The bourke street bakery-A Review
A couple weeks back, Shiao-Ping picked up a new book and did a nice review on it here. I was intrigued by what I saw and ordered a copy from Amazon which arrived early this morning.
I will not go into great detail about the book except to say that I am a visual person. I appreciate seeing what the finished product looks like in vivid color. The BSB is stunning in this regard. Every bread and pastry is artfully photographed in a way that make me want to try every one of these recipes. The method for each is carefully worded to be clear.
One interesting aspect is that they have several base recipes that are then modified or added to to create something different. For example the Mr. Potato Bread (page 92) calls for 830g of sourdough (pages 50-51) . "Once you have a basic white sourdough, millers sourdough (multi grain), or spelt sourdough you can create other variations from it." These are called Derivative Breads.
This is how I have organized my thoughts about the breads I bake but I didn't really have a good grip on the variety I could create with the base recipes. This book is loaded with unusual breads you have never heard of or tasted unless you happen to live down the road from this bakery or perhaps in Oz where some of these couplings might be common. Fig and Barberry loaf, Spiced Fruit sourdough, Mr Potato Bread and on and on. Each one looks better than the last.
This is a great book and is proclaimed to be "The ultimate Baking Companion" on the cover. From what I can see I wouldn't dispute that statement at all. I'll be selecting some of the more unusual breads to highlight here as I suspect will Shiao-Ping in the future. One can not help but compare this book to Suas's Advanced Bread and Pastry. The last 200 plus pages are dedicated to pastry and deserts, starting with laminated doughs.This a serious book for any serious home baker or want to be pro baker.
Eric
Comments
After I've done my post of "Look No Further...," the thought crossed my mind if I had been more enthusiastic about the book than I should have. I am very glad that you find the book very useful. When it comes to cook books, I am a "visual" person as you do. I would not compare this book to Suas' monumental book, but I think this book is far more friendly to home bakers than Suas book. Like a good hearty meal, this book is very "hearty" with lots of substance to a home baker. I am of the view that average home bakers would be better off by doing more baking than studying. This book makes you want to do just that.
Thanks for your reivew.
Shiao-Ping
Thank you Shiao-Ping! I couldn't be more pleased with my copy of 'bourke street bakery' the ultimate baking companion.
Eric, I received my copy a few days ago. That makes 3 new baking books this week...yeeeks! I have to agree .... It's so full of recipes and beautiful photos...I got a rush...ha! As I was reading and thumbing through I felt so much inspiration. The potato bread does send your head off in a spin. It was gorgeous and rustic along with so many other breads and pastries. How it starts your imagination going into making regular recipes into something delicious and beautiful. Paul Allam and David McGuinness's 'bourke street bakery' reflects perfectly what you would expect from a bakery in Australia. Mouthwatering, rustic and wonderfully written recipes and awe inspiring photos.
Sylvia
I do appreciate your review of bourke street bakery. You were my inspiration to look further into it. As Sylvia said so well I think it will help me be more creative in my baking combination's. I got hungry paging through today. Can't wait to try a couple savory breads.
Eric
Shiao-Ping, your like a sourdough, spawning new ideas and spreading the message of bread, I just got my copy too!!! Looks great, and gets the artist dreamer baker in me motivated to do some bread as my latest loaves have been not so wonderful. So I will get cracking on some of the loaves here in this chock-full of recipe filled and visually pleasing livre! Just one of the many books I own, now I need more space and shelves!!!!
Ta and happy baking!
How the bourke street bakery baking companion book is set up. I'm working on the Rye and Caraway loaf right now. In most other books, a bread recipe includes all the ingredients for each bread and the method to put it together. In this book, you start with a batch of the white sourdough bread mix and divide a portion for the rye-caraway and add the ingredients to the basic sourdough build. It's a little similar to the "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a day" from Jeff and Zoe. The full recipe is a little over 1500g and the rye-caraway calls for 865g of the SD basic build so I decided to bake the remaining 700+ g as a straight SD loaf.
It is a beautiful book.
Eric