Classic German Baking by Luisa Wiess (Cookbook Review)

Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.

About the book-

A collection of 100 quintessential German recipes for sweets and breads from the creator of The Wednesday Chef blog and author of the memoir, My Berlin Kitchen, including stories from the author's experience of living and baking in Berlin. 

German baking is legendary and informs baking traditions the world over: Christmas cookies, coffee cakes, delicate tortes, soft seeded rolls, and hearty dumplings all have their origins in Germany (and Austria). In Classic German Baking, blogger and author Luisa Weiss--who was born in Berlin to an Italian mother and American father, and married into a family of bakers with roots in Saxony--has collected and mastered the recipes most essential to every good baker's repertoire. In addition to the pillars of the German baking tradition, like Christmas stollen, lebkuchen, and apple strudel, Weiss includes overlooked gems, like eisenbahner--an almond macaroon paste piped onto jam-topped shortbread--and rosinenbrötchen--the raisin-studded whole wheat buns that please a child's palate and a parent's conscience--to create the resource that bakers across the world have long wanted.

My thoughts-

When I was a small child, my mother was a single mom with two very young kids, working two jobs trying to support our little family. That often left me at my great grandmother's house which was like a second home to me. My great grandmother's mother was German and that influenced who she was and definitely how she cooked. When I think about the ancestry of my family, with all of it's many European origins, I always feel like I connect with being German much more than the many other faucets of my background. My great grandma was always in her kitchen cooking, and I was always at her feet. She didn't really use recipes, so trying to recreate her dishes is next to impossible without her here anymore to call and ask, so I was excited to see Classic German Baking. I knew this would be a book I would definitely utilize in my kitchen, especially during the holidays! German sweets make me think of Christmas, we make lebukuchen (gingerbread) for Santa every year at our house. There are great recipes for all kinds of cakes, cookies, buns, struesels, and cakes. My only worry with this book is that I am going to gain 10 pounds just looking at these recipes! I recommend this book to anyone who likes to bake, some of these recipes will seem familiar, others will be a great new delight to add to your repertoire.