Hey folks,
Baked my 4th loaf recently and I'm hooked :)
Would like to continue expanding my horizons and learn more. If you had to recommend one book, what would it be? Obviously I'd still consider myself a beginner, so I need one that won't make too many assumptions on pre-existing knowledge and doesn't overcomplicate things for marginal improvement.
Thanks in advance!
BREAD.
You can’t go wrong with Jeff Hammelman.
Thanks! Is it just sourdough or all kinds of breads?
All kinds -- that's one of the book's strengths. I baked my way through the yeasted section and moved onto SD when my starter (developed using Peter Reinhart's Pineapple Juice 'solution', a la Deb Wink) was ready. I'm sure you can see Hammelman's Table of Contents on Amazon or at the publisher.
One criticism people have about Hammelman is that he aims at pros as much as at home bakers. His formulas are given with a range of quantities, from pro bakery proportions down to home baker levels. But there's no harm in hearing how pros should be doing it. Chef Jeff runs (ran?) King Arthur's education program -- he's got pedagogical chops.
Tom
nuff said
i couldn’t agree more. The one book that taught me the most, first, is this book. I still bake 30-40% of my loaves from formulas based on the ones in this book.
Can’t go wrong with this one.
OldWoodenSpoon
The current baking craze has caused a run on used bread cookbooks at Amazon. Amazon is not discounting the major authors/titles as much as they used to, and most all of the less-expensive (bargain priced) used copies are gone from Amazon's used marketplace.
I have found one exception: The Italian Baker by Carol Field. The newer revised edition, 2011, in Kindle format, is still only US $4.99.
www.amazon.com/Italian-Baker-Revised-Countryside-Its-Focaccia-ebook/dp/B004N63694?tag=froglallabout-20
The original print edition, 1985, can still be had for US $8 and under, used, in good condition:
www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0061812668?ie=UTF8&f_usedLikeNew=true&f_usedVeryGood=true&f_usedGood=true&tag=froglallabout-20
I have both of these, the new edition in Kindle, and the original in hard copy.
The interesting thing for the hard copy, even being from 1985, is that it gives the measurments in both cups and grams for flour. Water and yeast is measured by volume. Salt is measured by volume and grams.
She has some very interesting biga recipes. Also several mostly-whole-wheat, at least one all-whole-wheat, and one Altamura (durum) recipe. Also has a white flour Pugliese recipe.
Includes bread, pizza, focacce, cakes, pastries, cookies.
Buon appetito.
Since Hamelman is already spoken for, The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. And if that had been said already, the next would be Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads.
Hamelman's book is fantastic but I always found it rather daunting. He's a pro, and it always seemed to me like the audience for his site was other professionals and amateurs who want to bake like they are professionals. That's just isn't me.
Peter Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice still gets my vote on the grounds of variety and accessibility. It is a great one for building confidence.
I agree re: BBA. I sat down and read it right through when I was first infected with the bread baking bug. I probably don't appreciate how much of what is now instinct for me entered from those pages. BBA is pedagogically about as good as it gets. Peter Reinhart is, after all, largely a teacher and the writing shows it. My gripe about all of PR's books is that I can't name a single formula of his that I've ever returned to, whereas Hammelman, Robertson and Forkish have provided a lifetime of keepers.
I think Carol Field's book would be a tough place to start. Great ideas, beautifully presented, from a unique bread culture. But not for beginners outside of Italia, imho.
Tom
Thanks everyone for responding! Forgot to mention it doesn't have to be just sourdough, would love to try other breads as well!
All the books mentioned so far have commercial yeast recipes included.
I agree that Reinhart is the best teacher (pedagogical) of the currently popular major bread-cookbook authors.
If you do Kindle ebooks (there's a reader-app for practically every device) check out this post for a couple of free ones:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/61480/free-or-discounted-kindle-bread-books
I subscribe to www.bookbub.com, and get email notices of free/discounted ebooks. Amazon is not discounting bread books like they used to, due to the current popularity. But a lot of the "majors" go on sale for as cheap as $.99, $1.99, $2.99, $3.99, every so often.
Check out your local Half-Priced Books, too. They might have Hamelman, Reinhart, or Forkish.
Glad you asked this!
Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Bread for a wide variety and simpler ease with recipes.
And Hamelman's Bread for a more in depth artisan bread and really learning how to bake it like a pro. Great teacher!
I own too many baking books, and most of those already mentioned.
I'm still a huge fan of Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish.
Yes, the instructions are repetitive, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
It's still my day-to-day go to book after about seven or eight years of baking.
I love Crust & Crumb from Peter Reinhart, too. Basically you can't go wrong with any of his books.