Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehensive Resource Guide for the Baking and Pastry Professional »

Glenn Rinsky is a Certified Executive Chef (CEC), Certified Executive Pastry Chef (CEPC), and Certified Culinary Educator (CCE). A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, he is Executive Chef-Instructor at Jefferson State Community College in Birmingham, Alabama.

Laura Halpin Rinsky is a Certified Executive Pastry Chef (CEPC) and Certified Culinary Educator (CCE). A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, she is currently designing and implementing a Hospitality and Culinary Arts Academy for Hewitt-Trussville High School in Trussville, Alabama.

The A-to-Z Guide to Pastry, Baking, and Confectionary Arts

Although there are many individual books on the subject of pastry, there has never been a single comprehensive resource . . . until now. With The Pastry Chef's Companion, baking and pastry enthusiasts and professionals alike no longer have to lose time searching for definitions, pronunciations, information, and resources.

With more than 4,800 terms and definitions from around the world plus ten appendices filled with helpful resources, The Pastry Chef's Companion combines the best features of a dictionary and an encyclopedia. In addition to the current terminology of every component of pastry, baking, and confectionary arts, this book provides important information about the origin and historical background of many of the terms. Moreover, it offers:

• Classic and contemporary flavor trends that reflect today's pastry palette and industry practices
• Coverage of the key factors in the production of quality pastry products
• Listings of specialty vendors, professional organizations, and baking and pastry Web site resources
• Troubleshooting guide to fixing common baking and pastry problems
• Illustrations of uncommon pastry products and equipment
• Phonetic pronunciations

Whether you are a culinary student, professional, or simply a pastry enthusiast, The Pastry Chef's Companion is your one-stop resource for the world of pastry, baking, and confectionary arts.

Pauline Baughman - Library Journal

Wiley's two latest baking titles, both written by professional chefs, deserve spots on the reference shelves of bakers everywhere. Professional Baking is a textbook designed to "provide students with a theoretical and practical foundation in baking" and is valuable for both professional and amateur bakers alike. It covers measurements and bake shop math, sanitation, equipment, ingredients, history, large-quantity baking, and mixing and assembling techniques. Since bakers primarily use formulas (lists and quantities of ingredients) rather than recipes, all of the material in this book is presented in the form of procedures and formulas. Procedures are outlined first; formulas that follow refer to the discussion of the procedure rather than step-by-step instructions. A glossary and index are included.

The Pastry Chef's Companion includes 4800 pastry and baking definitions, including their origins and history, along with pronunciation guides for most of the terms. Ten appendixes are included; of particular interest are "Important Temperatures Every Baker Should Know," "Weight and Volume Equivalents for Common Ingredients," and "What Went Wrong and Why." This is recommended for all larger libraries; Professional Baking is recommended for academic libraries and collections that serve culinary students.

How It All Began     v
Acknowledgments     vii
About the Authors     viii
Terminology A-Z     1-310
Baking Resources
Important Temperatures Every Pastry Chef and Baker Should Know     311
Weight and Volume Equivalents for Most Common Ingredients     315
Sugar Cooking Stages     319
Conversion Formulas and Equivalents     320
Seasonal Fruit Availability     323
The 12 Steps of Baking     325
Classic and Contemporary Flavor Combinations     331
What Went Wrong and Why     351
Specialty Vendors     363
Professional Development Resources     366
References     371