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Summary: On a Scale of 1 to 5 this book gets a 55!!
Review: My wife used this book to make bread and it was the best bread I have ever tasted in my entire life. Bread making is a science and this book shows the real secrets of producing the best bread possible!! If we wanted to, we could start our own bakery business and do very well! This book contains every thing neccessary to open up your own bread shop! I just finished an entire loaf of french bread that my wife made in less then 7 minutes and 17 seconds!! This bread book is a masterpiece!
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Summary: Buy It Now!!!!
Review: There's one word that comes to mind about this book "INCREDIBLE"!!! If you've been looking for a bread book to make Bakery style bread or even better, look no more. The recipes in this book are right on the money. Not only are the recipes great to say the least, but the book is very informative. I hope you will gain as much knowledge and enjoyment from this book as I do!!!
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Summary: Extraordinary Book on how to make Extrodinary Bread
Review: I have made all our family's bread for the last ten years and during that time collected some Michigan State Fair blue ribbons. Every year someone adds to my collection of bread making books, mostly books filled with recipes for bread filled with all kinds of flavors. When I received The Bread Makers Apprentice a few months ago, I assumed I would have another book to add to my collection and fill the book shelf. Was I wrong. This book always sits open because I have received a new education on bread making and use it all the time, never to open the old books. Peter Reinhart is a very entertaining writer for people who love to read recipe books, so the book is fun to read. He TEACHES bread making to anyone who wants to learn exciting processes and who has a desier to make extrodinary bread. The formula's are generally simple but the process to making bread was a new world of bread making for we originally learned on a bread machine. When Peter says a certain bread is the best he has discovered for toast or the favorite of his students, or the formula and process will give you the best pizza dough ever, you find yourself, your family, and your friends agreeing. I find myself giving more gifts of bread because the loaves look and taste great and recently sold 100 loaves for a fund raiser...........and the customers keep asking for more.....And don't forget to make the Cinnamon Rolls; you'll be everyone's best friend.
I used to just make bread, now I understand what I'm doing and use the processes to improve many of my old recipe's and create numerous new ones. A must book for every serious bread baker!
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Summary: Finally a book for me
Review: An article in my newspaper brought me to the attention of "Crust and Crumb" and I went to look for it on the net.
One of the reviews here however mentioned "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" as an alternative and that it is more than recipies.As jet I have not finished the book, nor made a single receipe, but the information whitin has helped me tremendous with the way I was baking. Now I bake with understanding. The fact that Peter Reinhart is a professor makes that he knows the questions of his students. Ans his students questions are the readers questions. I would recommend anyone to read the book, not only for bakers, but for all who like quality of life.
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Summary: The Sherlock Holmes of Bread Books
Review: Wow, i just purchased The Bread Bakers Apprentice, and it's awesome. Reinhart really gets into the chemistry of Bread making, and takes that extra step to pinpoint crucial clues in defining the difference between good, and great breads. He leaves little guesswork, and explains everything, down to a molecular level. If you sucked at basic math like me, some of it might seem like school again, but if you want great bread, here's the class. Not that it's all math. Reinhart demystifies bread in plain english. He whips out the microscope and lays bare the science of bread. One thing I particularly like is how he treats different styles of bread differently, at certain stages. One of the most valuable things in the book is how to tell if the breads done. He takes the confusion right out, and stabs at the heart of it, (with a thermometer actually).
I don't have anything negative to say about the book. But I probably wouldn't suggest it to children, or as someone's first book on bread, (I think I'd have run screaming if it had been my first:). Also the book is big on pre fermenting, so most of the breads require starters, and the buyer should be aware of this. Though I'd have wanted this book if I'd never used starters, because of the sheer amount of viable information in the first 100 or so pages, before you get to the formula's. The most on hands technique's i've seen in a bread book yet. David.
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Summary: You don't have to be in the trade!
Review: The homebaker can shop for the same flours which are available to the trade, in order to bake artesian breads, and get them in small amounts, altho' it seems to have been a well kept secret not listed in the Sources section of the baking books.
To me, it was like a miracle to find heartlandmill.com. They are a small farm in Marienthal, Kansas and will ship the grains or special baker's flours in whatever small amounts the home baker wishes to order. Their prices don't have a lot of overhead built in and to top it off their products are organic! It is a joy to shop from them.
To get the special flours is no big deal, you don't have to be in the trade!
You can do the recipes in all the fabulous books on artesian baking: Artesian Baking by Maggie Glezer, Crust and Crumb and The Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart, Nancy Silverton's Breads from the LaBrea Bakery, Bread Alone by Daniel Leader,..... without struggling or compromising.
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Summary: Now I get it...
Review: Reinhart's excellent book provides a clear discussion of how to make excellent bread. Not only does he give step-by-step instructions, he explains the chemistry and mechanics of breadmaking. Reinhart doesn't try to make the book a chemistry text, he covers the important parts in a way that even us non-scientists understand. The reader really does become his apprentice. Besides the clarity of the text, the book conveys its author's dedication to both the craft of making, and the joy of eating really well made bread. Particularly valuable is the discussion of starters. Making really good bread generally requires use of some form of prefermenation or starter. Too many other baking books describe the starter making and keeping processes as an odd combination of science and sorcery. Reinhart makes it clear that it's an undaunting, straightforward thing to do. Unlike so many other cookbooks, the photographs are clear and genuinely useful. This book makes an excellent companion to Bernard Clayton's Complete Bread Baking book. Together, you'll have the information you need to successfuly make many great breads. Finally, I tried to find something to quibble about so the review would sound balanced. Sorry... I failed.
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Summary: Serious bread bakers dream come true
Review: If you're a serious bread baker or want to improve your skills, order this book today! I've been baking yeast breads for years and have purchased numerous bread cookbooks along the way. I would rate this one as the best bread cookbook ever. Sorry Bernard Clayton, you've moved into second place... After sampling the Cinnamon Swirl Loaf, my teenage son asked when I was going to start selling it. The bagels are fantastic as are the cinnamon rolls. As several recipes require advance planning and 2 days of fermentation, don't purchase this book if you're looking for quickie recipes.
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Summary: Look no further for the definitive bread book
Review: This is my second bread cookbook and it is so unbelievably amazing that I can't describe it to you with enough praise. The introductory text, the plain english recipes and techniques of a bread master and illustrations are great. Peter Reinhart is a bread legend and he has outdone himself here. Bread can be a pesky critter to schedule, mix and bake. You can not go wrong here with this book. Be aware, this is not the book for someone who wants bread machine recipes or quick breads. 01-05-03 An update. Almost a year later, this book is getting worn out and the pages full of flour. I use it weekly and have had the chance to take a class with Peter Reinhart who is a great guy. It is standing the test of time. As I continue to bake seriously, I collect more elaborate books but this is my mainstay.
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Summary: IACP Award Winner!
Review: I see why this book is the IACP (International Assoc. Culinary Professionals) 2002 Book of the year. Peter hits bread baking right on the mark in this very informative book. Breads are simple and fun to make and Peter makes sure you know the hows and whys of everything!
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