Thomas Keller has a deep attachment and affection for French breads and patisserie, for morning baguettes and almond croissants, for fruit tarts and buttery brioche – those most elemental and satisfying of foods. This love is warmly evident on every page of Bouchon Bakery, which is full of deft twists, dazzling photographs, and perfectly written recipes. And what an astonishing collection of recipes these are.
There are, of course, baguettes, country breads, and multigrain breads, but also pretzels, breadsticks, and English muffins – each a model of perfection, the very best of its kind. And, of course, tarts and coffee cakes, éclairs and macarons. Regardless of whether it’s a casual bite (a doughnut or a muffin or scone), a child’s confection (candied corn or caramel apples or marshmallows), or a refined cake, the degree of creativity and precision is a joy.
Bouchon Bakery is at once an ode to deliciousness and perfection and a gold mine of invention. Choux paste is baked in molds for uniformity; making pastry cream now takes fewer steps; the freezer is used in innovative ways to enhance consistency and texture; professional (and now available) ingredients are introduced and employed to great effect. The secrets of laminated doughs – puff pastry and croissant – are described in elegant detail, as is the art of properly shaping and scoring bread doughs. Every recipe teaches, expanding one’s knowledge, enriching one’s experience, refining one’s technique.
Even grown-up versions of childhood favourites make an appearance: the TKOs (the bakery’s riff on Oreos), the Oh Ohs (inspired by Hostess’s Ho Hos), the new-think versions of Nutter Butters and Rice Krispies Treats.
“One of the qualities I have come to appreciate in a bakery”, Keller comments, “is the community it draws around it. Whether it’s for croissants in the morning or cookies and an afternoon coffee, a bakery has a central place in our communities”. Yes, homemade baked goods bring us together, and never more appealingly than in Bouchon Bakery, which offers a brilliant amalgam of American and French classics. Its recipes range from the very simple to the complex, all original and appealing, and all readily doable thanks to the brilliant guidance of three exceptional chefs: Thomas Keller, Sebastien Rouxel, and Matthew McDonald

Index:
- Every morning in Paris.
- Pecan sandies for my mom.
- The road to Bouchon Bakery.
- Enter Sebastien.
- From the Loire Valley to Napa Valley.
- A bread baker’s journey.
- Throw out your measuring cups.
- The eternal question.
Recipes
- Cookies.
- Scones and muffins.
- Cakes.
- Tarts.
- Pate a choux.
- Brioche and doughnuts.
- Puff pastry and croissants.
- Breads.
- Confections.
- Basics.