As I interview Erin McDowell, asking about her favorite cooking tools and local grocery stores, her third cookbook, The Book on Pie, sits open in front of me. It became something of a bible in my kitchen during the holiday season. The Kansas City-based baker is releasing her fourth cookbook, Bake Anything, later this year, and I’ve already placed my preorder. You could say I’m a fan.
McDowell has become one of the most influential baking educators working today, carving out a name for herself through food media as the former resident baker at Food52 and a columnist for NYT Cooking. You may recognize her as a baking coach on the Netflix series The Big Nailed It! Baking Challenge or from one of her popular YouTube series, including Food52’s Bake It Up a Notch and her current channel, Happy Baking. In her videos, McDowell breaks down the fundamentals of baking, showing viewers that patisserie-level croissants at home are actually possible, what overmixing looks like and how to troubleshoot it, or how to make small-batch scones and apple galettes. Throughout her videos, she’s instantly recognizable by her colorful head scarves and her West Highland White Terrier sidekick, Brimly.
It’s hardly an exaggeration to call McDowell the baking world’s answer to Julia Child. Much of her devoted following (more than 350,000 Instagram followers alone) comes from her ability to teach not just how to bake but why baking works. Her videos go beyond recipes, explaining the science behind ingredients and techniques while giving home bakers the confidence to experiment along the way.
Bake Anything arrives Sept. 29 and focuses on two ideas: foundational baking recipes and the many ways they can evolve. The book encourages readers to mix, match and build on recipes throughout, a process McDowell says mirrors the way she strategically organizes and uses recipes in her own kitchen.
“The idea is to encourage creativity so that, in addition to learning a bunch of recipes that I have inside [the cookbook], you can also maybe start to learn how to create your own flavors, dream up your own ideas or even just build on something that’s already in the book,” McDowell says.
Bake Anything is organized around 11 “mother recipes,” including foundational staples like brioche, puff pastry and pudding. Once readers master a base recipe (aided by step-by-step photography and QR-code video tutorials), McDowell shows how it can branch into dozens of other desserts. A basic pudding recipe, for example, becomes the jumping-off point for parfaits, cream pies, no-churn ice cream, buttercream and trifles.
McDowell understands why baking intimidates people, but she believes much of that fear comes from the misconception that baking is rigid and unforgiving. While precision matters, many techniques are simpler than they appear once bakers try them firsthand. She points to the sourdough boom during the pandemic as proof. The slow-fermentation method, sans yeast, may seem daunting on paper, but once people had time to practice at home, they realized the process was actually pretty manageable.
Like Child, video instruction is where McDowell thrives, thanks to her warm, approachable personality. As a visual learner herself, McDowell believes seeing a technique in action can remove much of the fear surrounding baking and give people the confidence to attempt recipes they might otherwise avoid. Her humor and willingness to laugh at herself while making “the perfect vanilla layer cake” or weaving pie dough also helps put nervous viewers at ease.
“My first book was called The Fearless Baker because taking the fear out of baking is really my whole goal,” she says. “People have discovered this meditative, joyful side of cooking, and I think baking deserves that same kind of experience.”
After years of living in New York City, McDowell recently moved back to Kansas City (she’s originally from Lawrence), where she now enjoys something every baker dreams about: more kitchen space. Extra counters, storage and freezer room make a huge difference for someone constantly working with jars of fruit preserves, bags of frozen fruit and piles of cake pans and muffin tins.
When I ask what kitchen tool she recommends for aspiring bakers, McDowell mentions a good bench scraper, but quickly adds that beginners don’t need to rush out to Pryde’s Kitchen & Necessities just yet to stockpile baking equipment.
“I always say the most important tool, if you want to learn to bake, is your hands.”
Somehow, that feels like exactly the kind of advice Julia Child would have appreciated, too.
Erin McDowell’s Perfect Day in KC:
Morning Market: I’m waking up early to shop at the Overland Park Farmers Market for any seasonal produce I can get my hands on.
Grocery Run: My absolute favorite store is World Fresh Market, and I do the bulk of my shopping there. They sell flats of eggs that are local, have the best selection of herbs for great prices, and I love their dairy options, like labneh. I’m also stopping by the bakery counter to grab some savory pastries to snack on.
Spice Stop: After I unload my groceries at home, I’ll take the streetcar to the River Market. I love the Al Habashi Mart. Their spices are great. Even if I don’t need anything, I’ll go in there and walk around just for a sniff.
Treasure Trek: I’m stopping by River Market Antiques to shop through all four floors. I’m typically looking for things I can use in photos of food, like unique plates, platters or cool cups.
Sip Stop: Jay Sanders’ partnering with Cheval made me so excited. I’ll chat with the bartenders and have a drink before heading home to make dinner.
Place your preorder for Bake Anything at McDowell’s website, erinjeannemcdowell.com.
