Keeping your bread books clean...

I have a couple of book props that hide the books behind plexiglass.  Works great, except when the book publisher has the audacity to print a recipe across pages that are not opposite each other.  I don't have a source handy, but they are available in stores and online.

You could also just slip your book inside a clear plastic bag.

Rosalie

I have my recipes typed up and slide them into a plastic sleeve that is hole-punched to put in a 3-ring binder--I know there is a correct name for this item, but it escapes me at the moment.  I can then use a dry-erase marker to mark off an ingredient when I've added it, or can make notations for next time.  There have been too many times that even with my mise en place that I've forgotten the salt, or wondered if I've added the yeast yet, that this system is definitely worth it.

I usually end up adapting the recipe somehow, so I end up typing out most recipes and scribbling notes on them.  For cookbooks I usually just keep them on a different counter than my work surface, I don't mind a bit of flour on them but I've had pages stick together before.

 For my printed recipes I usually slip them into a gallon ziplock bag, that keeps the worst of the grime off them.  A two gallong ziplock bag would probably fit most cookbooks.

Oh don't be a baby cookbooks were meant to get dirty it's a sign that you use them.  On the other hand if you have any that you use all the time I suggest scanning it and and printing it so you have it ready to print when one gets too bad.

I find that after you make a given recipe enough you dont even need the majority of "extra" stuff that usually fills the page.  I also find that I make some recipes over and over and hated digging thru the books to find the one I needed.  And trying to remember which book it was even in.  So this what I did.

When at the book store I found their discount journal section and picked out a nice big book that had lined paper. It is MY recipe book.  It contains the recipes I use most.  And since my cookbooks range in ingredient descriptions from ounces to grams to cups, I transferred everything to grams for simplicity for me.

Now I can make as big a mess as I like and my good books are still good.  Here is my book with one of my cookbooks getting the recipes transferred.

This works nice because I can leave out any parts of the description that I do not need like telling me to knead for 10 minutes until blah,blah,blah.  I just put Knead for 10min.

Works for me.....

TT

I use a wood/plexiglass holder from dansk, but I've seen it from other distributors.  I use it more for holding it open than keeping it clean, but it certainly does that too.  It is a two piece product - the bottom piece of wood has parallel grooves to hold the plexiglass which is hinged.  The multiple grooves are great for holding books or magazines of various thicknesses.  Great for single sheets you print on your computer to the venerable but hefty Joy of Cooking.  Mine is a rather large model and keep a few recipes going at the same time.  I use a lot yellow sticky notes for quick reference to favorites, also making notes if I like the recipe, needed more salt, higher heat, etc.

 Hope this helps.  Don't worry about about what other people think of your cookbooks..pristine or batter splatted - it's up to you and your preference.

SD Baker

are a similar approach to TT's and works well for me. Then I can buy a cook book (or borrow it!), read through, try recipes and finally copy out the ones I use - with whatever modifications I make to it. Then the orignal book can go to a charity shop, sold on ebay, or be giftwrapped and given to someone else!I find this saves ages of wondering where a recipe came from, which book etc - if I like it - it is in my file card box. And if a recipe gets too grubby / dogeared, I can just write another card out.
Andrew