A couple weeks back, Shiao-Ping picked up a new book and did a nice review on it here. I was intrigued by what I saw and ordered a copy from Amazon which arrived early this morning.

I will not go into great detail about the book except to say that I am a visual person. I appreciate seeing what the finished product looks like in vivid color. The BSB is stunning in this regard. Every bread and pastry is artfully photographed in a way that make me want to try every one of these recipes. The method for each is carefully worded to be clear.

One interesting aspect is that they have several base recipes that are then modified or added to to create something different. For example the Mr. Potato Bread (page 92) calls for 830g of sourdough (pages 50-51) . "Once you have a basic white sourdough, millers sourdough (multi grain), or spelt sourdough you can create  other variations from it." These are called Derivative Breads.

This is how I have organized my thoughts about the breads I bake but I didn't really have a good grip on the variety I could create with the base recipes. This book is loaded with unusual breads you have never heard of or tasted unless you happen to live down the road from this bakery or perhaps in Oz where some of these couplings might be common. Fig and Barberry loaf, Spiced Fruit sourdough, Mr Potato Bread and on and on. Each one looks better than the last.

This is a great book and is proclaimed to be "The ultimate Baking Companion" on the cover. From what I can see I wouldn't dispute that statement at all. I'll be selecting some of the more unusual breads to highlight here as I suspect will Shiao-Ping in the future. One can not help but compare this book to Suas's Advanced Bread and Pastry. The last 200 plus pages are dedicated to pastry and deserts, starting with laminated doughs.This a serious book for any serious home baker or want to be pro baker.

Eric

After seeing quite alot of  blog entries from my fellow bakers regarding French Flour I thought i'd share a pic of  this loaf made earlier today.  I spent last weekend in France so picked up some Pain de Campagne flour (Francine) from the massive Carrefour Hypermarket outside Caen. I have used it and Francines white flours before with good results though they are more expensive than the flour I buy in the UK.  Total flour weight was 550grams + rye starter and around 350ml of water. Yesterday, I made up a sponge with 250g of the flour & all of the water  then added the rest of the flour plus some olive oil and a little salt once it was good and bubbly.  After a leisurely kneading it was retarded overnight in the fridge, warmed up, shaped and proofed for couple of hours before baking in a cast iron casserole (from a cold oven) for 45mins on max (250c) then lid off for an extra 5mins at 200c. It was even nice enough for a pic outside!, crumb pic to follow cheers, Steve

After looking for a pizza peel for home use I decided to try and make one after getting a cheap (£2) non-stick baking (cookie) sheet from the UK store Wilkinsons, only trouble is that now i'm in the dog-house for shortening a broom handle for my baking toy!.  Cheers, Steve

Maybe some of you saw this recent Onion feature and thought, "I know someone like that . . ."

How about a little test for deciding if your enthusiasm for breadmaking is a cause for alarm:

1. I bake enough bread to _____.

a. Feed myself (1 pt)

b. Feed myself and my family (2 pts)

c. Feed myself, my family, and the family next door (4 pts)

d. Feed myself, my family, the family next door, and all my co-workers (10 pts)

2. I have created ____ spreadsheets to calculate baker's percentages.

a. zero (1 pt)

b. 1 (2 pts)

c. >1 (4 pts)

3. If a forum post fails to include a crumb shot, I _______.

a. notice but refrain from commenting (1 pt)

b. comment on its absence (2 pts)

c. skip the thread entirely (4 pts)

4. King Arthur Flour _______.

a. is kinda pricey (1 pt)

b. is worth the investment (2 pts)

c. doesn't offer the complexity and depth of flavor offered by organic flour ground in my hand-cranked mill (4 pts)

5. Commercial yeast is ______.

a. perfectly acceptable (1 pt)

b. okay for beginners (2 pts)

c. heresy in a jar; when I travel to visit family, I bring my wild yeast starter (4 pts)

Scoring*

5-8 points = you're a practical baker who may even slice a loaf before it has cooled.

9-12 points = people regard your baking as a healthy pastime, but know better than to praise Panera in your presence.

13-16 points = everyday life intrudes on your breadmaking.

17-26 points = the folks at TFL are the only ones who really understand you ;-)

* no, not that kind.