a pleasant surprise! And, the overview of ingredients, baking stuffs to have at hand, and techniques were also helpful. These short-lists often vary from author to author/chef to chef, so reading a bunch can be helpful to really flesh out my own kitchen. (<innocent whistle as I head to Amazon><waits until after Christmas>) Wise also helpfully explains the whys and wherefores behind her own decisions (i.e. why she doesn't use European butter--because of the different fat content) around what to use.

I think my hardest decision is going to be what recipe to make first! They are all beautifully presented (and I'm confident mine will look just like the lovely pictures ... right? Right? Bueller? :D), and all seem to have easy-to-find and "normal people" ingredients. Hooray!

On a super rando aside, I was elated to see a recipe for Sally Lunn bread. Turns out that is actually a legit thing (who knew, haha ... not me!) and also legit was created by, or at least first recorded in, the eponymous restaurant/bakery in Bath, England! Which I have blessedly visited (and desperately want to return to, like, yesterday). So cool!

5/5 stars.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Comfort Baking is a well curated collection of tasty comforting baked goods with recipes by Stephanie Wise. Released 18th Oct 2022 by Herald Press, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats.The publisher is a well known Christian press but there is no proselytizing contained in the book (she does share part of her own faith journey in the introduction); just wholesome recipes with high quality ingredients. The author does use

The joy of feeding our friends and loved ones is tied deeply into emotion, pleasure, and contentment. This author really gets that. The book is bursting with attractively styled and presented food full of taste and that idea of comfort and connection. The introductory sections contain the author's tips for success and the most common ingredients and tools and equipment. The recipes are arranged thematically: quick breads, breakfast/brunch, cookies, cakes, pies/tarts, breads, and meals (to take to friends). She's also included a bonus chapter of extra recipes for taking to friends, visiting, bereavement, or make-ahead potluck type situations. 

Recipes are written with an introduction, prep & cook times, and yield in the header, followed by ingredients in a bullet list, with step-by-step instructions after. Ingredient measures are provided in imperial (American) units only, no metric. Flours, leavening agents, and sweeteners are also slanted toward products easily accessible in North America, which makes sense, but should be noted for bakers who live elsewhere and are used to flours/sugars/ingredients available in Europe and elsewhere. 

The photography is stunning, including many (many!) macro shots of mouth-watering cookies, cakes, and other yummies. The author's chatty and friendly style of writing is fun to read. It's a beginner accessible collection and there are lots of easy confidence building recipes included. 

Five stars. This would be a good choice for public library acquisition, gift giving, and home use.

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

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars

Girl vs Dough blogger Stephanie Wise has released her first cookbook, Comfort Baking, focusing on the fundamentals of from scratch baking. She has a nice introduction that includes common ingredients, tools and techniques. Her recipes cover a nice variety of baking favorites, including breads, cookies and bars, cakes, pies and some breakfast favorites. Each recipe has a nice photo of the dish, an introduction, ingredient list, instructions and a couple of tips on how to save the items for later. Some of the recipes are basic favorites like monster cookies, zucchini bread and monkey bread but she also has some fun spins on classic desserts like tropical cheesecake bars, apricot upside down cake and banana cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. There are no nutritional facts and lacked tips or tricks to modify recipes. Overall this is a nice cookbook that offers comforting classics.

Comfort Baking: Feel-Good Food to Savor and Share by Stephanie Wise focuses on easy-to-follow recipes that make people feel good from the inside out. For anyone who is looking for a moment in the kitchen as a time to create, worship, relax, or prepare a recipe for a friend in need, this is your guidebook. In addition to over 100 recipes that exude comfort from beginning to end, baker Stephanie Wise of Girl vs. Dough includes plenty of helpful tips along the way to make the process as simple and enjoyable as possible. Whether you’re preparing a quiche or whipping up a late-night batch of cookies, the recipes in this book are guaranteed to bring you and the people you share your creations with comfort.

Comfort Baking: Feel-Good Food to Savor and Share has some great reminders for experienced bakers, and trick and tips for newcomers, and best of all the understanding that all of us are still learning. I love the encouragement to experiment once you are comfortable with a recipe and process to see what works (or tastes) best for you. As someone that finds baking comforting and soothing, and always has, this title called out for my attention, and it had some great offerings. I had not been a follower or fan of the author, All of the information and instructions are easy to understand and follow, I liked the organization of the sections, and how each section when from the basic recipes to the harder and more complicated options. The recipes were nicely varied, with something for everyone. All of the ingredients are in empirical measuring units, so if you usually bake using weight measurements rather than cups and tablespoons you might need to do some converting and adjustments. There were some recipes familiar to me, or close to something I have tried previously, some I would like to make, and some that are just not to the taste of me or my household- but that is as it should be since everyone is different.

Comfort Baking starts out similarly to other cookbooks, with an introduction, tips and hints, ingredients and equipment, and so forth. The recipe sections are as follows, with some of the recipes I will be or have already tried:

Quick Breads and Muffins: Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

Breakfast and Brunch: Braided Raspberry and Cream Cheese Bread

Cookies and Bars: Giant Peanut Butter Cookies

Cakes of All Kinds

Pies, Tarts, Crisps, and Crumbles: Pumpkin Meringue Pie

Breads

Meals to Bring to Family and Friends: Chicken Tamale Pie

Bonus Recipes: Ultimate Mac and Cheese

Stephanie Wise is a Christian food blogger, a fact for which I was unaware when requesting to read Comfort Baking. The comments about her faith and her philosophy may be comforting to some, but did nothing for me personally. I was looking for a good baking cookbook, but this one fell a little short.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy of Comfort Baking by NetGalley and the publisher, Herald Press. The decision to read and review this cookbook was entirely my ow

I’m definitely a comfort baker so this was right up my alley. Easy to follow recipes. Delectable pictures. Definitely a need for all bakers