Baking. What is there not to like about baking and better still eating a wonderful sweet treat. But this is not just cakes as there are some many great baking treats in this book you will want to try them all. And not only that but the history and stories add so much intrigue and interest that you don't necessarily get in other cookbooks.

All the recipes sound wonderful and I plan to work my way through them all. With great photography as well you will be salivating and running for the kitchen to get started so you can try them all. I'm off to try my first recipe so wish me luck!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Celebrate for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

As a Southerner I loved this book. These absolutely the kind of recipes my grandmothers made growing up. Except this ladies never wrote anything down. I feel like I have found a tressure trove of these recipes!
The book had beautiful color photos and gives credit to certain bakers in the recipes. They are easy to follow (and healthier. Shh! Don't tell granny!). I loved the culture included behind recipes, people and places. Food is something good about the American South. And this cook book proves it,

Things I learned from this cookbook: the term high on the hog is about premium cuts of meat being higher on the animal, unlike things like pig's feet, which were less desirable, sweet milk is just whole milk that hasn't soured and buttermilk is the leftover liquid from churning butter, and the Choctaw natives who lived on this land cooked a corn mush into leaves over fire, making their own version of cornbread long before settlers arrived. These facts about history made this cookbook such a delight. They aren't just relegated to a small introductory chapter full of words followed by dozens of recipes like so many other cookbooks. Each recipe tells a story. I learned so much about the South reading this book. I also learned the best cake release is a thin layer of vegetable shortening and a dusting of flour. I didn't expect an absolute metric ton of cornbread recipes included, but loved reading the small details for each one, learning about the culture surrounding this staple of the south. The book doesn't shy away from the dark truth of the south, much of the cooking was done by enslaved folks who were forced into kitchens and might not associate cooking and baking with the joy that we all derive from this sort of nostalgia. It explores the comfort and struggle foods of the south, discussing the harvest and the time of the year for killing hogs and why foods emerged during certain times in a period without refrigerators. The cookbook also includes helpful hints like bringing eggs and butter to room temperature and other staples of best practices in baking. Food is so much more than nutrition and sustenance. It's culture, and this cookbook does a great job snapshotting the stories of the south woven into every bite.

Overall I think the book is quite good, especially if you like to hear backstories about a certain recipe or people! For me it was a bit too much but I liked that you got different versions of the same recipe so you can find your favorite way of making it!

This is one of those books that as soon as I received the approval, I sat down and read it cover to cover. This has everything I like in a cookbook; historical information and context, recipes, and great photography. Who knew there were so many different ways with cornbread? Fascinating! This southern loving northerner will definitely be purchasing a copy.

A delicious look at baking in 14 of the Southern states. With stories, recipes and lovely photographs, this was a joy to read.

Being someone from two of those states, I can say these are the best the south has to offer.

From before the Civil War to today’s Southern cooks, this book brings up so many good memories of food, family and friends.

Whether a family reunion, Sunday dinner, or a funeral, you will find something yummy in the pages of this book.

This one is definitely a keeper.


NetGalley/ Harper Celebrate September 03, 2024

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Baking in the American South is an amazing Southern cookbook. There are beautiful pictures and recipes that are easy to follow. Most of the recipes are pretty concise. Following each recipe is a little history snippet.

The cookbooks sections are:
Sizzling cornbread
Hot biscuits
Quick loaves, griddle cakes, waffles, and fritters
Rolls, breads, and Yeast-Raised Cakes
Comforting Puddings
Pies Plain and Fancy
Bake Me a Cake
Cookies and Bars by the Dozen
Frostings and Flourishes

The cookbook is an incredible book filled with southern cooking and the rich history behind it. I can't wait to make the recipes in this cookbook!

This cookbook is very nice, however I felt that there were too many pages whereas I prefer a cookbook is concise, I was expecting to see deep southern black American recipes also but I did not

I cannot wait to own the physical copy. I am a southern city girl who has always said my family culture is southern since we’re not entirely sure of our heritage. This collaboration of recipes is just wonderful and I can’t wait to try them!

What sets this cookbook apart from others is the deep history that is etched into each one of the standout recipes.
Each recipe sounds as delicious as the last, they all feature a small blurb explaining the history of the recipe or the creator and are followed by delightful looking photos.
I am from the UK and I doubt I’ll ever get to try real southern food but with this cookbook I can bring some of the south to me.
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Thank you NetGalley and Harper Celebrate for the opportunity to review this book.

I am hoping that the title of this extraordinary book does not deter some of those who may be interested. The mouthwatering recipes are not just for the south. I am from New York City and live in Maine, and this book is going to grace my kitchen upon publishing! I can only hope the same is true for my fellow bakers, we all deserve this book. And this is not my first cookbook! This is a cookbook bible! This is a user friendly, down to earth, invitation to bake! It is filled with much useful information and descriptions, and beautiful photography. It is part history, part biography, part instruction manual. But all of that does not take away from its' purpose, giving you recipes that you can't wait to try. It pulls you in with pages of cornbread, then pages of biscuits, (my favorite). Who knew there was so many different types of cornbread and biscuits? This book has it all, breads, muffins, pies, cakes. Along the way, it offers small stories of who some of these recipes actually belonged to, some famous, some not so famous, but all of them remembered. My thanks to NetGalley and Harper Celebrate for the advance read and helping me find my new favorite cookbook!

Baking in the American South by Anne Byrn is a delicious journey into the heart of Southern baking, tracing its evolution from simple, resourceful recipes to a rich culinary tradition. Through 200 recipes and over 150 photos, this cookbook captures the essence of Southern baking that embody the region's flavors and history. What sets this cookbook apart is its storytelling. The author weaves tales of the past with each recipe, revealing how geography, culture, and even politics have influenced Southern baking.