Bachour Chocolate Hardcover – November 15, 2015

4 1/2 STARS --- AN ASTONISHINGLY BEAUTIFUL PUBLICATION WITH INSPIRATIONAL CREATIONS --- UNDERSTAND THIS IS A BOOK OF PASTRY RECEPIES AND ART, NOT A BOOK OF CHOCOLATES, OR INSIDER TECHNIQUE & SECRETSThis is the third book from Bachour and the focus should be understood before purchase in order to appreciate it, or realize it's not for you. Fist, it is not a book about making chocolates. For those not familiar with Antonio Bachour, he is one of the most renowned American pastry chefs. So certainly the focus of this book will be about making pastries. Also, there is intentionally not a lot of explanation of professional insider technique. This book is written with the expectation that readers have at least a very rudimentary understanding of making pastries. The forward explains it more, warning that measurements are given in grams and professional terms are used. However, with some basic knowledge and an ability to follow written instructions well, it is possible for a home gamer to make many of these recipes. Also, these are very artistic deserts and not necessarily the kind of thing people are throwing on the table for dessert at Sunday dinner. The instructions are given in simple bullet points - again, without any additional insight or techniques. It's up to the user to make it happen. Could it have been more insightful to those who want to learn professional techniques? Certainly. But there is no claim about that here and this is not designed for the absolute beginner in the kitchen. That said, new cooks still might find tremendous inspiration and insight in this book.SUMMARY OF CONTENTS:----- Forwards with a little philosophy----- Entrements----- Plated Desserts----- Verrines----- Petit Gateaux----- Tarts----- Bonbons (note: this section is very brief and does share some technique, but the recipes are only for ganache style fillings)FINAL THOUGHTS: I have provided a few examples of the pictures below, though it's hard without good equipment handy to do justice to the beauty of this book (glossy pages are hard to photograph). Though I provided more photos of the artistry, there are plenty of recipes and I have an example of the very simplistic explanations provided in the book. This is typical of the entire book and you can see plainly the focus on steps rather than special techniques. Make no mistake, this is also very much a culinary "ART" book. I think sometimes there is a feeling in the culinary book market that too many photos is a sign of a book not serious about the actual food. In this case I think the opposite is true. For me the extraordinary photos are a source of inspiration and I appreciated them greatly. Do I wish there were other aspects to this volume? Certainly. But I will not fault the book for defining its purpose and fulfilling that point. There is no false advertising, you just have to understand it. The contents in the form of recipes are actually written for students of patisserie, or enthusiasts as the editor claims. For those who have not yet entered that path, perhaps this will act as inspiration as you begin that journey.

I was very excited when I decided to buy this book but unfortunately, I had to return it. Even though it is beautiful, full of amazing recipes and nice photographs it is not for the home baker, even the advanced one. The recipes are for larger quantities of each dessert featured - for example, all cake recipes yield three cakes each - and many of the ingredients are for highly specialized bakeries. I wish the description made it clear that this is the case - I only found out when I opened the book and read the introduction.

And it sucked?Well this is NOT the case with this one. Bachour is AWESOME especially if u are in the industry or are a home baker that wants to try the "fancy" stuff.The recipes all work without having to "fix" them as some of the famous chefs' cook books required. Trust me I have bought plenty and had to rework a lot of the recipes. Not fun.Great working recipes...beautiful pics that makes me drool....get this book. U won't regret it. :)**** edited *****If u buy the book. .. contact the chef on Facebook and he will send u an update. There were some typos.... and he will send the corrections to u. Awesome!!!!!

impecable edición

I love all of his books and the way recipes are all listed on one or two pages, which makes it easy to read when there are multiple components. However, especially with the croissant directions, it doesn't adequately explain the folding process. I know how to make basic croissants, but some chefs may do a 3 or 4 fold or vary the # of turns- I was most excited to see how he does his and cannot tell from the pictures or instructions. The cookie dough recipes are on the dry side and when scooped, each one had to be flattened during the baking process. Still, it's a great resource for ideas and I always appreciate chefs sharing their knowledge! Here is a link to a video showing the process, it makea more sense after watching. https://www.instagram.com/p/BW1SkUGDFac/

From the moment you open the book you enter Chef Bachour 's world, his amazing plates are like a beautiful work of art that you can eat but you don't want to. His recipes are a good inspiration for young culinary student as well as for a seasoned pastry chef. I tried a couple of the recipes in the book and they work fine, but in some of them you need the skill that comes after several tries. The photography is breathtaking and the plating style amazing, is a most have book for aspiring pastry chefs.

Great Book !!! The book may lack dimensions lol that others have complained about not having , but overall this is a solid book with solid recipes . Every recipe I have tried has turned out great ! I have been artisan baking for 15+ years and had no issue figuring out a few things like the yeast conversion and dough dimensions . If you are an actual experienced Pro Baker you should have no problem with anything in this book . And if you’re a home baker you may need to put a little extra work in to figure things out but its worth it and you will learn from having to figure it out .

I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book and was so excited that I preordered it! The book did not fail. As a student, I'm always curious and have billions of question. Many of these were answered in this book and the techniques are explained very well and clearly. Finally I can see how Chef Bachour's magnificent work can be created! I am able to follow the instructions in the book and it's great to see the beautiful photos of what you aim to make! Thank you chef!