Did you know pretzels were invented to teach children how to pray? This and other fascinating historical information about pretzels, one of America's favorite snack foods!

Here's a new twist on an old favorite: pretzels warm from the oven. DIY bakers can make their own crunchy, chewy, savory, or sweet artisan pretzels with this collection of 50 recipes that imagines every way to shape, fill, and top them. Here are the traditional versions as well as novel creations such as Philly cheesesteak pretzel pockets and fried pretzel with cinnamon sugar. More substantial dishes like wild mushroom and chestnut pretzel stuffing, and pretzel bread pudding with caramel sauce elevate the humble pretzel to dinner-table fare as this tantalizing cookbook takes a cherished everyday snack to the next level of culinary creativity.

Cornelia Bilinsky, author of Patrick and the Fire, The Queen and the Cross, and The Saint who Fought the Dragon: The Story of St. George brings a new story to children ages four to seven: the story of Brother Lorenzo and how he happened upon a simple teaching tool in his monastery kitchen. This beautifully illustrated book will help pass on an important aspect of faith to children through an entertaining story that offers readers likeable and relatable characters.

Brother Giovanni is a happy man and the best baker his monastery has ever seen, but when he is tasked with preparing the children for the Bishop's visit, he has no luck until he twists some bread dough into a special shape, sprinkles it with salt, and offers it as a reward for learning prayers.

"You could cook non-stop from this book for, indeed, a year, without ever getting bored! With over 200 recipes, and with an expansive flavour palette, it is a boon for those in a cooking rut." – Nigella Lawson "this book is very timely... and there are so many wantable dishes here... Among the dishes calling me are sausage and fennel focaccia rolls; squash baked with beer, cheese, cream and pretzels; and cherry Bakewell pudding." – Diana Henry, Telegraph "What a beauty... imaginative, appealing recipes grounded in good sense... you can taste the experience, that these are lived recipes." – Rachel Roddy "the one cook book you really need this autumn is this practical work from the ever-inventive Thomson" – Independent "One of my tests of how much I am excited by a new cookbook is how many recipes I feel driven to mark with a Post-It note. With Home Cookery Year I suddenly realised I was Post-It noting nearly every page." – Bee Wilson Home Cookery Year is the new essential kitchen bible, year-round and every day. Claire Thomson writes foolproof, imaginative recipes to please the whole family – as a professional chef and mum of three, she understands what it’s like to whip up tasty, crowd-pleasing dishes in minimal time at the end of a busy working day. Wearing its seasonality lightly, with the emphasis on usefulness and practicality, Home Cookery Year offers mealtime solutions for: midweek emergencies cooking on a budget on a budget and storecupboard recipes salads and light lunches treat yourself (indulgent dishes for special occasions) celebration feasts Every recipe you will ever need is in here, for every occasion, with twists on classics, and super ideas for jaded palates for young and old alike.

When Bread was first published in 2004, it received the Julia Child Award for best First Book from the International Association of Culinary Professionals and became an instant classic. Hailed as a "masterwork of bread baking literature," Jeffrey Hamelman's Bread features over 130 detailed, step-by-step formulas for dozens of versatile rye- and wheat-based sourdough breads, numerous breads made with yeasted pre-ferments, simple straight dough loaves, and dozens of variations. In addition, an International Contributors section is included, which highlights unique specialties by esteemed bakers from five continents. In this third edition of Bread, professional bakers, home bakers, and baking students will discover a diverse collection of flavors, tastes, and textures, hundreds of drawings that vividly illustrate techniques, and evocative photographs of finished and decorative breads.

This collection of 75 recipes for savory puffs, chips, crackers, breads, nuts, veggies and meats puts a fresh, crunchy spin on homemade snacks. Are you ready to take your love of salty snacks to the next level? This collection of seventy-five recipes for veggie chips, cheese straws, toasted nuts, pita chips, herb crackers, savory cookies, and snack mixes puts a fresh, crunchy spin on homemade nibbles. So broaden your horizons beyond microwave popcorn and bagged chips to include inventive snacks like Roasted Chickpeas with Sumac, Coconut Crisps with Basil and Chiles, Salami Chips with Grainy Mustard Dip, Stilton and Walnut Pinwheels, and more. Indeed, with all the excess sodium and hidden preservatives in prepackaged foods, it’s smart as well as delicious to make your own savory bites from scratch. Nutritious offerings like Parsnip and Carrot Chips, gluten-free recipes like Cumin Lentil Crackers, and the option to customize the amount of added salt (or alternative spices and sprinklings) will appeal to snackers of every stripe. Perfect for cocktail parties, after-school snack time, or anytime you need a nosh, this collection’s easy techniques and exotic flavors are sure to delight anyone with a “salty tooth.”

The ultimate guide to gourmet cupcakes, featuring grown-up flavors (figs! whiskey! fried chicken!) and the delicious story of a family saved by a love of sweets No food coloring. No fondant. No red velvet. Upscale bakery Robicelli’s has become a buzzed-about, in-demand purveyor of decidedly adult cupcakes. Nixing cutesy, pastel-colored dollops of fluff for real ingredients and rich French buttercreams, the husband and wife team have reinvented the cupcake craze for a more sophisticated palate, making each a small piece of the greatest cake ever made. Now their extraordinary recipes are available to the home cook. Now their extraordinary recipes are available to the home cook, including: The Laurenzano (fresh fig cake topped with goat cheese buttercream, fig balsamic gastrique, and crisp prosciutto flakes) The Brooklyn Blackout Cake (chocolate cake with chocolate custard buttercream, dipped in homemade fudge and rolled in chocolate cake crumbs) This book captures not only the Robicelli’s unique take on baking but also their edgy, unapologetically hilarious take on life, including how they survived severe economic setbacks to launch the country’s hottest cupcake brand— a venture begun with thirty dollars in borrowed quarters. Offering both cupcake recipes and a recipe for life that calls for a stash of “emergency cake,” Robicelli’s: A Love Story, with Cupcakes is a baking book like you’ve never seen before.

From her cheerful Berlin kitchen, Luisa Weiss shares more than 100 rigorously researched and tested recipes, gathered from expert bakers, friends, family, and time-honored sources throughout Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. German baking has influenced baking traditions around the world for generations and is a source of great nostalgia for those of German and Central European heritage. Yet the very best recipes for Germany’s cookies, cakes, tortes, and breads, passed down through generations, have never before been collected and perfected for contemporary American home bakers. Enter Luisa Weiss, the Berlin-based creator of the adored Wednesday Chef blog and self-taught ambassador of the German baking canon. Whether you’re in the mood for the simple yet emblematic Streuselkuchen, crisp and flaky Strudel, or classic breakfast Brötchen, every recipe you’re looking for is here, along with detailed advice to ensure success plus delightful storytelling about the origins, meaning, and rituals behind the recipes. Paired with more than 100 photographs of Berlin and delectable baked goods, such as Elisenlebkuchen, Marmorierter Mohnkuchen, and Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, this book will encourage home bakers of all skill levels to delve into the charm of Germany’s rich baking tradition. Classic German Baking is an authoritative collection of recipes that provides delicious inspiration for any time of day, whether it’s for a special breakfast, a celebration with friends and family, or just a regular afternoon coffee-and-cake break, an important part of everyday German life.

From the creator of the popular blog, Occasionally Eggs, comes a beautiful debut cookbook exploring the bounty of the seasons, filled with more than 110 simple vegetarian recipes. Alexandra Daum loves nothing more than harvesting her garden throughout the year, and creating satisfying, seasonally-driven recipes. In her first cookbook, Occasionally Eggs, she shows us how simple it can be to cook healthy(ish) vegetarian meals with local fruits and vegetables, and pantry staples, like grains and legumes. Hard-to-find ingredients are kept to a minimum, with a focus on flavour combinations that make the best possible use of market finds. Largely plant-based, with the exception of occasional uses of honey and eggs, this book will inspire you to include fresh, local produce in your daily meal preparation. With over 110 delicious and nourishing recipes, Occasionally Eggs will create excitement as the seasons change. You'll explore fresh, vibrant flavours in spring and summer, with dishes like Chickpea Apricot Grain Salad, Spring Pesto Pizza, Sweet Corn and Zucchini Pakoras, and Strawberry Elderflower Ginger Beer Floats. In autumn and winter, it's a time to enjoy cozier, warmer meals, including Apple Hazelnut Waffles, Sesame Roasted Delicata Squash, Smoky Mushroom Pumpkin Chili, and Tahini Date Banana Bread. Occasionally Eggs is equal parts instruction and inspiration, with substitutions, tips, and tricks to allow for intuitive cooking based on what you have on hand. In addition to her seasonal offerings, Alexandra includes chapters on useful staples and basic fermentation, so you can try your hand at a homemade kombucha or spelt sourdough, and fill your fridge with easy-to-make oat milk or tahini dressing. This is truly a year-round recipe collection and a book you'll turn to for years to come.