I bought this book in Paris before heading home on my last trip to France. I was spending change in the airport before heading home. I sat down on the plane with the book with no expectations of anything grand. I was engrossed for the first two hours of the trip home! The stories and content are really quite good. When I got home, I began to make the recipes. I didn't expect much at first, assuming that they would be too advanced because while I am certainly no novice, neither am I a French pastry chef! Wow! The recipes worked wonderfully and looked just as fabulous from my oven as the pictures. I love to be in Paris, but being in my kitchen creating these wonderful things is the next best thing. And for all of those who think these recipes are impossible, I've got two little ones helping who are under the age of four so it CAN be done!

This is one my favorite books and even though I've been reading it for over 10 years ,I still go back to it and read it like it was just published.
It 's like every time you read it you discover new things in it !

a real jewel .

This is one my favorite books and even though I've been reading it for over 10 years ,I still go back to it and read it like it was just published.
It 's like every time you read it you discover new things in it !

a real jewel .

This might be an okay cookbook but the font is so hard to read that I don't find it worth the time when there are other cookbooks out there that are not hard to read. I hope this printer of this book reads this.

Beautiful book, enticing photos and the recipes, when they work, are excellent. This is not a book for beginning bakers, though. It requires some experience with home baking and patience because some of the quantities given are not exact and need a bit of adjusting and the essembly procedures need improvisation as well. Because many of the recipes are so involved, it takes some dexterity to reach the desired look and taste of the pastries. But when it works it is superb. I enjoyed the challenges, but buyers should beware.

Do all recipes in this book work? Yes and No. I bought this book 8 years ago, every since then I tried each of the recipes to the dot. Few worked, most didn't come out close like in the pictures. The pictures are certainly pretty. BUT, the contact info regarding the locations of the pattiseries are very helpful. I didn't waste any seconds trying all the boulangeries/pattisseries while I was in Paris. And some newcomers are popping up near the address mentioned in the book. So if you fail make breads or pastries from this book, use this book as one of your 'travel guide' books when you go to France.

Do all recipes in this book work? Yes and No. I bought this book 8 years ago, every since then I tried each of the recipes to the dot. Few worked, most didn't come out close like in the pictures. The pictures are certainly pretty. BUT, the contact info regarding the locations of the pattiseries are very helpful. I didn't waste any seconds trying all the boulangeries/pattisseries while I was in Paris. And some newcomers are popping up near the address mentioned in the book. So if you fail make breads or pastries from this book, use this book as one of your 'travel guide' books when you go to France.

Linda Dannenberg's Paris Boulangerie Patisserie is not only a book for French pastry lovers, but it is also a perfect coffee table book that your guests will love to glance at. This book is full of visually stunning pictures and mouthwatering recipes of traditional French pastries. Going through the book brought memories of the time I spent in Paris. I actually met Jean-Luc Poujauran who is mentioned in the book and got to taste many marvels of his creation (page 111).

`Paris Boulangerie Patisserie' by culinary journalist, Linda Dannenberg, subtitled `Recipe's from Thirteen Outstanding French Bakeries' has the look about it of being a book on the fast track to the budget book piles. This impression is reinforced by the fact that it is published by Gramercy Books, a division of Random House Value Publishing. This gives some explanation of some printing and editing gaffs such as the fact that the very first page of text is Page 9. Counting backwards, page 1 is the frontispiece. This is very, very odd by American publishing standards. Another odd symptom is that there is a reference to sources on page 00. Needless to say, the sources do not appear on the front cover. They start in the middle of page 155. One last observation I sense is that the recipes are printed in the very awkward three (3) columns per page. This means that it is very common to find lists of ingredients split across two or more columns. Adding to this test of our eyesight is the fact that many line items on the ingredient list are split into two lines. Topping of this museum of typographical errors is the fact that the steps in the procedures are not numbered. Everything is stated in a narrative style as if being recited in a Tony Bourdain novel.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, let me say that this book does have a lot to offer. While there are several books such as Dorrie Greenspan's `Paris Sweets' and `The Art of the Tart' and `Tarts With Tops On' by noted English culinary writer, Tamasin Day-Lewis which get the culinary content better, these books give you nothing of the travelogue or museum tour or sources catalog aspects of this attractive book. The art and history and photographs all contribute to a strong urge to find my passport and book passage on the QM2 to Paris. As someone who has been to Paris without the benefit of reading a book like this, I strongly suggest that you check out this volume before boarding your Air France Aerobus.

One of the most interesting aspects of the book is its explanation of the distinction between patissiers (pastry makers) and boulangers (bread bakers). The story is a cross between tales of inter-union differences on a Broadway stage job and the sneers heard between Optometrists and Ophthalmologists on professional qualifications. The bright side of this history is the fact that these two disciplines have largely been merged into dual function shops which happen to specialize a bit more on bread or a bit more on pastry. But, at least this book explains the two different counters of bread and pastry at my local Wegmans megamart that, I might add, makes some of the very best artisinal bread found in the Lehigh Valley. But back to the book.

Since my primary interest is in culinary content and, in all modesty, I suspect that is what my two review fans look for in my reviews, I have to say that the best culinary content in this book is in the appendix of sources. It tells me, for example that there is a mill producing artisinal flours just a stones throw down the Pennsylvania Turnpike from me in Great Valley. The value of the recipes is diminished by the organization, spread out across articles on the thirteen shops covered by the book.

I must say, at long last, that the recipes are of good quality. The level of detail is just enough to prevent a total amateur from committing a major gaff; however, it is not on the level of a first rate manual on pastry making. So, even though recipes recommend not overworking pastry dough, chilling it for 30 minutes before rolling, and rolling out carefully on a floured surface, this task can fail without a fair amount of practice. The long and the short of this point is that these are advanced recipes whose primary objective is to show off the products of these Paris shops, not to teach pastry making. My conclusion to all this is that if you are an experienced pastry maker, this book will give you lots of ideas. If you are a complete novice, read the interesting stories and start with something just a bit simpler. It is important to note that the author is reporting these recipes. There is little guarantee that the author checked the procedures by baking them herself. In contrast, Dorrie Greenspan can be trusted to have rolled out all her pastries herself as she puts electronic pen to paper. So, there are no guarantees that these recipes work as written and some expertise may be needed to fill in the blanks.

Note that while the picture on the cover is dominated by bread and the first of the two specialties in the title is bread baking, most of the recipes in the book are for pastries. A crude estimate would put it at 25% bread and 75% pastry. And, there is virtually nothing about artisinal bread baking techniques except for a reference to `sur poolish' described as a `turn of the century method of preparing dough using a starter...'. There is little mention of interest in or detail about this method for producing artisinal bread. If your love is bread, check out Peter Reinhart's `The Bread Baker's Apprentice'. If your love is Paris, buy this book before your next trip!

`Paris Boulangerie Patisserie' by culinary journalist, Linda Dannenberg, subtitled `Recipe's from Thirteen Outstanding French Bakeries' has the look about it of being a book on the fast track to the budget book piles. This impression is reinforced by the fact that it is published by Gramercy Books, a division of Random House Value Publishing. This gives some explanation of some printing and editing gaffs such as the fact that the very first page of text is Page 9. Counting backwards, page 1 is the frontispiece. This is very, very odd by American publishing standards. Another odd symptom is that there is a reference to sources on page 00. Needless to say, the sources do not appear on the front cover. They start in the middle of page 155. One last observation I sense is that the recipes are printed in the very awkward three (3) columns per page. This means that it is very common to find lists of ingredients split across two or more columns. Adding to this test of our eyesight is the fact that many line items on the ingredient list are split into two lines. Topping of this museum of typographical errors is the fact that the steps in the procedures are not numbered. Everything is stated in a narrative style as if being recited in a Tony Bourdain novel.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, let me say that this book does have a lot to offer. While there are several books such as Dorrie Greenspan's `Paris Sweets' and `The Art of the Tart' and `Tarts With Tops On' by noted English culinary writer, Tamasin Day-Lewis which get the culinary content better, these books give you nothing of the travelogue or museum tour or sources catalog aspects of this attractive book. The art and history and photographs all contribute to a strong urge to find my passport and book passage on the QM2 to Paris. As someone who has been to Paris without the benefit of reading a book like this, I strongly suggest that you check out this volume before boarding your Air France Aerobus.

One of the most interesting aspects of the book is its explanation of the distinction between patissiers (pastry makers) and boulangers (bread bakers). The story is a cross between tales of inter-union differences on a Broadway stage job and the sneers heard between Optometrists and Ophthalmologists on professional qualifications. The bright side of this history is the fact that these two disciplines have largely been merged into dual function shops which happen to specialize a bit more on bread or a bit more on pastry. But, at least this book explains the two different counters of bread and pastry at my local Wegmans megamart that, I might add, makes some of the very best artisinal bread found in the Lehigh Valley. But back to the book.

Since my primary interest is in culinary content and, in all modesty, I suspect that is what my two review fans look for in my reviews, I have to say that the best culinary content in this book is in the appendix of sources. It tells me, for example that there is a mill producing artisinal flours just a stones throw down the Pennsylvania Turnpike from me in Great Valley. The value of the recipes is diminished by the organization, spread out across articles on the thirteen shops covered by the book.

I must say, at long last, that the recipes are of good quality. The level of detail is just enough to prevent a total amateur from committing a major gaff; however, it is not on the level of a first rate manual on pastry making. So, even though recipes recommend not overworking pastry dough, chilling it for 30 minutes before rolling, and rolling out carefully on a floured surface, this task can fail without a fair amount of practice. The long and the short of this point is that these are advanced recipes whose primary objective is to show off the products of these Paris shops, not to teach pastry making. My conclusion to all this is that if you are an experienced pastry maker, this book will give you lots of ideas. If you are a complete novice, read the interesting stories and start with something just a bit simpler. It is important to note that the author is reporting these recipes. There is little guarantee that the author checked the procedures by baking them herself. In contrast, Dorrie Greenspan can be trusted to have rolled out all her pastries herself as she puts electronic pen to paper. So, there are no guarantees that these recipes work as written and some expertise may be needed to fill in the blanks.

Note that while the picture on the cover is dominated by bread and the first of the two specialties in the title is bread baking, most of the recipes in the book are for pastries. A crude estimate would put it at 25% bread and 75% pastry. And, there is virtually nothing about artisinal bread baking techniques except for a reference to `sur poolish' described as a `turn of the century method of preparing dough using a starter...'. There is little mention of interest in or detail about this method for producing artisinal bread. If your love is bread, check out Peter Reinhart's `The Bread Baker's Apprentice'. If your love is Paris, buy this book before your next trip!

Photography is gorgeous, however, do the recipes work? I've tried the "Bouchons" (chocolate corks), a simple recipe: they were worse than mediocre and looked nothing like the photo (I am an experienced baker, BTW). At least they were edible. Which recipes have the other reviewers tried and had succes with? I would like to try more of the other recipes, however, do not want to waste my time...it is interesting that several reviewers admit to having not even tried the recipes and one reviewer pans three of them!

You'll make many of these recipes your own, as I have. This is a book written with absolute awe of French patisserie, and yet the recipes are extremely well presented for American kitchens. The type is a little difficult to read, however. The book is one of the excellent examples of coffee tables books that serve also as workaday cookbooks. Paris is tops in world pastry, and this book captures its essence. One caveat: it's awfully hard to read this book without springing for an airline ticket. Be warned!

Food writer Elliot Essman's other reviews and food articles are available at www.stylegourmet.com

I have been using this book for years and have made most recipes. All have been wonderful and are authentic. It is fun to read to!

I have used this book for more than 5 years and take it with me on every trip to Paris. If you can't get success from these recipes then you might consider some other past time than baking. Get used to baking with weights and this book is perfect. Something as simple as a Madeleinne is created perfectly in weight measures but just a shot in the dark when using volume measurments. This book is not exactly for beginner bakers but if you have some experience it is fantastic

I have cooked most of the recipes in this book at least once. I have never had a failure. The pleyel is wonderful as is the pain de mie. I highly recommend this book.

I've tried 3 recipes out of this book and none turned out well. The book is nice to read and has outstanding pictures, but it's a lousy cookbook. Maybe the author neglected to test the recipes in a home setting?

I really liked this cookbook. It's full of French flavor and flair and the recipes I have tried have been delicious. But I was a little disappointed to find more bread recipes than pastry recipes. Also, the recipes are often quite difficult to make. Other than that, this is fabulous book, with GREAT photography. I would recommend this to seasoned bakers (especially those interested in bread making,) and for people wanting to put a little French into their daily life. Not for people searching for lots of pastry recipes or ideas.

Since my last trip to Paris, I've been desperately searching for a great book on french patisseries. I remember looking through the windows of Fauchons and wondering if I could create some of these beautiful and tasty confections at home. This book offers some of those guarded recipes and I'll definately try them. My greatest search has been for the mouthwatering french macaroons in all the different flavors of raspberry, chocolate, coffee and a number of different ones that I had tried there. And also some of the unique and architecturally designed pastries that not only look good but tastes soooo delicious. We just don't have those patisserie's here. The sad story is that I found only one recipe for macaroons and it was the plain almond ones, there were no recipes provided by the variety I saw in the book. This book offers plenty of pictures, but not the recipes for some of them. I was very disappointed. I was also hoping for more pictures and recipes of the desserts I saw at Fauchons. But all in all it's a nice book and it does have some good recipes.

I've tried numerous receipes from this book, and with very few exceptions, they turned out just great. I've also visited the bakeries in Paris and tried the products and mine taste just as good, if not better.

This is another of my rewiews which is a little premature at the present time because although I have had this beautiful book for quite a while, I have not yet made any of the recipes in it. As someone who did not, until recently, aspire to baking any pastries, pies or cakes, whatsoever, who has, neverthless, changed her mind in that she has decided that she wants to learn to bake just a few , I have an opinion about the possible suggestions of some of the other reviewers as to this book's requiring a degree of skill on the part of the cook, in baking. I really have no experience in baking, although some, of course, in cooking not-very- difficult, meals. However, what I did not expect of this author is some attention to what you need, as to the basic equipment that should get you started with what you want to start with (along with other books I have, ranging from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook by Marion Cunningham to The Cordon Bleu Complete Cooking Techniques, both available at this site and worth it as well) and clearly presented enough recipes, from the ingredients to the actual making of the things you want to make for me to decide to give it a go. There are two things I'd like to start with, which are not necessarily logical pastries for someone like me, with no baking experience, to begin with, but which I feel I can manage with her help. I know, I know, I should at least wait until this summer and try Marion Cunningham's deep dish apple pie (with a slice of cheddar cheese on top). However, I can't, so MY first order of business is going to be Linda Dannenberg's Croissants (yes 'plain' because I am going to stuff them with my kind of cooked filling-and no it isn't melted cheese). Despite the fact that Au Bon Pain, here in Westchester, makes delicious plain croissants, I have vowed make them myself, Linda Dannenberg's way, with my preferred stuffing. I would like to say that it is, in part, this author's presentation, as well as the other cookbooks I just referred to , that helped me to decide to try this at this point, regardless of what any naysayers might have suggested. That said, it may not be always that easy for everone interested in some of these recipes to buy all of the ingredients required where they usually shop for food. I was not able to find the cake flour she says one needs for croissants, in two local supermarkets, but this author gives, in the back of the book, a list of companies with their addresses, from which certain items can be ordered, and I was able to order it from a manufacturer in this country (who is apparently well known and does sell some more, perhaps more commonly used, kinds of flour in my local supermarkets, and I have it here. So if you think there are recipes you are interested in in this book that might call for ingredients that may not be so easy for you to obtain where you live, you should be aware that her book does provide help (and of course there's the internet). Also, although this book is full of wonderful photographs of delicious looking pastries I may try someday, it is also true that in the interest of keeping fit, including not becoming overweight at all (which I feel would be a horrible choice for me to make), I have concluded that there is only so much of the kind of food in this book that I can allow myself in a given period of time, which means that I am only going to mention one more pastry (-of which there is a truly scrumptious looking full page color photograph, for one to try to approximate as best one can). It is called Tarte au Pommes Rissolés, and is made with sautéed apples, a cream filling, and puff pastry (While it will not displace the deep dish apple pie I expect to bake later this year, it looks so appetizing that I don't see how I can NOT try to bake it soon, even if the result will be, without doubt, anything but expert. I have perused this book for some time and on that basis, as well os the above, I very much recommend it. However, as beautiful as it is for a cookbook, I really don't think it belongs on anyone's coffee table (and I may not be the only person who is just not the type to put a cookbook, or indeed any large book, on a coffee table). This book is worth it AS THE COOKBOOK THAT IT IS and belongs in the kitchen!! I am very glad that I found it at this website and have it.

This book is delectable! It's a fragrant stroll through some of the most venerable and famous Patisserie of Paris. Dannenberg has managed to obtain more than 70 recipes from the famous bakers themselves and presents them in a format well-suited for the average American cook.

The book contains over 150 wonderful photographs guaranteed to make one drool, and which bring back memories of Paris of the past, as well as visions of the Paris of today. She breaks the recipes into four sections: "L'Ancienne Tradition", "Les Specialistes", "Les Grands Classiques", and "Les Jeunes Artisans Extraordinaires." In each section she highlights several patissiers or boulangers, and the recipes which make them unique.

The only problem I had with this book is it made me want to run out and buy the ingredients I needed to make some of these delectables. From Pate aux Trois Viandes en Croute, to Mousee au Caramel at aux Poires, it's just too hard to resist! Whether you're a fan of traditional or nouveau French pastry, this book will satisfy your cravings for the taste of Paris we all long for.

This is a great book and absolutely mouth-watering! It presents pictures of several Parisian boulangeries and patisseries with quite a number of recipes for each one. And the recipes do seem do-able and many are original. There are great-looking recipes for fruit cake, chocolate (almond) macaroons, and croissants soaked in syrup and baked with almond cream. The pictures show the quaint side of Paris bakeries, too. I only wish it were more up-to-date, since it was published in 1994. Definitely buy it if you're looking for a great guide to Parisian sweets!

I returned to the States from my first trip to Paris in June, after only having been there a week. Definitely not long enough to try all of the delicious looking pastries in every boulangerie ou patisserie. I am still truly homesick for Paris--but this book is wonderful and full of delicious recipes. I can't wait to try almost everything in this book, the nice thing is that it shows pictures of every recipe, so there's no suprises as to what it should look like. I also suggest Paris Bistro by the same author.

This is without a doubt the best baking book I have and I have at least 20. I learned about from a professional pastry chef who said it is her favorite and I must agree.

This beautiful book transports the reader from the home kitchen to a Paris bakery. It's a treat to look at and the recipes, while they may be intimidating to those just starting to bake, are well worth the time and effort.

The order of the book flawlessly executes the author's approach: reveal Parisian culture through its bakeries and pastries. The establishments featured in the book are adroitly described, allowing the reader to appreciate their institutional status as well as the cultural significance of their recipes. I have thoroughly enjoyed preparing several of the recipes. Many of the recipes are more appropriate for those with a skilled touch; those with little experience in the French kitchen might better relegate this book to the coffee table, where many a guest of mine has relished in its exquisite photography and warm prose.

I have other Books by Linda Dannenberg, while they are all superb, this one is absolutely my favorite. Although the subject of French pastry making may seem daunting, this book contains many simple but delectable recipes. A must have!

Excellent book. Interesting and delicious reading :-) .

Thus far, I have made the ham, cheese, and olive loaf and a few pastries out of this book and they came out fabulously. I absolutely love this book and highly recommend it to home cooks. The reciepes are manageable and the ingredients are easy to find, or options are suggested. Don't be scared byt he fact that these are French chefs.

Clafoutis aux Cerises? Tartes aux Abricots? How about a savory Quiche aux Courgettes et Tomates? A tempting Pain Brioche? They're all here and many more winning recipes. Waken your lover with the tempting aroma of fresh, buttery croissants, fresh from your oven. Receive accolades for your platter of Amuse-Bouches. Ooo la la! Dannenberg and Bouchet team up for another picture-perfect book of recipes she gathered from great French bakers. Can you live another day without it? I had to add it to my shelf!

Having just returned from a years stay in Europe where I had the opportunity to visit Paris many time, I found this book a visual delight, as well as a treasure of hard to get recipes.

It brought back many memories of strolling along the streets of Paris feasting with my eyes, as well as tasting some of the fantastic creations of the bakers of Paris.

Armchair travel for the novice cook, a baking challenge for the experienced