Peter Reinhart´s books and / or others?
Please could anybody help to choose some good books for baking? The problem is, that living in a non-English speaking country I cannot have a look at them in a bookshop or library :-(
1) I already have PR´s Artisan Breads Every Day. Most of you recommend BBA, Whole Grain Breads and Crust and Crumb. How are the books different? Are there completely different methods, explanations and recipes?
2) I would love a good book (or two) that would explain clearly and with practical "tips and tricks" how bread making works (comparing sourdough and other preferment and direct methods), how different hydrations, feeding ratios, temperatues (e.g. preheated vs. cold oven...) etc. affect the composition on the starter and the resulting bread and helping to manage the amounts for a home baker? Also some examples of healthy recipes (without much cream, eggs, meat, sugar...) in metric units would be welcome.
3) Here are some of the tips I have gathered when reading this super TFL forum:
Daniel DiMuzio: Bread Baking
Andrew Whitley: Bread Matters
Daniel Leader: Local Breads
Daniel Leader: Bread Alone
Maggie Glezer: Artisan Baking
Jeffrey Hamelman: Bread
Richard Bertinet: Crust
Joe Ortiz: Village Baker
Laurel´s Kitchen Book
Peter Reinhart: BBa
Peter Reinhart: Crust and Crumb
Peter Reinhart: Whole Grain Breads
Thanks very much!
zdenka
Since you're asking a rather broad book question, some of what you are asking may be covered here:
2009 Book GuideAdditionally, there is a lot of information and comments on each book in the Book Reviews.
I apologize if my question seems useless as all the books have been mentioned here or on Amazon. I had tried to go through the "Book Reviews" ... However I have not found there some of the information that are relevant to me.
I love breadmaking (although I have discovered it quite recently) and love books. But it is always a little difficult to choose a book that suits you when you cannot see it personally :-(
At any case, thank you very much for this wonderful forum!
zdenka
For best instruction on bread baking I would go with DiMuzio or Hamelman. Then the next question is how do you feel about whole grains vs white flour breads. If you want white four I would say Hamelman. For whole grains I would say Laurel's Bread Book.
If it was me and I had to buy 2 and wanted both good all white and some part white part wheat I would buy Hamelman and DiMuzio. I think the shear education you will get from both of these books along with the inspiration and formulas you can find here on TFL will enable you to bake anything you want.
Yes, I prefer at least a part of whole grains. Does Laurel´s Bread Book include only 100% WW or are there less "purist" recipes as well? From the reviews I have found on Whole Grains books I hesitate between Laurel´s and Peter Reinhart´s...
Laurel's is pretty much 100% whole grains. That is why I like Hamelman's formulas. He uses 50% in many breads and I just preferment the whole rain flour instead of the white.
are there some sample recipes in DiMuzio books or is it just theory?
zdenka
Both theory and formulas.
DiMuzio´s book seems good. Have you had a possibility to compare it to BBA or Hamelman´s Bread?
Dimuzio is more I think technical than BBA. It is laid out to teach the different aspects of bread baking. I think it would depend on the kids of formulas you want. Hamelman has just about everything BBA has, Dimuzio has not as many formulas but it is packed with info and teaches how to create formulas. I would get DiMuzio and Hamelman. I have BBA, Whole Grains, Laurel's and many more. We are moving and I am taking only 2 books with me. Hamelman and DiMuzio if that says anything. And I have 14 bread books.
DiMuzio seems a good option :-) I do not seek for milions of recipes, rather some basic ones with tips for variants and alternatives. And some interestind, tradtitional or innovative ideas.
I am vegan and prefer a part of whole grain. I do not like too heavy breads or breads that are too dry the next day. Also, I like to learn not only "how" but "why" to do a certain technique or add an ingredient.
Do you prefer Laurel´s Bread Book to PR´s Whole Grain? Don´t you know some of the other books mentioned above?
I wish you do not have too much complications with moving... well, we have moved half a year ago and would not like to do a repetition soon...
We are moving to the counrty from a big city so I am very excited about getting out od the city, but the actual moving, not so much.
The other books. I did not have good success with any of the 3-4 recipes I got in Reinhart's Whole Grains. But I know other people have. It think it is just that I don't like his method. Some of the info he presents upfront about the probelms whole grains present in bread was very helpful. But like I said, the formulas I did not have success with. Laurel's bread book there are a couple recipes in there I liked but don't really use often. She has some useful info, but I don't really use her book for recipes. More for the info on milling and some other points.
The other books you have mentioned above. Let me look. I have Bertinet's Crust. Was a nice read and got me to pick up spelt, but I don't really use it anymore. I have Reinhart's Crust and Crumb and I think it is on level with BBA, but not as many pictures. I don't have Ortiz, Glezer, Leader or Whitley. So I can not comment on those.
I have just found a style of baking and mixing doughs that really works for me. And I got most of it from Hamelman and DiMuzio.
=== 2) I would love a good book (or two) that would explain clearly and with practical "tips and tricks" how bread making works (comparing sourdough and other preferment and direct methods), how different hydrations, feeding ratios, temperatues (e.g. preheated vs. cold oven...) etc. affect the composition on the starter and the resulting bread and helping to manage the amounts for a home baker? Also some examples of healthy recipes (without much cream, eggs, meat, sugar...) in metric units would be welcome. ===
_Bread Science_ is a good choice for this purpose:
http://www.twobluebooks.com/
The author is a home baker, bakery employee, and Ph.D in chemistry. She writes very well and understandably for the home baker (note that you can skim Chapter 2 the first time you read the book!).
sPh
thank you for the link. I will try to read the sample chapter :-)
Hi,
I have found, as a newbie, that Hamelman's "Bread" is a great book.
MommaT
at the library before buying and If I were only allowed to own one book, it would be Hamelman's "Bread"
in my country. sorry. But I love books, too :-)
I have been baking the bread recipes from Reinhart's BBA and I can say that his book is absolutely great for beginners as he explains everything so clearly. I like the first 100 pages intro on bread baking--explanation on the various equipment needed and the 12 steps, which is a very good read. I think this one is worth purchasing. I also have his Artisan Breads Every Day and like that too although his method there I find much more difficult (and takes longer) because he utilizes the overnight fermentation. I recently purchased the following books over at Amazon (I haven't received them yet so I won't be able to give a review): The Handmade Bread by Daniel Leder, Nancy Silverton's Breads from the La Bread Bakery, and Reinhart's American Pie. I am thinking about getting Hammelman's "Bread" soon too. At our bookstore I recently purchased Bernard Clayton's book and a few more of Reinhart's books which are Crust and Crumb and Whole Grains.