Baking in the American South by Anne Byrn – Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US giveaway to win one of two copies of Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories (A Definitive Guide to Southern Baking) by Anne Byrn. Please be sure to check our Calendar for the author’s scheduled events.

Have you ever picked up a cookbook and before you even crack open the cover you just know it is going to be spectacular? That was the case with this epic tome devoted to Southern baking.

Anne isn’t just the Cake Mix Doctor, she was formerly a food editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and a graduate of the La Varenne École de Cuisine in Paris. The idea for the Cake Mix Doctor books came when she took a leave of absence from the AJC to study in Paris and when she returned, she married and had three children. She states that she had been hoarding cake mixes for quick desserts. She realized that there may be others who are short on time and had the same needs. With this new book, she travels back to her roots and shares stories that are more about life and not just about the recipes.

With over 200 recipes and more than 150 photos from 14 states, this cookbook has the biscuits, cornbread, cakes, and rolls that will help you bake like a Southerner, even if you aren’t. More importantly, the book is packed with a history that is rich and vibrant. I have learned so much from the content shared here.

Anne explains that recipes can tell you volumes if you pay attention – the crops raised, languages spoken, family customs, old world flavors, and, often, religion. Did you know that where a mill was located affected the recipes handed down from that area? Or that baking and selling pound cakes directly impacted the Civil Rights Movement? These stories and recipes, developed from good times and bad, have been collected and perfected over years and are now accessible to us all. Anne’s expertise in assessing, modernizing, and developing well-written recipes makes this the definitive guide for bakers of all levels.

The book features stories and beautifully photographed recipes from pre-Civil War times to today’s Southern kitchens. It’s about the places, the people, the products and the culture of the moment that influenced what people baked. It’s about African-American women and the monumental contributions they have made to the art of Southern baking, about home cooks and how they’ve kept traditions alive wherever they settle by baking family recipes each year for holidays and celebrations, and about the pastry chefs who have thoughtfully reimagined how the South bakes.

I am thoroughly impressed by this gorgeous book and you will be too. We have linked to six online recipes that you can try now:

• Dollywood cinnamon bread
• Coconut cream pie 
• George Washington Carver’s sliced sweet potato pie 
• Atholene Peyton’s devil’s food cake 
• Blackberry jam cake
• Gottlieb’s chocolate chewies

Be sure to check out this book the next time you are browsing at the bookstore you will not be disappointed. Pick up a copy for yourself or as a gift for a special baker in your life. It is definitely a keeper.

Special thanks to the publisher for providing two copies of this title in our promotion. Entry options include answering the following question in the comments section of this blog post.

Which recipe in the index would you like to try first?

Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest before posting or your entry won’t be counted. For more information on this process, please see our step-by-step help post. Once you log in and enter your member name you will be directed to the next entry option – the blog comment. After that, there are additional options that you can complete for more entries. Be sure to check your spam filters to receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers and EYB is not responsible for the shipping of these prizes. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on November 12th, 2024.