Rating: 
Summary: Most recipes don't work
Review: Is the author campaigning to have all his friends write glowing reviews of this book? The basic "Best Bread Ever" recipe for a baguette works quite well, and so does the pizza and a few others. But the further you get from these basic recipes, the more disastrous the results. Van Over claims that his "Basic Pullman Loaf" will "win you kudos from anyone lucky enough to taste it." What a joke...I tried that recipe 5 times and each time ended up with 2 8-inch long doorstops. And I've been baking for years and generally know what I'm doing in the kitchen. Sorry, Charlie, the problem is with you...test all of your recipes, not just the first few in the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Fabulous!
Review: Never thought I'd be able to make perfect baguettes, ryes, boules, and pizza, but this easy to follow book has turned me into a mini-master. The food processor mixing method recommended here works like a charm, and makes the process very fast and simple. It's also very flexible, time-wise, since you can retard the dough in the fridge for up to a day, and finish the baking when it's convenient. This really is the best bread, ever!
Rating:
Summary: Forget About Buying Bread----Just Bake It!
Review: Since last December when we started using Charles van Over'sThe Best Bread Ever, my family has not bought any bread---we just bakeit. Mr. van Over's techniques achieve the dual imperatives of producing addictively delicious breads that can be made as a matter of routine in our busy schedules. In this age where quality frequently is subordinated to our need for efficiency, Mr. van Over has given us what I had assumed was impossible---the best bread for the least effort. And make no mistake, this is not bread machine quality bread; this is top level artisan quality bread with flavors and textures that cause your palate to crave a product from the book with each meal. And, with a little planning and use of your freezer, you can satisfy that craving. Indeed, as strange as it may sound, some of these breads actually seem to improve with a little freezer time! Our favorite breads so far are: the baguettes (we go through 6-7 per week), the Classic Pullman Loaf (we use it for kid school lunch bread everyday, presliced and frozen as Mr. van Over suggests), the Bagels (wow! the school teachers have demanded the recipe), the Multigrain Sandwich Loaf (I modified the recipe by adding more whole wheat and love it as toast for breakfast), Seeded Deli Rye Bread (fabulous with Virginia ham and swiss cheese), the Peasant Wheat Loaf and the Pizzas (for maximum enjoyment, be sure to follow Mr. van Over's directions and retard the dough for at least 4 hours---longer is better). Buy this book and work bread making into your routine---its good for your soul and your taste buds will be grateful.
Rating:
Summary: the title says it all
Review: There are alot of bread books out there, but this one really lives up to its title. Note that it's not "the best bread from a bread machine ever" nor "the best bread from a food processor ever": this is the real thing: bread that can hold its crust up against any bread, anywhere in the world (and I say this after 15 years living in Switzerland, and traveling extensively in France and throughout Europe). A must-have, must-bake book!
Rating:
Summary: great bread at the pulse of your food processor
Review: This book brings baking into the twenty first century. For a busy person who may not have the time to knead and knead, this book teaches how to make terrific tasting bread with modern day equipment. After buying a couple of thermometers, you will be ready to go. It still takes an investment of time, but you can divide the steps by putting the dough into the refrigerator in between .I just don't have the strength for all that kneading. With this book, I was able to produce delicious bread! It is a wonderful book with many varied recipes. My colleagues at work sure appreciate it!
Rating:
Summary: Please bring it back.
Review: This is a wonderful book. For the first time I have come as close as you can get with a home oven for artisan bread. It is chewy, crunchy, wonderful. I wanted to give a copy to my daughter-in-law but found it is out of print. 70+ dollars is more than I can justify to pay for a used book. Please, please, please bring it back. His techniques really work!!!...
Rating:
Summary: the modern way of making bread at home
Review: Three reasons to get this book:- Technique - Information - Recipes TECHNIQUE Technique is what got me: I've been baking breads at home for years. It's fun, the results are pleasing and well-received by friends and guests. But making bread at home has always been time consuming for me because of the lack of a professional mixer. This point is worth discussing here: If you want to knead bread without working hard and without making a mess, you need a professional mixer. Some home mixers or even hand mixers come with dough hooks, but don't be deceived: Very few home mixers are powerful enough to knead bread dough, and those that are are very expensive. There is no ordinary garden veriety cheap mixer that can knead bread dough. Period. Trust me on this one, and you won't burn your mixer's motor and burn your money as well. So you either knead dough by hand, which is time consuming and hard work, or you get this [rather inexpensive] book and learn the technique of using your ordinary food processor to do the job. Food processors work differently from mixers, and even a cheap food processor is powerful enough to knead bread dough using the technique described in the book. I should know -- I bought my food processor over 8 years ago for about US$40 in a supermaket... It's old and it's so weak that a fresh carrot could make it stick and halt. But I've been making batches and batches of great bread dough with it and so far it's been great. If you are careful with the water and learn to add it gradually, you can actually eliminate measurements: You keep adding water gradually until the ball of dough is formed. If you go over a bit, just add a spoon of flour to try out the batch. It's quick, it's painless, and you can have perfect bread dough in under 1 minute (!). I think that no professional home or restaurant-class mixer can do that. Once you get the hang of using a food processor to knead dough perfectly in under a minute, you will be more willing to experiment with bread making at home. It just won't be that big of a chore anymore. INFORMATION The Best Bread Ever is not just a bunch of recipes for making bread. It will teach you all you need to know about the process of bread making: What fours to use, how much salt, what temperature is best, how to proof your bread, etc. There is no guesswork, there is no "feel" that takes forever to develop. Just read the introductory chapter and you'll know everything you need. RECIPES The Best Bread Ever is filled with recipes. Most are great. I found some of the Middle Eastern recipes a bit off, but that's a minor point. From baguettes to Brioche to Pizza, the book is filled with great recipes and great ideas you can follow and/or improvise on. But the bulk of my enthusiasm is reserved for the dough making technique. It's simply ingenious. I cannot over-emphasise the difference it will make in your bread making experience: Take the hardest, nastiest, messiest part of making bread and tame it completely, into a trivial process that takes just under a minute, and you will be free to enjoy the more creative aspects of making bread.
Rating:
Summary: Simply The Best
Review: Throughout history, the "conventional wisdom" has almost always been wrong. Charlie Van Over's book certainly proves it to be wrong where bread baking is concerned. It's simple physics, but no one ever thought of it before. Mixing bread dough with the metal blades of a food processor in an enclosed space for a mere 45 seconds keeps the oxygen out of the dough, resulting in bread that looks better, tastes better and keeps longer. Try it. You'll be amazed at the results.
Rating: 
Summary: Over-rated, far from "best ever"
Review: Using the author's method you can get a plain, small, crusty baguette, but anything larger or more complex in terms of ingredients comes out gooey inside. Overall, this is not an easy method. The instructions are not "simple" and, in fact, are conflicting at times. For example, in the instructions for converting your own recipes to this supposedly "foolproof" method, the author talks in terms of percentages of flour to liquid. While in his own recipes he weighs flour and measures fluid in volumes (cups), for conversion of your own recipes he wants you to weigh the fluid !!? Crazy...I've been using a food processor and baking bread for more than 20 years, but for me the combination did not work beyond a simple small baguette. Even for adventure's sake, definitely not worth the price!
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