Rating: 
Summary: Tough (bread) Love
Review: summary:"Peter Reinhart knows of what he speaks". The recipies and instructions in this book are not for the easily distracted or those who do not have a serious commitment to "building" world class breads. Those willing to plan 2-3 days ahead, not skimp on time and materials, will be rewarded with the kind of breads that are available in far too few locales in North America. The techniques are not difficult, but they often do involve numerious steps. Ahh, but the rewards... He relies heavily on pre-ferments for most of his yeasted breads. The flavors imparted, and the textures created will spoil you for anything less (which is to say nearly ANY supermarket, and even some bakery breads). He's also not afraid to turn up the heat, and let the crusts carmelize and achive a great flavor of their own. I'm still pretty new at this, but I've always enjoyed a good bread with body and flavor. My early attempts to recreate even the most basic of breads yielded what could best be described as poor building materials. I would put my last loaves on par with the best bakery in town (maybe not saying much there). Oddly enough, the bread that keeps best, has the fewest ingredients. Don't worry though, your bread won't be around long enough to go stale, unless you lock it up. The book also covers flat breads, pizza, and quick breads. The second pizza dough recipe was a major hit. The dough can be left thick for a Chicago style, or stretched paper thin, with the edges puffing up to French bread texture. I will mention that the bagel dough (which makes excellant bagels) nearly brought my KithenAide Ultra to it's knees, hence the title of my review. I would also suggest getting a digital kitchen scale, since it will make scaling the recipies in the book much easier. Have a high quality hard wheat, high gluten, unbleached bread flour handy too. The crumb will look and taste like you added butter to the mix.
Rating:
Summary: For serious bread bakers
Review: This book is for people who want to bake bread that tastes as good as the best bakeries, but are willing to put in the effort. These breads take time, but are worth it. They require advance planning. But they work, and produce really excellent breads. I liked this book far better than Nancy Silverton's Breads from La Brea Bakery (although her pastry book is quite good). If you want to experiment with artisan bread baking and various starters, I highly recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: The king of bread books
Review: This book is to be savored. If bread seemed impossible, it will now become practical and once you've tasted the results, baking it will become essential. This book will make you a better baker through its practical advice, realistic instructions and insightful notes. One caveat though, the recipe for scones calls for 2 cups of sugar--way too much to make a successful scone--try a quarter cup instead.
Rating:
Summary: WODERFUL BOOK
Review: This is a GREAT book for dedicated bread bakers.
Rating:
Summary: The REAL Bread Bible
Review: This title would have been ironic for two reasons: this baking book has greater claim to the "Bread Bible" moniker than several other books that actually use this title; further, the author is a lay Brother in a religious order (I gather that he is not ordained clergy as such). This is not one of those "throw it together and toss it into the oven" sort of baking book; for these, look up Betty Crocker. The bread recipes in this book are rather long and designed as complete lessons to teach you how to properly make bread. It is a valuable educational tool, and not a happy-go-lucky affair.
The author of this wonderful book has personally perfected all of the bread recipes, and has even taught them to culinary and baking students in professional programs. Many currently popular baking books, despite a well respected reputation and big name on the cover, are "authored" by someone whose only experience with bread baking is tossing in a loaf made by a prep cook into a hot oven (and then leaving it to a sous chef to actually watch the bread and take it out of the oven when it is done) or who does not seem to actually like bread, but uses it as a springboard for creativity. Most of these books are full of inaccurate recipes lacking in necessary detail that will never produce a decent loaf of bread; this book is a happy exception.
Baking bread is not difficult, but it does require planning (in some cases, several days ahead of time), plus the home bread baker has to pay attention to what he is doing. This book will show you how; it is one of the few I have seen that teaches the home baker how to properly make a loaf from beginning to end. The recipes are thorough, complete, leave nothing out, and very reliable. This is one of the only non-professional bread books I know of that produces whole grain loaves that are edible. Trying to come up with a workable bread recipe at home is actually more difficult than in a professional bakery that already has a collection of tried and true recipes; more than once, this book has helped in solving problems I encountered trying to bake bread at home and that never come up in a production kitchen. It also finally reveals the secret to rye bread that will not chip a tooth: coarse rye flour (all bread books I have seen say to use the finest grind rye you can find).
This book is one of the few that describes the "window pane" test, the only way to really tell when bread dough is properly kneaded; "knead until smooth and satiny" is not an adequate instruction for an inexperienced bread baker, yet this is what most bread books will tell you. The recipes themselves are laid out like class projects that you would give to a beginning student at a cooking school, meaning that with a little effort and dedication, a relatively inexperienced baker will have success with the recipes.
One problem is the lay out of the chapters. The 2 most difficult bread types, French bread and sourdough, are the first 2 chapters, while the easiest ones (and ones that the neophyte should try first) on multi grain breads and quick breads are further back in the book. The author should have either organized the book's chapters in increasing order of difficulty, or given a recommended chapter order in the introductory material. Also helpful would have been a listing in the recipes as to how long that recipe takes, as some must be started several days in advance. The baking of flatbreads is also a mystery: he recommends placing, watching, flipping, and docking them. Problem is, they only take a minute or two to bake; if you are doing these things, the temperature of the oven drops dramatically each time you open the door, and the brief baking times do not permit the temperature to recover. So, even though you set the oven to 500 degrees, it could be 350 or less by the time you leave the oven door open to manipulate the dough.
Note that all recipes have a professional format: ingredient amounts are listed in both volume and weight measurements, there is a table of baker's percentages, and the steps are strictly numbered. The recipes are complete, meaning that few have less than a dozen steps, and several occupy multiple pages. Most recipes are accompanied by extensive notes. The first chapter is one the author rightfully expects you to read and thoroughly understand before doing any of the recipes in the rest of the book, as it contains vital information you will need. I should also say that this exemplary information is important for bread baking in general, and applies to all other loaves you might try, no matter which baking book you are using. The 2 recipes for French bread alone are worth the price of admission. Note that he has complete, tested recipes for poolish, biga, old dough, and barm.
It has these chapters: basics, pre-ferments, sourdough, whole grain, rye, enriched, flatbreads, quick breads, and winning recipes from the bread Olympics. The bibliography is especially valuable.
Rating:
Summary: The best book for serious home bread bakers
Review: When my husband bravely mentioned that he liked the baguettes from the grocery store better than mine, I knew something had to be done. With the help of this book, I can say without hesitation (or modesty) that the loaves I am making are the best I have ever tasted, and I am eager to explore the many others in this book. The instructions are clear, geared to the home baker, and not at all pedantic, with the purpose of each step clearly explained. The only reason that I gave this book four stars instead of five is that a lay-flat binding woudl have been such an addition. Instead, I have to put my flour bin on it to hold it open. The book is so beautiful, I dread putting doughy fingers on it!
Rating:
Summary: Best pancakes ever
Review: While other reviewers have covered the bread aspects of this book quite well, I wanted to mention the little recipe tucked in the back for "Perfect" buttermilk pancakes. I am a pancake addict and these are truly the best pancakes I have EVER had. The sourdough pancakes on the following page are quite good as well, but the buttermilk recipe is perfection. Unlike some artisan bread books (i.e. The Bread Bible), Crust and Crumb is detailed and intricate but entirely clear in its instruction. I highly recommend it for the serious bread baker.
Rating:
Summary: Best pancakes ever
Review: While other reviewers have covered the bread aspects of this book quite well, I wanted to mention the little recipe tucked in the back for "Perfect" buttermilk pancakes. I am a pancake addict and these are truly the best pancakes I have EVER had. The sourdough pancakes on the following page are quite good as well, but the buttermilk recipe is perfection. Unlike some artisan bread books (i.e. The Bread Bible), Crust and Crumb is detailed and intricate but entirely clear in its instruction. I highly recommend it for the serious bread baker.
|
