Nancy Silverton's Pastries from the La Brea Bakery

The La Brea Bakery had humble beginnings, initially offering only rustic bread. But the locals clamored for more, so owner Nancy Silverton--to ever-widening acclaim--introduced everyone's favorite sweets, including cookies, tarts, crisps, and crumbles. The irresistible sights and smells of a good local sweets shop permeate her second cookbook, Pastries from the La Brea Bakery, a follow-up and companion to Breads from the La Brea Bakery. The recipes are designed with the novice baker in mind (baking tools and ingredients are indexed with brief explanations of importance), but the book courts all levels of baking experience. For the more advanced, Silverton shows how to visually accentuate her creations with richly colored fruits and sugars that create varying caramelized effects in delicious ways. Dough recipes include bobka, brioche, and croissants; in the more decadent sweets department are recipes for cookies, tarts, scones, and an entire chapter on doughnuts. Once you get stuck in La Brea you'll have a deliciously hard time getting out. --Teresa Simanton

• Nancy Silverton's Breads from the La Brea Bakery: Recipes for the Connoisseur: A Cookbook
• Desserts by Silverton, Nancy (1986) Hardcover
• The Mozza Cookbook: Recipes from Los Angeles's Favorite Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria
• Nancy Silverton's Sandwich Book: The Best Sandwiches Ever--from Thursday Nights at Campanile
• Mozza at Home: More than 150 Crowd-Pleasing Recipes for Relaxed, Family-Style Entertaining
• Nancy Silverton's Sandwich Book: The Best Sandwiches Ever--from Thursday Nights at Campanile
• A Twist of the Wrist: Quick Flavorful Meals with Ingredients from Jars, Cans, Bags, and Boxes
• Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes
• Bake from Scratch (Vol 3): Artisan Recipes for the Home Baker
• The Food of Campanile: Recipes from the Famed Los Angeles restaurant