About
The Modern Baker Challenge is a group dedicated to one wild and crazy goal: to bake every recipe in Nick Malgieri’s The Modern Baker. That’s over 150 recipes!
Check in here for blog posts about our baking adventure.
And click here to join the Google group.
The book is divided into 8 sections. We will spend 3 months on each section, beginning April, 2010, with Quick Breads. As we get into the later sections, which have more recipes, we may adjust the time allocation.
As we get close to starting a particular section, I will list the recipes in that section. I will not post the recipes, and ask that out of respect for the author and publisher, no one else post them either.
Here are the sections in the order we will be baking them:
- Quick Breads (April – June, 2010)
- Breads (July – September, 2010)
- Yeast-Risen Specialties, Sweet & Savory (October – December, 2010)
- Savory Tarts & Pies (January – March, 2011)
- Sweet Tarts & Pies (April – July, 2011)
- Puff Pastries (August – November, 2011)
- Cookies, Bars, & Biscotti (December, 2011- May, 2012)
- Cakes (June – December, 2012)
Quick Breads (April – June, 2010)
- Fennel Fig & Almond Bread
- Chocolate Spice Bread
- Whole Wheat Currant Bread
- Date Walnut Bread
- Whole Grain Apple Raisin Bread
- Spicy Jalepeno Cornbread
- Pecorino & Pepper Biscuits
- Real Welsh Scones
- Ginger Scones with Almond Topping
- Butterscotch Scones
- Triple Chocolate Scones
- Blueberry Crumb Muffins
- Irish Soda Bread Muffins
- Cocoa Banana Muffins
- Sweet Rusks for Dunking
Breads (July – September, 2010)
- Armenian “Barbary” Bread
- Turkish Flatbread
- Pita Bread
- Fougasse: Pierced French Flatbread
- Crisp Cornmeal Flatbread
- Instant Sandwich Bread
- French Bread for Baguettes & Other Loaves
- Pain de Campagne
- Semolina Sesame Bread
- Pain de Seigle: French Rye Bread
- Seven Grain & Seed Bread
- Prosciutto Bread
- Elegant Dinner Rolls
- Rosemary Olive Knots
- Cornetti: Olive-Oil Rolls from Bologna
Yeast-Risen Specialties, Sweet & Savory (October – December, 2010)
- Quick Brioche Braid
- Marbled Chocolate Brioche Loaf
- CinnamonRaisinBreakfastRing
- ChocolateBabkaLoaf
- Kouing Amman: Breton Butter & Sugar Pastry
- Ginger-Scented Panettone
- Bakery Crumb Buns
- Pecan Stickiest Buns
- One-Step Croissants
- Grissini: Classic Itialian Breadsticks
- Cornmeal Buttermilk Waffles
- Sfincione: Palermo Focaccia
- Focaccia alla Barese: Apulian Onion, Anchovy, & Olive Focaccia
- Nonna’s Pizza
- Filled Ham & Cheese Focaccia
Savory Tarts & Pies (January – March, 2011)
- Rich Pie Dough for Savory Pies & Tarts
- Olive-Oil Dough for Savory Pies & Tarts
- No-Roll Flaky Dough
- Corn Pudding Tart
- Ham & Egg Tart
- Roasted Pepper & Goat Cheese Tart
- Swiss Onion Tart
- Gruyère, Scallion, & Walnut Tart
- Tomato & Cantal Tart
- Shrimp & Toasted Pumpkinseed Tart
- Curried Fish Pie
- Ligurian Savoy Cabbage Pie
- Zucchini & Ricotta Pie
- Pizza Chiena: Neapolitan Meat & Cheese Pie
- Chicken Pie with Biscuit Topping
Sweet Tarts & Pies (April – July, 2011)
- Sweet Tart Dough
- Nut Tart Dough
- Chocolate Nut Dough
- Press-in Cookie Dough
- Parisian Fruit Tarts
- Bittersweet Chocolate Tart
- Mango & Rice Tart
- Banana Walnut Tart
- Lemony Cheese Tart with Sour Cream Glaze
- Pumpkin Pecan Buttermilk Tart with Cinnamon Whipped Cream
- Bourbon-scented Pecan Tart
- Roman Almond and Pine Nut Tart
- Chocolate Hazelnut Tart
- Breton Apple Pie
- Maida’s Big Apple Pie
- Sour Cream Apple Pie
- Blueberry Crumble Pie
- Neapolitan Easter Pie
- Raspberry Almond Tartlets
- Lemon Lime Tartlets
- Chocolate Caramel Pecan Tartlets
Puff Pastries (August- November, 2011)
- Instant Puff Pastry
- Baked Puff Pastry Layer
- Molded Chocolate-filled Napoleons
- Raspberry Mille-feuille
- Feuillettés with Berries & Cream
- Deep Dish Peach Pie with Woven Lattice Crust
- Pineapple Tarte Tatin
- Apple Tarte Tatin
- Apricot & Almond Strudel
- Swiss Walnut Crescents
- Danish Cheese Pockets
- Perfect Elephant Ears — Sweet
- Perfect Elephant Ears — Savory
- Caramelized Onion Tart with Gorgonzola
- Spinach & Feta Turnovers
- Smoked Salmon Mille-feuilles
- Salt & Pepper Straws
- Cheese Straws
Cookies, Bars, & Biscotti (December, 2011 – May, 2012)
- Cocoa Nib Brownies
- Sour Cream Brownies
- Raisin Pecan Spice Bars
- Caramel Crumb Bars
- Coconut Pecan Chocolate Chunk Bars
- Three-way Gingersnaps
- Honey Peanut Wafers
- Espresso Walnut Meringues
- Butterscotch Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Lemon Poppy Seed Drops
- Lemon & Almond Tuiles
- Cappuccino Thumbprint Cookies
- Macadamia Shortbreads
- New Orleans Praline Disks
- Melting Moments
- Spicy Hazelnut Biscotti
- Cornmeal & Pine Nut Biscotti
- Biscotti Regina
- Sicilian Fig Bars
- Pine Nut Macaroons
- Tart Lime Wafers
- Blackberry Jam Sandwiches with Lemon Icing
- Chocolate Sandwich Cookies with Milk Chocolate Filling
- Raspberry Linzer Disks
- Viennese Punch Cookies
Cakes (June – December, 2012) — recipes in bold are available to claim for blogging; recipes in italics have been claimed; and linked recipes have been blogged.
- Perfect Pound Cake
- Lemon Ginger Pound Cake
- Rum-scented Marble Cake
- Viennese Raisin Coffee Cake
- Sour Cream Coffee Cake
- Blackberry Jam Cake
- Orange-scented Olive Oil Cake
- Blueberry Crumb Cake
- Real Strawberry Shortcake
- Classic Génoise
- Cocoa Génoise
- Yellow Cake Layers
- Perfect Birthday Cake
- Raspberry Cream Cake
- Whipped Cream Layer Cake
- Banana Rum Coconut Layer Cake
- Triple Chocolate Cake
- Devil’s Food Cake with Fluffy White Icing
- Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake
- Heirloom Chocolate Cake
- Cinnamon-scented Baked Chocolate Mousse Cake
- Molten Center Chocolate Cake
- Individual French Hazelnut Cakes
- Golden Cupcakes
- Incredibly Moist Chocolate Cupcakes
- Individual New York Cheesecakes
The Modern Baker Challenge 
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[…] fourth recipe in the Cakes section of the Modern Baker Challenge is Gehrueter Gugelhupf mit Rasinen (beaten coffee cake with raisins), or, more simply put, […]
[…] is Lemon Ginger Pound Cake from the Cakes section of the Modern Baker Challenge. In the recipe notes, Nick Malgieri states that this cake needs no accompaniment. And he’s […]
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[…] is the third recipe in the Cakes section of the Modern Baker Challenge. After starting with a delicious, if fussy, pound cake, I was looking forward to trying this […]
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[…] next recipe I made for the Modern Baker Challenge combined something I love (pine nuts) with something I’m not so crazy about (macaroons). In […]
[…] I present to you the first biscotti recipe in the Cookies, Bars, & Biscotti section of the Modern Baker Challenge. Unlike the biscotti regina I made back in January, which was actually a cookie (biscotti is, […]
[…] next recipe in the Modern Baker Challenge is an old British cookie that Nick Malgieri describes as “little buttery orange-flavored […]
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[…] is the last bar cookie recipe in the Cookies, Bars, & Biscotti section of the Modern Baker Challenge. If you don’t like coconut, you won’t like these bars. If you do, you’ll love […]
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[…] final two recipes in the Puff Pastries section of the Modern Baker Challenge were among the easiest. They are also the best argument I can think of for keeping puff pastry in […]
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[…] second recipe I signed up to blog for the Cookies, Bars, & Biscotti section of the Modern Baker Challenge is a modern twist on a classic: gingersnaps. What sets these cookies apart from their old-fashioned […]
[…] Baker. As it happens, these were also one of my designated posts in the Cookies section of the Modern Baker Challenge. I love pralines, so I was excited to find a cookie that has a similar flavor […]
Karen here – of the threecleversisters. I’m going to claim the Espresso Walnut Meringues.
[…] week’s recipe for Modern Baker Mondays is another savory offering. And as excited as I was about making the Caramelized Onion & […]
[…] earlier so I can spend some time with my lonely oven. And since I am soooo far behind with the Modern Baker Challenge I thought I better get some of the Puff Pastry Goodies finished. Especially since it has been a […]
[…] onions. This must be the week for it, since I made a Caramelized Onion and Gorgonzola Tart for Modern Baker Mondays, too. Unlike the Modern Baker version, which “enhances” the onions with sugar and […]
It’s too bad you guys are almost done with this book when I found your group! Plese let me know when you pick a new book to cook through so I can join!
http://www.cookinwithmoxie.com
[…] week’s Modern Baker Mondays recipe veers sharply away from the sweet puff pastry recipes we’ve been making recently to […]
[…] on April 8, 2011. Around that time I was finishing up the last of the savory tarts and pies for the Modern Baker Challenge and getting started on the sweet tarts and pies. And I was Twitterbaking recipes from Bake! with […]
I’d like to put a “widget” for the challenge on our blog–just like you have here. How do you do it? The text box just allows me to put in the link but not the book image.
Sara, add an Image widget. Title it “The Modern Baker Challenge”, use the following image url http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_dr1NRkIOOBo/S7VolLtNBlI/AAAAAAAAG_Q/F78WPF_3T_U/S220/9780756639716H.jpg and add the website for the challenge as the link.
Phyl. The post is up on my site. If you want I can send it to you encoded.
M
Got it. You’re all up and official-like. Thanks!
Phyl. I have completed the post for elegant rolls. How do I get the post contents to you for this page. Or do you just want the post addy for posting?
Margaret, once it is up on your blog, I’ll copy it and paste it here. I subscribe to your blog, so I should get notified when you post it.
Can’t wait to read it!
Question. Have asked to join. We can bake as many of these as we want, but only one person blogs each one? Is that right?
Sort of. We have one “official” blogger for each recipe, and that blog post is featured here. Others can blog about the same recipe and link to their blogs in the comments section of the official blog.
You can bake as many (or as few) of the recipes in each section as you’d like.
Welcome! Dive in and join the fun.
FYI — elegant dinner rolls are up fro grabs, as the person who was going to blog the recipe had to give it up. And I’d be glad to give up one of mine (French bread and Seven Grain & Seed Bread), if you’d like to claim one of those.
I’ll take the elegant Dinner Rolls. Thanks.
This sounds just what the doctor ordered, a structure to making recipes on a schedule.
I have two questions:
1. How much time will allocated for recipe to be completed ?
2. Are the book’s recipe ingredients in weight measurements ?
Thanks,
steve
Steve, the first 4 sections of the book have 15 or 16 recipes each, and we will be allotting 3 months to each of these sections. That works out to 1 recipe per week for the most part, with a few double up weeks.
The recipes are all given in volume measurements, rather than by weight. I bake a lot of bread and always use weight; but I’ve always done cakes by volume, so that’s not such a big deal to me.
We’d love to have you join us if you’re interested.
Phyl