6. Flour

Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Café
By Joanne Chang with Christie Matheson, Chronicle Books, 2010. Hardcover. $35; 320 pages

We reviewed several very good books from notable American bakeries for these awards, and this one stood out for the breadth of its recipes and especially their warm appeal for the home cook. Although Flour owner Joanne Chang trained under French pastry chef François Payard, patisserie perfection is not the point here, not in a book of Sticky Sticky Buns (which beat Bobby Flay's creation on Food Network's Throwdown), Homemade Fig Newtons, and Brown Butter-Crispy Rice Treats.