Jenny’s Best Books of 2024

My list of best books will be more concise than those before. At Eat Your Books we feature books from around the world, so my typical list is always far longer than others. With time being at a shortage this year, I wanted to share some of the books that I personally thought were particularly outstanding this year. There are many other books I could mention here – but for purposes of brevity – I channeled Sophie and made my choices limiting myself to 21 books. Please see my baker’s gift guide for great baking titles including some lovely bread titles. Many of the books on the gift guide should be mentioned here as well.

The Elements of Baking: Making any Recipe Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Egg-free or Vegan by Katarina Cermelj, author of Baked to Perfection: Delicious Gluten-Free Recipes, with a Pinch of Science is back with another must have title. Armed with a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry, the author lays out the science behind baking and the ingredients that make it work, so you can easily adapt your baking to your diet and lifestyle, and still make sure it tastes spectacular. With an abundance of mouth-watering recipes together with quantitative modification rules that you can use to convert any recipe into whatever version you fancy, this title will transform the way you think about ingredients. It will be a constant companion in the kitchen and the book you refer to every time you want to bake.

Sift: The Elements of Great Baking by Nicola Lamb is a masterpiece of a book with 115 pages of baking knowledge from the science behind ingredients and the role they play in baking, swaps for ingredients, yeast and fermenting facts before she even gets into the recipes. Those recipes are then organized as follows: base recipes (doughs to pastry); afternoon bakes (recipes that take one afternoon or up to 4 hours); a day (recipes that take over 4 hours or have multiple steps); a weekend (recipes that need to be split over multiple days) and extras (brown butter, preserves, etc). Timelines are given for each recipe. The index of the book shares the recipes you will find here so I won’t repeat those. This is an absolute must-have for all bakers and one that will not leave my library of books. Photo shown above is of the US cover, the UK cover is yellow.

Bodega Bakes by Paola Velez is a love letter to the pastry chef and activist’s Dominican heritage and NYC roots. This book contains more than 100 recipes for tortas, cookies, brownies, frozen treats, and other baked goods that burst with the flavors of her life. I was so excited when I learned this book was being published – as I have said before, I am a glutton for baking titles that bring international flavors to my kitchen. Designed to be accessible to bakers of all levels (and those who shop at their corner store), the book also includes a “Trip to the Bodega” pantry section, along with Paola’s pro tips for success even with the most modest equipment.

Breaking Bao: 88 Bakes and Snacks from Asia and Beyond by Clarice Lam I first learned of Clarice while watching a Food Network baking show and I was inspired by her use of flavors and creativity. I was thrilled when I learned she was writing a baking cookbook. Clarice is an acclaimed pastry chef and her debut book explores an umami-rich array of baked goods, confections, and savory snacks. Here are 88 approachable recipes that are firmly rooted in classical French technique but benefit from her travels far and wide.

Martha The Cookbook: 100 Favorite Recipes with Lessons and Stories from My Kitchen by Martha Stewart is the culinary icon’s 100th book containing an intimate collection of 100 favorite recipes and the memories behind them. With this highly curated collection of recipes, Martha’s fans will be delighted to have her top recipes at hand. These recipes, accompanied by stories and photos from her personal archives, represent the most pivotal moments in her life. From timeless classics to contemporary delights, they reflect storied moments from her legendary life and trailblazing career.

Classic German Cooking: The Very Best Recipes for Traditional Favorites from Semmelknödel to Sauerbraten by Luisa Weiss is a collection of more than 100 of the best, most emblematic recipes of German and Austrian home cooks, from the author of Classic German Baking. The book features traditional and time-honored recipes that are beloved in homes across the region. Luisa gives history and context to the cooking of Germany and its influences worldwide. Sprinkled with both personal stories and historical insights, this title will leave you with a well-rounded understanding of the cuisine and its lasting influence. Luisa’s blog, The Wednesday Chef (no longer active) is indexed and the 563 recipes can be added to your Bookshelf. 

Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking: Vegan Recipes, Tips, and Techniques by Joe Yonan is the vegan bible every type of cook needs. This book shares stunning photography and is beautifully done. I am not a collector of plant-based titles – but this one is a keeper and is so much more than a “vegan cookbook”. Everyone needs options and Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking gives us 420 plant-based options so that we are prepared to cook for any guest or family member no matter what their dietary preferences are. Find out more about this book in our giveaway and review here. 

Zao Fan Breakfast of China by Michael Zee: Breakfast in China is an important affair. At dawn, the streets come alive with vendors setting up for the morning rush. Each stall will have their specialty that they make day in, day out, honing their recipe over years, and even generations. Locals are spoiled for choice, with a huge variety of spicy noodles, plump dumplings, and fluffy buns all made fresh to order right on their doorsteps. These are recipes devised for speed and convenience and are also perfect for filling lunches, nourishing dinners, and quick and tasty snacks. 

Flavorama: The Unbridled Science of Flavor and How to Get It to Work for You by Arielle Johnson is the flavor scientist. She spends most of her time helping chefs better understand what’s going on beneath the hood of flavor and help to make delicious new foods. Now, in her debut cookbook, she shares this invaluable knowledge with home cooks everywhere. Mixing equal parts fun and braininess, Arielle dives into how chemistry, sensation, and craft unite to create flavor, distilling what flavor really is (molecules!) and how to get it to work for you (spotting patterns, breaking rules) in an easy-to-digest handbook.

In the Catbird Seat: A Nashville Chef’s Journey at the Convergence of Art and Cuisine by Brian Baxter: Due to high demand for the deluxe edition, the publisher is thrilled to announce the trade edition of this title, featuring the same recipes and content in a more functional size. Part luxury cookbook, part memoir, this beautiful reissue brings readers alongside Chef Baxter’s time as the fifth Executive Chef of The Catbird Seat. From navigating the post-Covid restaurant scene, to planning the menus, to looking ahead to his time away from restaurant, the book provides just as intimate an experience as one would get sitting in one of the exclusive restaurant’s twenty-two seats.

When Southern Women Cook: History, Lore, and 300 Recipes from Every Corner of the American South by America’s Test Kitchen is a first-of-its-kind Southern cookbook featuring more than 300 ATK recipes and fascinating insights into the culinary techniques and heroes of the American South. Tour the diverse history of Southern food through the voices of 60 women and nonbinary contributors who’ve shaped the cuisine! For more information, please see our promotional post and giveaway.

Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories (A Definitive Guide to Southern Baking) by Anne Byrn features stories along with 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. Find out more about this book in our promotion/giveaway.

Modernist Bread at Home by Nathan Myhrvold and Francisco Migoya is the more user friendly edition of Modernist Bread. Learn more about this amazing work in our promotion and giveaway.

The Broadsheet Melbourne Cookbook The New Classics: Recipes from the city’s best restaurants, cafes and bars features recipes for 80 of the city’s most-ordered breakfast, lunch and dinner dishes, as selected by Broadsheet. Featured venues include Soi 38, Tedesca Osteria, Hope Street Radio, Manzé, Embla, Enter Via Laundry, France-Soir, Gimlet, Grill Americano, Nomad, Reine, Stokehouse, Florian, A1 Bakery, Pidapipó, Tarts Anon and dozens more. It is a gorgeous book!

Chin Chin – Still Hungry by Benjamin Cooper is the third installment from the eatery. This cookbook marks the culmination of 13 years of Chin Chin, fueled by their riotous spin on Southeast Asian cuisine and growing family of cult-fave restaurants. Throughout its pages, Executive Chef Benjamin Cooper invites an unmistakable taste of Chin Chin into your kitchen with recipes spanning familiar faves and new obsessions, interspersed with some of the stories that have helped shape this enduring Aussie dining icon.

Desi Bakes by Hetal Vasavada (author of Milk & Cardamom) brings decorating inspiration, and recipe adjustments for gluten-free, egg-free, and vegan treats to an audience looking to create eye-catching mithai, sweets, shared on special occasions. Explore explore traditional Indian holidays through a new lens. From cookies, to cakes, to puddings, frozen desserts, and even drinks, this stunning book brings vivid color and spice to baking. Find out more in our promotion/giveaway post.

Milk Street Bakes by Christopher Kimball will help change the way you bake with 250 recipes that make it simpler, easier, and more delicious to use your oven, from the James Beard Award-winning team at Milk Street. For 12 titles now, the Milk Street team has taken recipes, flavors, techniques and ingredients from all over the world and used them to deliver tried and tested meals to your home kitchen for every night of the week; now, for its fitting baker’s dozen title, the team brings you an ode to the art of baking, with the classic Milk Street touch. This is a true baking bible with loads of photographs to guide you along the way.

Our South: Black Food Through My Lens by Ashleigh Shanti: Long before competing on Top Chef and earning a coveted James Beard Award Rising Star Chef nomination for her cooking at Asheville, North Carolina’s Benne on Eagle, Ashleigh shelled boiled peanuts and coveted the jars of pickles in her great-aunt Hattie Mae’s larder. Post high school after spending a gap year in Nairobi and graduating from culinary school, Ashleigh entered the restaurant world, bartending, catering, teaching, and staging. She rekindled her connection to the cuisine of her roots before opening her own restaurant, Good Hot Fish, named for a phrase her ancestors would shout to draw in customers. This book is spectacular and every recipe looks wonderful from Salt-rising bread with country ham ramp butter, Vinegar bars, Stewed peanut chicken and shrimp rice and Fig and goat cheese chicken roulade. I am loving this title.

Chinese Enough: Homestyle Recipes for Noodles, Dumplings, Stir-Fries, and More by Kristina Cho, author of the amazing Mooncakes and Milk Bread , turns to the savory side of cooking with 100 recipes in her new book. There is an array of dishes to pair with rice, a chapter dedicated to the joy of noodles, with creative takes on traditional dishes, a step-by-step guide shows how to employ friends and family in the kitchen to make dumplings, and the fruit-focused dessert section acts as a lesson on finishing a meal with something sweet. Throughout, Cho’s stories of her grandmother’s Chinese garden situated in the middle of Cleveland and falling in love over dim sum are a warm tribute to the nuanced and personal ways in which anyone can discover and define their own culture.

Wafu Cooking: Everyday Recipes with Japanese Style by Sonoko Sakai redefines what Japanese cooking can be. Wafu (literally “Japanese style”) food is fusion at its best, combining flavors, ingredients, and techniques from around the globe with a distinctly Japanese personality. This title is a collection of recipes that captures the cultural exchange between Japan and the rest of the world in dishes that have come to Japan from abroad and been “wafu-ed” to suit local tastes, and in Japanese dishes that are reimagined through an American lens. A book that reflects as much the author’s own journey – a life spent in New York, Los Angeles, Mexico, and elsewhere – as it does the foods of Japan, Wafu Cooking is an utterly unique, thoroughly modern cookbook.

Crumbs: Cookies and Sweets from Around the World by Ben Mims was released yesterday by Phaidon. This book is a stunner and covers cookie recipes from around 100 countries around the globe. Each recipe begins with a fascinating origin story, followed by clear, step-by-step instructions and notes on regional variations. There are ten EYBD Recipes to try now and the preview linked below gives you an idea of how beautiful this title is. I am a fan of baking and especially international baking so this book is right up my alley. Ben has written several cookbooks and I also love his Sweet & Southern: Classic Desserts with a Twist.