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Summary: Best Bread Ever...this side of the Atlantic
Review: Anyone who has traveled or lived in Europe for any length of time despairs upon returning to the States with its paucity of true high-quality food which Europeans take for granted. High on the list of longed-for foodstuffs is great bread. Even the so-called "french" bakeries have learned that they can define down their efforts (and increase their profits) for the American palate and still command upwards of $3.00 for a bland baguette or flavorless focaccia. Thanks to Charlie Van Over, at least for high-quality, low-cost bread, we need despair no longer! His method absolutely takes the guesswork out of breadmaking and you will not believe the beautiful, utterly delicious breads which you will produce with so little effort! The aroma that will fill your house as this incredible bread bakes is worth the price of the book alone. I recommend getting a starter going immediately as this is the key ingredient in a truly flavorful french-style baguette. The starter also can be used to improve the flavor of nearly any bread you bake. And as other bakers have recommended, let time be your ally. I make the dough in the evening (takes about 10 minutes from start to finish), do the first rise, then put it in the refrigerator for up to three days, baking at my convenience. Time does equal taste, as Mr. Van Over says, but it is "free time" in which the Method works, not you!
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Summary: Traditionalists--Get over it!
Review: Anyone who is still mixing and kneading bread the traditional way is obviously doing it for some other reason than the quality of the bread. This book makes breadmaking so easy that a novice can turn out perfect baguettes and European breads by following the steps in each recipe. Even after 20+ years of baking, this is truly the best bread I've ever made. The explanations are precise, easy to follow, and have been adapted to different kinds of food processors. I bought the book for the recipes, but the first fifty pages of text were fascinating and essential to learning this new and exciting method of the ancient craft of breadmaking. You definitely want this book in your cooking library.
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Summary: Scientific Guide to Breadmaking
Review: Breadmaking is mystical. Some say there is voodoo involved. Not so says this book. Everything is precise and exact. Just like using a bread machine but the method introduced here can be considered semi-automated.Van Over reduces breadmaking to a scientific protocol. Like doing a PCR, the kneading method is almost as quick. 45 seconds in the processor. Temperature must be taken. No guesswork here! His method works but the materials he uses, especially the yeast (SAF Instant) should be used as prescribed. All in all, an excellent book for those starting out on baking bread without a breadmachine.
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Summary: Victory with the French Bread Baguette after 2 long years
Review: For 2 long years, I've been to bread making classes, read multiple reviews, articles (Julia Childs [Parade Magazine-1970's edition saved in the back of a cookbook]; a recent edition of Cook's Illustrated [very helpful]; etc.), and cookbooks, and still did not have what I considered an adequate, much less perfect, loaf of French Bread. A friend's mother heard of my dilemma and suggested Charles Van Over's book. It worked PERFECTLY the 1st and subsequent times. Just follow his recommendations precisely as I did (I'm a scientist and wanted to get all the variables exact), and you too will impress your family, your neighbors, and, most importantly, yourself! Moreover, you will save 10-20 minutes of kneading and dough manipulations that can result in considerable variability from loaf to loaf. With this book in hand, I now have plans to make bread about every other weekend and freeze perfect loaves and never 'buy' bread again. I have made over 100 less-than-adequate French bread baguettes that have been eaten without enthusiasm (or with guarded compliments by neighbors and friends to whom I've passed on these loaves that I though were OK) or have ended up in the garbage can in frustration. With Charles Van Over's techniques, neighbors who have received recent loaves complain that they only got a little piece because the others in their family ate it (a whole loaf devoured in less than 30 minutes by a father and daughter last Sunday afternoon) before they got home. It is truly THAT GOOD! As they said in the commercial in the 60's - "Try it... You'll like (read love) it! Good Cooking! and enjoy the fruits of Charlie's labors.
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Summary: Really good bread
Review: I had given up trying to find a good bakery in this area when I came across Charlie Van Over's book. The very first three loaves of bread I ever baked in my life came out beautifully golden (if somewhat oddly shaped) and ranked right up there with the best breads from specialty shops in terms of taste and texture. Mr. Van Over's recipes are very precise; I purchased a digital scale and instant-read thermometer and had no problem what-so-ever with the dough. I am on my third batch of dough in three days and now have visions of opening a bakery...
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Summary: it changed my kitchen!
Review: I had the pleasure of taking a bread class from the author here in nyc. He is as personable as his book is clear. My family has not purchased bread since I opened its pages - this is bread that is simple to master and stuns my friends. The author is a teacher and a gifted baker.
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Summary: every loaf is wonderful and surprisingly easy.
Review: I have been baking bread for over 30 years and have never been able to bake a decent deli rye bread that had great crumb and good tough crust. The first try in the Best Bread Ever book and I was thrilled. You have to try it to see for yourself how truly easy it is. The baguettes and challah bread are superb. I've owned this book almost 5 years and just started to use it about a month ago. What a waste of all that time ,do try Charles Van Over's method.
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Summary: Fantastic, big league bread
Review: I have been pursuing the perfect baguette for years, driving hours to bakeries, and freezing bread to save. The baguette in The Best Bread Ever exceeds anything I have bought, and anything I have baked before in my kitchen!
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Summary: Good book with one glaring problem.
Review: I have ordered, read and been duly impressed by Mr. Van Over's authoritive book. His techniques and explanations are clear and easy to follow and the results are usually quite acceptable when not downright fantastic. HOWEVER, European cooks and chefs (myself included) beware!!! The author has taken care to give us all the weights and volumes in metric but there is no mention of the most aggravating conversion of all --- temperatures. Not a whisper of centigrades to be found. Not even a conversion sheet. So be prepared to sit down and pencil in this very important information for every recipe.
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Summary: Unfair criticism of a great book
Review: I recently was given this book as a gift and have been enjoying it immensely. Everything is working exactly as advertised. One review here was puzzling though; everyone except this one reviewer seems to think this is a great book. ...I wondered why this reader had such poor results, so turned to page 127 for the Classic Pullman Loaf. The first thing that leaps out of the recipe is 2-3/4 TABLESPOONS of salt! Now this should have been a red flag for someone who has been "baking for years", and it grossly contradicts Van Over's description of salt earlier in the book (2% relative to the flour, by weight). Comparing the weight of the salt in grams also shows that 2-3/4 tablespoons HAS to be an error, and Van Over even says in the Salt section that too much salt causes a dense heavy loaf.
So, it's a great book, with at least one very obvious typo. No book is perfect. 2-3/4 teaspoons is obviously correct, and anyone thoughtfully reading the book should be able to figure this out. If not, perhaps dumping packaged mixes into a bread machine might be a better choice.
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