I would like to get very good at baking. I am not very good at it. I remember in Heat, [author Bill Buford] said that he realized that there are two kinds of people in the world: cooks and bakers. I am definitely a cook. I have to really follow recipes with baking—it’s like a science. I am good with pizza dough, and I can follow a recipe, but I am not very free with the pastries.
I always feel like I’m letting people down when I admit that no, I didn’t make the pie crust, and in fact, if I did, it’d be a brick. You see, I’m a cook, not a baker. My dad is both — as adept with braised meat and hearty stew as he is with pie crust and delicate apple strudel — so he gives me hope that it’s in my genes….
xx Nora
PS: I know I’ve posted a few things about baking today, but those were drop cookies and cakes. Anyone can do the former and a good recipe is all it takes to do the latter.
