Baking skill is made and not born. It takes no special gift, no magic touch, to work wonders with a mixing bowl...(From the Introduction)

{HISTORY}

Baking in the 1930s was an interesting endeavor. Many women who came of age in this time period grew up being taught how to cook by mothers or grandmothers who learned how to bake with an old-fashioned sensibility. Victorian and Edwardian recipes were famous for using scants of this and likenesses of that when it came to processes and measurements...add butter the size of an egg, whip until stiff, bake until hot to the touch. But by the 1930s, women wanted more precise techniques so that their cooking experiences would turn out to be successful each time, instead of a loosey-goosey act of possibility when it came to unstructured processes.

General Foods Corporation answered their call with this book - All About Home Baking. First published in 1933, General Foods was on its way to becoming a big-time player in the food industry at this point in history. At the forefront of the cereal movement, the frozen food movement, and the helpful housewife movement, General Foods was established to make cooking easier, more efficient, and more accessible for American households across the country.

By recommending products like Swan's Down Cake Flour and Calumet Baking Powder (both businesses under the General Foods brand) within their cookbook, General Foods was able to accurately reproduce the same baked goods over and over again in their test kitchen, thus creating baking recipes that were universally fool-proof when it came to finished results. They then bundled these recipes and techniques in a baking primer that promised to teach all women and young ladies how to make reliable baked goods every time. With step-by-step instructions, detailed photographs, and precise instruction this cookbook became an instant baking bible for home cooks everywhere.   

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

- Contains 139 pages of recipes plus 23 easy baking foundation recipes for simple cakes, frostings, and breads 

- Contains 25 pages of menu suggestions with recipes for a variety of entertaining options including tea parties, bridge luncheons, children's parties, etc.

- Extensive information on the practicalities and particulars of prepared baking including equipment, oven temperatures, weights, and measures, etc.

- Illustrated throughout with both color and black and white photographs

- Handwritten pencil notes in the margins of some recipes provided by a previous owner.

{CONDITION}

In marvelous vintage condition. This was a very (VERY!) well-cared for cookbook, as it looks to be in practically brand new condition. Handwritten pencil notations in reference to some recipes appear sporadically throughout the book giving it wonderful authentic charm and character. Tight spine. All pages intact and very clean.

{SIZE}

Measures 5.5" inches (width) x 9" inches (length) x .50" inches (depth) 

 {WHY IT IS ESPECIALLY WONDERFUL}

Classic desserts! If you can master a coconut layer cake or a stack of waffles or a Boston Creme Pie then you have earned the ability to call yourself a successful baker. The recipes listed here are universal favorites - loved by millions of people for almost one hundred years. You can't go wrong with recipes like that!