Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes [Rilegato]

This is absolutely the best of the bread books. However, I'll warn the novice baker that it is also much more technical than many of the other books on the market. If you are looking for a simple recipe book and have no desire to understand the bread-baking process, then skip this book. On the other hand, if you want to produce quality bread and are willing to read the text, you will be delighted with the results. Hamelman's writing is clear and concise; he provides detailed drawings to explain various processes. For example, when giving directions on folding bread, Hamelman actually shows each step. This is in sharp contrast to Peter Reinhart's "Bread Baker's Apprentice" which instructs the baker to fold the dough, but never explains how it should be done. I wish I'd found this book before I bought a number of others. I probably would have purchased those at some point because I like having multiple references, but this book is one to which I would refer.

THIS is the definitive guide for professional and serious home bakers; it is precisely the caliber of detailed information serious bakers have demanded in order to reach their next plateau of bread baking excellence. This is unmistakably the most comprehensive bread book of its type on the market. I am so delighted with the results it has shown my own baking.

As a serious and dedicated cook, I have never experienced such instant gratification and remarkable improvements in my own craft than is evidenced via the advice available from this extraordinary reference.

Through dedicated effort, and much trial and effort - in the method of Nancy Silverman - my sourdough eventually met the high goal I set for it; to taste like that of Fisherman's Wharf sourdough. Nevertheless, my ciabatta and country style loaves remained, in my opinion, sub-par.

This book's detailed; professional instructions launched my country bread and ciabatta loaves to bakery status within only two passes! I am now able to go beyond my original benchmark and further tweak the percentages in BREAD to achieve what ever I want for this style of bread. It is such a wonderful experience! The first try did not deviate from BREAD's formula. The second pass was formulae - plus - experience, and that was the charm. We are simply blown-away at how something exponentially went from good to excellent in two batches.

JEFFREY HAMELMAN, a former bakery owner has been baking professionally for thirty years. In 1998, he became the 76th Certified Master Baker in the United States. Unlike the other author of five bread books, Mr. Hamelman's book, Bread stays on point.

He does not have the ungracious, annoying habit of referencing himself as "acclaimed" and famous, nor does he continuously interject references to old James Beard awards. Mr. Hamelman does not patronize the reader and talk down to them, nor does he disingenuously convolute his instructions to make them appear more complicated to elevate his own importance.

I bought four of the other author's books in a single optimistic purchase for which I regret. Reinhart's recipes produced baked goods that could double as doorstops and his sourdough starter was a waste of ingredients, both tries were scaled and to the letter!

There are 118 detailed formulas. Each formula is charted in four versions:

- U.S. Imperial weight - for professional yields (about 22-25 loaves)
- Metric weight - for large professional yields
- Home - Imperial volume (cups, teaspoons) w/some weights - 2-3 loaves
- Bakers Percentages

Home artisan bakers can easily scale their ingredients by looking at the professional metric weights and moving the decimal point for home yields. The only math necessary is converting fresh yeast to either active or instant yeasts. OR, if one wishes to customize ingredients, they can combine the baker's percentages as appropriate.

Additional information might be as follows:

-Ciabatta with Stiff Biga-

pre-fermented flour 20%
Dough Yield: U.S. __ - Metric ___ - Home: __

Overall Formula:
Each ingredient is charted in columns per US, Metric, Home, and %
BIGA - also listed in columns per US, Metric, Home, and %
FINAL DOUGH in columns per US, Metric, Home

Then detailed instructions are categorized as 1. Biga, - 2. Mixing, - 3. Bulk Fermentation: 3 hours, - 4. Folding, - 5. Dividing and Shaping, - 6. Final Fermentation: time - 7. Baking.

The typeface and layout are such that they are user friendly. Mountains of information is there at one's ready without flipping all over and digging for salient information.

Lastly, Hamelman is the baking director of King Arthur Flour. They sell their live sourdough to the public. It is perfectly balanced lactic to acetic and originates from 200 year old cultures. Save yourself the aggravation of fiddling with organic grapes, or other methods that do not always work. Buy a small culture from King Arthur and watch it sponsor a lifetime of artisan loaves. Mine had been making beautiful music for years. It is delicious!

I've been a home baker for many years and have owned ALL of the bread cookbooks that have been touted as 'the definitive' one to have. However, NONE of them ever helped me to achieve the type of perfect artisanal bread that this one did on my first attempt after reading it.

My thanks to reviewers like Southern Review who helped me to believe that this one might be the 'holy grail' of bread books, because IT IS!

When you get it, sit down and read the first chapters before the recipes and you'll learn so many things that will help to make all your breads SO much better! I've tried sourdough breads off and on for years and was never satisfied with what I achieved with them. The first recipe I tried was the Vermont Sourdough and I just couldn't believe how perfect it was! I'd finally DONE it!

Several things that the other cookbooks all stated one must do in handling the doughs turns out to be just flat wrong, just the simple information he gives on folding the dough a few times during the initial rise has given me the sort of beautiful, silky, full of life dough that before I'd only dreamed of!

Easy to read and understand, good illustrations on how to shape, score, and bake, I don't think I'll ever use another bread book, but when I do I'll follow the techniques in this book!