Rating: 
Summary: the best bread book i own
Review: (this is a copy of a note i sent the author)Dear Ms. Dunaway, Thank you for writing your bread book. i have been making bread since was 12, and like you struggled with my medium for years. alas, unlike you i could not come to successful resolution on my own. as a teenager, i was encouraged to make the heavy northern bread that my german irish relatives defined as bread, the oil painting of the bread world. meanwhile, after at trip to italy, i longed for the soft, watercolor painting style of bread. i am making fantastic loaves each week, thanks again for liberating me (forever) from heavy bread. justine in oregon ps, i also like the other food recipes in your book, the souffle recipe is the best one i have found. justine
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful, easy to use, gourmet bread book!
Review: Dunaway prevides her readers with years of experience in making wonderful Italian breads. This book is simple and it's "easy to make" recipes make these wonderful breads available to anyone. I would definetly recommend this cookbook to anyone no matter how experienced in bread making!
Rating:
Summary: You Need No Need to Knead
Review: During my two month stay last summer in the LA area, I grew positively addicted to the fragrant, chewy Italian breads produced by a wonderful bakery named Buona Forchetta. Carried by only the finest restaurants and grocery stores, these fresh, crusty breads surpassed anything I had tasted in Italy. As my wife poutingly puts it, I fell in love--with a bakery! Upon my return to Florida, the dismal selection of supermarket Italian breads left me pining for a loaf of BF's kalamata olive filoncino, or a rosemary encrusted foccacia, or a pane rustico or...and then I would arouse from my wistful daydream to face another day-- without Buona Forchetta! My depression ended when I discovered Suzanne Dunaway's great new book, No Need to Knead. Suzanne, founder and owner (along with husband, Don) of Buona Forchetta, has written (and illustrated!) a wonderfully lively bread manual in which she shares her wealth of hard learned breadmaking secrets. I ordered the book from Amazon immediately and quickly found myself mixing up the first foccacia dough of my life. Me, a baker! [See wife skeptically smiling]. But would it work, and could it be this easy? No kneading! Ready to eat in 90 minutes! And most important of all--would the crust and crumb taste like the great Buona Forchetta breads that I had grown to love? The answers are, Yes, Yes and Yes! Plus, it's one heck of a lot of fun. Thank you, Suzanne! At the time of this writing I have successfully made the foccacia, both the rosemary and kalamata olive filoncinos, crusty dinner rolls, and the whimsical fougasse. Every one has been a gustatory home run--and my neighbors now love to see me come loafing around on my bread route. If I can do it, you can too! So far I have just scratched the surface of this enticing book. Still to come are traditional breads, pizzas, sweet loaves, bread sticks, specialty breads, and...this is a great idea...bread as leftovers! As in yummy bruschette, soups, mouth-watering croutons, and desserts. Reflecting on her own upbringing in happy kitchens, Ms. Dunaway has thoughtfully included a chapter on making bread WITH children. Reminds me of the cinnamon sugar pie crust tailings I would bake with my mom. Obviously I am quite taken with this book. Suzanne Dunaway has distilled a lifetime of cooking and living experience, much of it acquired on the ground in Italy and France, into a first rate bread book. The best part is that her words translate into delectable products that will amaze beginning bakers and please discriminating bread connoisseurs. Now, all of us can easily replicate the wonderful aromas and chewy bread textures of an Italian bakery right in our own kitchens.
Rating:
Summary: Anyone Can Make Bread!
Review: During these difficult times in the US, I decided I needed a way to get back to some peace and calm in my life, and making bread felt like a nourishing and therapeutic way to get there. So I went to the library and took home book after book about bread-making and became overwhelmed at the amount of time and effort many of those fancy bakers put into their bread. I just want to make some bread and have some joy in my life - not make it a religious retreat where I need two weeks for the perfect starter. Then I read Suzanne's book and her positive attitude, love for bread, clear instructions, and de-mystifying approach helped me to find my way to the kitchen and bake that first loaf. My first loaf ever! And it came out perfect! I followed her Ciabatta instructions to the letter and the loaf came out with a chewy crust and moist crumb that was delicious. I felt such a wonderful feeling of accomplishment and amazement and am hooked on bread-making and being able to supply such lovely nourishment for my family. Thank you, Suzanne!
Rating:
Summary: Keep This One Close To Your Heart! :-))
Review: Fast, easy, beautiful, foolproof, and unbelievably delicious!! The *best* bread I've *ever* tasted -- and I'm of Italian descent and have spent my share of time living near "Little Italy" neighborhoods in New York City. I wish I could give Suzanne 10,000 stars, not five. I'm seeing stars -- I've definitely died and gone to heaven. Seriously! She's a great writer (one chapter had my wife and I bawling like babies), clearly with a great heart -- every page is dreamy. The whole book is a delight to hold and behold, read and bake, from cover to cover. And, Boys and Girls, does Suzanne have lots of great recipes (and anecdotes) in here! She also has a great web site with more recipes and will help you if you contact her. Any one can do this -- from 6-year-olds to octogenarians -- without failure, and the SMELL of bread baking at home is indescribable... So far, I've tried both her Focaccia and French Baguettes (several ways), her homemade ricotta cheese (EASY and great), and Ricotta Cake (Mmmmm). (And she's gotten me so totally addicted to, and infused with fresh rosemary and her rosemary oil, that I can smell and taste it all the time.) Yesterday, I took a wider slice of that French Baguette (to which I added sesame seeds), lightly toasted it, and made a "mini-sub." I'm telling you, every bite was "to die for!" It's so good, that I feel like I don't even "knead" to make any other kind, but she's said I have more to discover. And I'm also beginning to consider living on just her bread. My wife says I smell like bread now. :-) Most of her recipes really have dun-away with the need to knead (and the need for a stand mixer). She "breaks" the rules (rather, "tales") and does it sooo beautifully. Shortly before I discovered Suzanne Dunaway and "No Need To Knead," I tried another famous bread baker's book. I thought I couldn't live on bread alone because his was HARD and literally took hours and hours to make a rustic loaf with lots of hardware and calculations and sweat and studying. (And it's hard to get help from that other bakery by phone or email.) Now I wish I could return his book and just keep *HAVING FUN* with Suzanne's book! I'd better buy another copy of "No Need To Knead" so I'll be sure to have it around for years and years, and come to think of it, one each for every one of my friends and family. It's a must have, for sure! Gotta run now to make bread and click "buy more copies..."
Rating:
Summary: Best Breads I have ever tasted!
Review: For anyone who yearns to bake and taste really good bread, but labors under mythological fears, drop them. This is the best, most refreshing cookbook I have come across in many years. The bread-making procedure is the New Millenium - there is no kneading - and no failure because it is so simple. Get good yeast from a mill, this book and you will think you are a professional baker - and you will salivate every time. Along with wonderful, pure, delightful breads, there is a plethera of other items, like a most delicious tomato sauce. This Simply Perfect Tomato Sauce is quick and easy and explodes all of the mythes of cooking for 6 hours with a ton of ingredients.
I cannot tell enough people about this book and/or the contents. The Authoress, Suzanne Dunaway, takes a good amount of time to give you a feeling, and background of each item. You become one with the recipes.
Salivate, stir and enjoy!
Maureen Cooley
Rating:
Summary: Best Breads I have ever tasted!
Review: For anyone who yearns to bake and taste really good bread, but labors under mythological fears, drop them. This is the best, most refreshing cookbook I have come across in many years. The bread-making procedure is the New Millenium - there is no kneading - and no failure because it is so simple. Get good yeast from a mill, this book and you will think you are a professional baker - and you will salivate every time. Along with wonderful, pure, delightful breads, there is a plethera of other items, like a most delicious tomato sauce. This Simply Perfect Tomato Sauce is quick and easy and explodes all of the mythes of cooking for 6 hours with a ton of ingredients.
I cannot tell enough people about this book and/or the contents. The Authoress, Suzanne Dunaway, takes a good amount of time to give you a feeling, and background of each item. You become one with the recipes.
Salivate, stir and enjoy!
Maureen Cooley
Rating:
Summary: New bread baker
Review: Get this book if you never thought you could make terrific bread. I never made a loave of bread in my life and now I am wowing my friends. If I make two loaves I give one away for the feedback. I haven't heard a complaint yet. They can't wait to get more. I was a little timid at first because the book has no photographs which to compare my finished product (there are numerous drawings). But if you follow the great instructions it's all going to work out right. Nothing super complicated here. Outstanding Fococcia, Ciabatta, and Pane Casereccio, among many others. As a bonus, there are chapters on making pizza, creative things to do with bread leftovers, and a section on bread making for children. I haven't bought a loaf of bread since I bought this book. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: No need to look any further!
Review: Great book, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to make
simple and great tasting breads. The recipes are simple to read
and follow, the results are overwhelming. Many other bread books
see baking as a science (some even seem to have a religious tone
every now and then). Fortunately, this one gets the picture
right: baking bread at home is a simple and rewarding
process - it must be, otherwise people all over the world
wouldn't have been doing it for millennia. The only thing I (someone who is much more used to surfing the
web than reading books) am missing is photographs accompanying
the descriptions of the doughs and bread making steps.
Rating:
Summary: Yum Yum Yum!
Review: I am a fairly serious baker and have turned out thousands of loaves in my time, but never anything like the foccacia in this book! It was hard for me to believe that anything so simple could have the consistant and marvelous results I get from the recipes in this book. With the few ingredients listed and a little effort(very little) I have finally turned out the breads of my dreams. With a crispy chewy crust and an inner texture that I can only describe a perfect, with the large holes and beautiful texture I have been striving for. These are the artisan breads that all true bread lovers search for. But you don't have to be a connoiseur to appreciate these breads. Even my husband(who thinks the only good bread comes from a cellophane bag with red, blue and yellow polka dots...)loves the foccacia. I sneaked a piece on his plate just to see if he'd try it. Later I saw him chewing happily on a HUGE slab he had cut off for himself. I am absolutely thrilled with this book. I just wish I could give it more than just 5 stars!
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