As you read “The Original King Arthur Flour Cookbook” (The Countryman Press, $35), it will feel as if your mother is standing over your shoulder, giving you advice as you make your pie crust or banana pecan muffins.

This cookbook was first published to celebrate King Arthur Flour’s 200th anniversary, and it has just been re-released in a tidy binder format that will help you keep your croissants separate from your monkey bread. It is a great reference for how to do the basics well, but also boasts that it will teach you how to think like a baker. Each section contains a primer on topics from bread baking to making cakes, cookies, muffins and sourdough.

I admit I had a hard time putting this book down. I found myself lingering over a section on the history of scones, and pondering with fascination the 13 techniques – yes, 13 – for making a simple pie crust.

There’s stuff for the kids too, including a recipe for homemade teething biscuits and instructions for how to make modeling doughs, papier-mache paste and schoolroom paste, all with King Arthur Flour. There’s even a recipe for homemade dog biscuits.

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