Book Reviews

sPh

Does anyone know of a really good book with focus on whole grains, instead of whilte?

Thanks

Srishti

Oh wow,

Thanks a lot for the info....

I'll check these out

Srishti

For those bakers who are ready to move beyond first steps and understand more about artisan breads, The Bread Builders: Hearth Loaves and Masonery Ovens by Dan Wing and Alan Scott is an exceptional read. Dan, a physician, is really good at explaining the chemistry and biochemistry of breads in ways that are accessable to the amature. This is not a recipe cookbook but a book about artisan breads and traditional ovens.

I also happened to be able to take a two day workshop with Dan at King Arthur a few years back and found him to be as good in person as he is in print.

Paul Kobulnicky

Baking in Ohio

 Looking for a pastry book By Bo Friberg ~ Not sure of the name*But I bought it back arround 1990 -1991 ~ Was small in size but thick ( I think ) Lost it when moved from FLA. back to PA. Lost a whole wooden crate of "professinal" books (about 20) - Have replaced almost all of them (13)- of the ones I have not replaced 3 are out of print - Have been searching for the " Bo" book - Think it was called* " The Pastry Chef or The Professinal Pastry Chef - was a first edition if that helps .

Any one with info - it would be great to hear from you.

P.S.S. yes I do know this is a "Bread site" LOL but it never hurt to ask

 Thanks . 

 Slidething

No Need to Knead, by Suzanne Dunaway

Now tragically out of print; used copies on Amazon rather overpriced at $70/copy.

The underlying philosophy/approach is well-hydrated doughs, gluten development through folding, and maximizing the crust:crumb ratio.

Well worth obtaining if you can find it at a reasonable price -- I think the $40 I spent on a very good used copy was certainly worthwhile.
[and so do my family & colleagues ;7) ]

- Richard

www.oldwithoutmoney.com

I have been making bread from a Barm I started Nov 2001 and refresh on a regular basis.

May 2nd my 96y.o. mother in law gave me the book "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.  "I" having made this Barm and over the years might have used 500 pounds of flour to keep it alive all but turned my nose up at the concept of mixing all the flour, water, salt, and yeast together at one time letting it rise THEN put it in the refrigerator over night. Now when you want to BAKE some bread you take out a pound or two depending on how muche you want to make.  You stretch the dough fold it under rotate stretch it again fold it under form a ball and set it on your peel.  THATS IT! You don't knead it, pray for it, or beg it to turn into bread.  After it comes to room temp in about 40 min you bake it and EAT IT!.

CAUTION!  I have to give some caution here.  Even starting with "The Master Recipe" make sure the container that you put it in is 8qts or more in size.  Thinking that "I" knew the volume for flour, water and yeast expansion put "my" first batch in a 4qt container.  Well let me just say that it was NOT big enough.

The bread came out great each time I baked a loaf.  To get the crust that "I" wanted I increased the oven temp to 500*.

I still have and feed my Barm but along side that in a much larger container I have the makings of some very good bread.

I currently own 4 books on bread, and apart from Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Bread, there are

Bread from Ciabatta to rye by Linda Collister.

Exceptional Breads by Dan Lepard & Richard Whittington

The Handmade Loaf by Dan Lepard.

This last book has an idiot proof method for leaven (sourdough starter) It worked first time after I'd had 2 failures with Peter Reinheart's method.

I can recommend them all.

Hi, I hope some one can help me. I doubled my recipe for cinnamon buns and when it has risen twice I punched it down and let it rest for 15 minutes.  I then rolled out 2 of the four rolls all went perfectly but when I went to roll out the 2nd and 3rd they would not stay put but kept shrinking back. Consequently, the rolls were much too thick.  Does anyone know what happened here, I sure would appreciate any help.  Thanks  Mary

This was the second bread book I read, and there's a huge amount information in this book, including various yeast conversions, what to do to substitute sourdough starter for a commercial yeasted recipe, etc. I didn't see this one mentioned in this page, I thought I would.

Currently, I'm reading these three books:

River Cottage Bread Handbook by Daniel Stevens (great book for an enthusiastic beginner).  It covers bread with dry yeast, wild yeast and without yeast.

Crust: bread to get your teeth into by Richard Bertinet

Local Breads: Sourdough and Wholegrain Recipes from Europe's Best Artisan Bakers by Daniel Leader

And I'm going to get more :)

Love this book.  Although too expensive to buy, I borrowed from the National Library.

I tried the crackers - good for youngsters, got more 'teeth' to chew

I tried on the pitas - very good.  I did 2 variations : rye and wholemeal.

Thanks for the recipe.

(or view from http://column01.wordpress.com)

of a Jewish Baker by Greenstein.  With little fuss he gets down and does a wonderful book of explaining several methods of achieving wonderful results.  The methods are using a food processor, flat beater mixer, baking machine or strictly manual.

Worth checking out !

don't forget The King Arthur Flour Baking Companion, the $35 price is drastically discounted at places such as Costco and BJs (maybe Sams as well, or online). It offers a wonderful section on breads, including sourdough, as well as other baking goodies.

I am one of the newer newbies here, I've posted a question or two I think but this I had to jump in and give my two cents.

When I do something I do it all the way and needless to say since I've been learning how to bake bread I've bought a ton of things and that includes books.

My first book was "Bread" by Daniel Lender, and as far as I was concerned he was a 'Bread God'.. then coming onto here I was introduced to Peter Reinhart and I so far have three of his books. But I have to say, that as a newbie to the Bread world that his last book "Artisan Bread Everyday" is a must have for any new bread baker who has a passion and the 'want to' to learn like myself.

The recipes are easy to follow and the results are wonderful! Peter's techniques were the answer to a lot of questions I had about why my bread wasn't coming out as I had hoped. Now my breads have come out so beautiful and the crumb is near perfect. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is starting out.

I have made the 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich bread, the croissants, the danish rolls, and several other breads from this book. I can't wait to go make each recipe in this book!

Good Luck! Have fun! and Happy Baking

Virginia C

Here's an article from NPR this morning that mentions, among others, Peter Reinhart and Rose Levy Beranbaum.

The 10 Best Cookbooks Of 2009

One of my favorites is a find from Amazon UK. Artisan Bread by the Swedish baker Jan Hedh and photographer Klas Andersson has a wide range of recipes and beautiful photography.

Originally published in Swedish, this English edition from 2007 uses the metric system for measurements. The directions are straightforward for the experienced baker. 

I highly recommend this book for those of you who already own books by Leader, Ortiz, Silverton, Hammelmann, and are seeking new inspiration. It is a fabulous addition to any bread baker's library.

Book of Breads -     Was able to get a used version from Amazon. What a super book, so many items I remember from my childhood in Germany. Cannot wait to try some, will start with the ones using almond paste (even gives a recipe how to make).

Regretably no photos but sure worth having the old recipes in one tome.

Anna

I'm looking for the bread book that will help me with the chemistry of baking, which has good writing (by which I mean, not too folksy and very straightforward and exact), and which provides a manageable variety of breads.  I've been baking bread for several years and I feel like I'm ready to take it to the next level.  I have been torturing my family with experimental breads for several weeks now (I bake weekly, bi-weekly, all our bread) and some have really been... hardly worthy of the name "bread".  Your recommendations are welcome!

 For me , Carol Field's The Italian Baker,; La Brea by Nancy Silverton; and Bread Alone by Daniel Leader are tops

Maybe this is unreasonable, but I am a little bit disappointed because of some doubts about authenticity of recipes in Daniel Leader's book, which I just got yesterday. 

I bought the book primarily because I thought the title and the reviews,  promised authentic European recipes with perhaps suggestions for adaptation to the baker's local conditions. However, looking at only two of the recipes ("Vingchter" and German Pretzels) which I know a little about, he apparently took the decision to adapt the recipes without describing what changes he made. 

This is particularly in relation to his recipe for "Vingchter", a type of roll which I became obsessed with on a trip to Alto Adige. Firstly, there's no such thing as a "Vingchter" - they're "Vinschgauer" or "Vinschgerl" or "Vinscher Paarlen" or "Vinscher Fladenbrote" and originate in Vinschgau. Is "Vingchter" a misguided attempt to anglicize the name, or sloppy spelling? I would have thought Vinscher Flatbread is reasonably easy to pronounce. 

As with other baked goods, there's certainly no single authoritative recipe. However, any online post, blog or encyclopaedic entry about this regional specialty will refer to the fact that the key flavouring ingredient for  Vinschgerl is "Brotklee", a ground herb from the fenugreek family (specifically, blue fenugreek).

Now, you may not be able to buy it in the USA, let alone in Australia, but , I'd still like to know that this is a key ingredient in the original recipe.  Did his Austrian baker not tell him about the ingredient? He only mentions fennel & cumin as flavourings, when any Austrian recipe I've ever read call for fennel, coriander, and caraway (Kümmel) -  not cumin (Kreuzkümmel), which is not very common in Germany/Austria - as well as anise seeds.

The other recipe which I take issue with is German Pretzels. He describes boiling the pretzels in a baking soda bath. However, even the most cursory research will tell you that baking soda (NaHCO3) is a substitute, not a great one, for the lye (NaOH) which is actually used. He doesn't even mention that the baking soda mixture is a variation for home bakers and is not likely to give the same result as using lye. Might have been worth an FAQ entry or something at the end of the recipe. 

Anyway, not that I'm really surprised. I suppose I should put this down to well-meaning adaptation for his US audience. rather than just another example of German breads being disregarded.

Visit a German bakery and then visit a French or Italian one - the difference in the sheer range of breads offered in even a small village German bakery is astounding. Yet German breads are always treated somewhat cursorily in baking books. (Am I whining? I'll stop now)