Recipes and Memories from the Golden Age of Jewish Baking
By Stanley Ginsberg and Norman Berg
Published by Camino Books
Traditional Eastern European Jewish baking, along with the culture in which it evolved, is rapidly disappearing. Small, family–run bakeries that once lay at the heart of American Jewish communities have fallen victim to the demise of old–school bakers, shifting demographics and corporate food processors. More than a collection of recipes, INSIDE THE JEWISH BAKERY chronicles the history and traditions – as well as the distinctive baked goods – of Ashkenazi Jewry in Eastern Europe and America. The authors present a cultural edible history sharing recipes and stories, with a powerful sense of life, time, memories and insights.
The recipes themselves are based on the professional formulas used by America's Jewish bakers during the “golden age of baking,” the early to mid twentieth century. Heirloom recipes are scaled and interpreted for home bakers, including classic specialties such as dense black, traditional corn and deli rye, challah, bagels, bialys, onion rolls, pletsl and salt sticks. And then there are the pastries, like Russian coffee cake, honey cake, black and whites, marble cake, mandelbroyt, marbled wonder cake, linzer cookies and more. Also included is a special chapter on Passover baking. INSIDE THE JEWISH BAKERY allows the reader a nostalgic glance inside a fast disappearing, cherished tradition. Winner of the IACP's 2012 Jane Grigson Award for "distinguished scholarship in the quality of its research and presentation."
About the Authors:
Stanley Ginsberg grew up in post WWII Brooklyn, in a close-knit Yiddish and Italian neighborhood where generations lived side by side, in the shadow of the elevated trains that rumbled above 86th Street.
Norman Berg, a Bronx native, spent over 25 years as a professional baker, and during that time was able to amass more than 1,000 recipes for breads, cakes and pastries of every imaginable variety.
Win the Book ...We thank Camino Books for sponsoring this week’s Cookbook of the Week and the FREE Giveaway! To enter, please use the email form below. Just enter the name of the cookbook in the message box and submit. So easy! Giveaway ends midnight, September 9th, 2012.
Congratulations to the Winner – Yulia Feder
Buy the Book…Inside the Jewish Bakery for your cookbook library, or as a gift!
KosherEye Cookbook Notes
After reading this book, we had a new respect for the long hours, dedication, expertise, and the hard work required in the traditional bakery of yesteryear. This is both a practical recipe book, for both the novice or experienced baker, and an important addition to a culinary home library. Please be aware that a Jewish bakery is not necessarily a kosher bakery. However all of the recipes in this book contain ingredients that are available with kosher certification – some parve, some dairy. And, some of the dairy recipes can be easily converted to parve.
Enjoy the following recipes from Inside the Jewish Bakery: Onion Kichel, Rainbow Cookies, and Aunt Lillian's Apple Cake.
For Your Information:
As you enjoy reading about these fabulous cookbooks, some featured cookbooks have recipes, or indeed chapters with recipes that have non−kosher ingredients. No worries! KosherEye and our team of knowledgeable cookbook authors, chefs and foodies will help you find, convert and substitute ingredients to create kosher recipes. To get you started, we are providing an initial, basic list of kosher substitutions. As is the case with many outstanding cookbooks, this is a worthwhile exercise, which enables the kosher cook to have access to some of the world’s greatest, classical and most contemporary recipes, created by experts in their field.