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One of things I’m enjoying most about my new kitchen is the counter space on the island where I can work with dough. First, there’s plenty of room to knead and divide and roll dough. And, second, the smooth Silestone surface makes working with dough easier than ever. I use less flour than I did in the past because it’s so smooth. So, I was delighted to peruse all the bread recipes in the book Bien Cuit , by Zachary Golper and Peter Kaminsky, of which I received a review copy. After reading it, I wondered if I could take a hiatus from work and all other time commitments and just bake bread until I had tried everything in the book. Bien cuit, or “well done,” refers to a dark, lovely crust that’s not burnt but completely browned. It brings flavor and texture to a loaf. I became a quick fan of the book because all of the breads are made with a starter or pre-ferment. Not all of the starters are sourdough, some are made with commercial yeast, but they all involve stages of long, slow fermen...

I’m a believer in cakes for birthdays. A candle in the middle of a brownie or a set into a scoop of ice cream doesn’t work for me. I appreciate all sorts of sweets on other days or for other occasions, but on my birthday, there needs to be cake. Even if I bake it myself as I usually do. And, luckily, I had just read a review copy of Grandbaby Cakes by Jocelyn Delk Adams right before my birthday. I had several new cakes to consider making. Both the book and Jocelyn’s food blog of the same name came about from memories of her grandmother’s made-from-scratch cakes and kitchen lessons. The cakes in the book include options for every level of baker from beginner to experienced, and each one comes with a story about the recipe’s origin. There are basic layer cakes, pound cakes, sheet cakes, baby or mini-size cakes, celebration cakes, and seasonal cakes for holidays. In the Pound Cake chapter, the Apricot Nectar Cake is a recreation of a recipe from the author’s aunt and sounds delicious wit...

A book about noodle, rice, and dumpling dishes reconsidered from an entirely vegetarian perspective was something I knew I was going to like. After reading my review copy of Bowl: Vegetarian Recipes for Ramen, Pho, Bibimbap, Dumplings, and Other One-Dish Meals by Lukas Volger, I couldn’t wait to try several things. Dishes like ramen and pho have always presented a stumbling block for me both at restaurants and in cookbooks because although they often include lots of vegetables, the broth is usually red meat-based. Here, at last, is an entire book devoted to making meat-free versions. For the brothy dishes, there are recipes for vegetarian dashi, vegetarian pho broth, and vegetable stock. There’s also a recipe for vegetarian kimchi since it traditionally contains fish sauce or dried shrimp. In fact, there are recipes for every component of the dishes like pickles, flavored oils, chili-garlic sambal, and even homemade ramen noodles. The chapters are organized by type of starch. So, ther...