The ultimate baker's resource. Here is the simplest way to bake everything, from favorites like Crunchy Toffee Cookies and Baked Alaska to Gingerbread Whoopie Pies. Global baking is included: Nordic ruis, New Orleans beignets, Afghan snowshoe naan. More than 2,000 recipes satisfy every flavor craving. Variations include: a pound cake can incorporate polenta, yogurt, ricotta, citrus, hazelnuts, ginger, and more. New bakers will appreciate Bittman's opinionated advice on essential equipment and ingredient substitutions, plus extensive technique illustrations. The pros will find their creativity unleashed with guidance on how to adapt recipes to become vegan, incorporate new grains, improvise tarts, or create customized icebox cakes using a mix-and-match chart. Baking becomes simpler and more flexible than you ever imagined. Mark Bittman, a former food columnist for The New York Times, is the author of How to Cook Everything, Vegan Before 6 P.M. and How to Cook Everything Fast.