Classic German Baking: The Very Best Recipes for Traditional Favorites
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.
Author
LUISA WEISS is a Berlin-born, American-Italian food writer who grew up eating warm Streuselschnecken on her way to school and believes dark winter days are best enjoyed whilst sharing Lebkuchen and Zimtsterne with family and friends. Luisa is the creator of the blog The Wednesday Chef and author of the lauded memoir, My Berlin Kitchen. Her work has been featured on Design*Sponge and National Public Radio and in Food&Wine, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, and Harper’s Bazaar Germany, among many others. She lives in Berlin with her husband and son.
Review
“If you’re fascinated by German baking, by the recipes for kuchen, cakes, tortes, cookies, and yeasted sweets passed down through generations, then you’ll be as joyful as I am that Luisa Weiss has given us this beautifully written and photographed book. Here, at last, is our portal to learning more about the long tradition of German baking, which has influenced bakers around the world, and to recreating such wonders at home. Classic German Baking is a sweet adventure.”
— Dorie Greenspan, author of Dorie’s Cookies and the New York Times best-selling Baking Chez Moi
“I’ve waited a long time for another book by Luisa Weiss. In demystifying German baking she has done all cooks a great service. An inspiring and delicious labour of love.”
— Diana Henry, The Daily Telegraph
"Even if you don’t have the stamina for homemade apple strudel or Black Forest cake, this Berlin-born food blogger will win you over with her sandy almond sugar cookies."
— The New York Times
“Luisa Weiss takes classic German recipes and transforms them into extraordinarily modern takes. This is a book that even a novice can be inspired by.”
— Mindy Segal, author of Cookie Love
“I value few things more than classic recipes that honor tradition, are presented with heart, and are so well tested that you know you can trust them. This impressive volume by the wonderful Luisa Weiss is filled with these sorts of recipes. I can almost taste the apricot jam and smell the almond paste just by reading Classic German Baking.”
— Julia Turshen, author of Small Victories
“From stunning layered cakes to fruit-forward tarts and spiced holiday cookies, Luisa Weiss opens up the world of German baking to bakers around the world. My dream is to be in her kitchen, stretching strudel, twisting pretzels and layering chocolate tortes alongside her. Classic German Baking takes me right there.”
— David Lebovitz, author of My Paris Kitchen
"This overdue guide is a happy marriage of European craft and American sensibilities."
—Bonnie S. Benwick, The Washington Post
"As an expat American, Weiss has a sense of discovery that permeates her book, giving a sense of wonder and appreciation to the sometimes complicated recipes. It’s just the right sensibility, and it makes for a cookbook that’s not only useful and instructive but charming."
— Amy Scattergood, The Los Angeles Times
"Berlin-born food writer Weiss (My Berlin Kitchen) collects masterpieces of time-tested recipes to create this traditional classic that, like her lebkuchen (old-fashioned German gingerbread), is bound to stand the test of time and taste. [...] Collected from various places and people—whether it’s a cookbook or from her German assistant—this cookbook presents a beautiful piece of German tradition."
— Publishers Weekly
"In Classic German Baking, author and former cookbook editor Luisa Weiss surpassed those expectations with an engaging, precise, and pitch-perfect collection of more than 100 recipes that deserve to be better known in the U.S."
— Lisa Rojany, NY Journal of Books