"King Arthur's expert teacher-bakers share the secrets of baking bread, pie, pastry, cake, cookies, and more. The King Arthur Baking School has welcomed thousands of students through its doors. The curriculum has evolved over the years, but many of the original instructors remain, becoming experts not just at baking, but at teaching baking. Now they've brought those lessons to these pages, illustrated throughout with stunning color photography. The chapters in The Baking School Cookbook are organized to flow best through lessons and techniques, from Yeast Breads to Sourdough; Laminated Pastries to Pies & Tarts; Cookies to Cake. So much of the magic of baking is in seeing how ingredients interact, seeing how a dough changes as you knead it or a buttercream comes together. Baking is at once both incredibly precise and incredibly loose. So many variables, from kitchen temperature to the types of ingredients, affects the results. In this way, the school-and this cookbook--aim to empower students with the knowledge and confidence to make baking their own. The instructors at King Arthur focus on the "how" and "why," not just following directions. By understanding what's happening as each ingredient is combined in a certain way, bakers are better equipped to achieve success and gain comfort at each step, knowing what's happening, how to tweak, troubleshoot, customize recipes, and more. This is a special book for bakers of all levels"--