Customer Reviews

Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is s dream come true for bakers of all levels. The detail provided will expand your knowledge and the proof will be in the baking. The loaves of artisanal quality bread that you will produce will astound. This book is a must for anyone who loves to bake bread, or anyone who has a desire to learn what will truly produce a good loaf of bread. Page after page of mouthwatering recipe will lure to you to bake. Enjoy it - it is a jewel!

A veritable fountain of knowledge for any type of bakers - this book has it all. And, if you are really into breadmaking, this is the book to have. Well Done!

I am a home baker, admittedly a bit obsessed with baking bread, but of all the bread books I've read, and that's many many, this is my absolute favorite. The recipes are all flawless, the techniques great, and because of this, I've make bread better than most bakeries in my mid-size city. It has a range of recipes, both including yeast and starter, french, rye, challah, special doughs - pretty much the whole range. This book isn't for everyone, but I like it far better than the Reinhart series, and it is truly the one bread book I couldn't live without.

Contrary to the one negative opinion, this book is suitable for all bakers. It is far and away the most important book I use and has been so from day one. My first book was Reinhart's BBA which provided an adequate primer. Within a couple of months I purchased Bread- what a revelation! Thank you so much Mr. Hamelman for your wonderful contribution to amateur bread bakers everywhere.

Baking is not my job, and before buying Bread I had read some criticism of Bread as being too geared to professional bakers, and I don't agree. Yes, the book seems to be written more with the professional in mind, but care is taken to provide the home baker with alternatives that work at home. I also feel that if you want to do something right, then a good place to learn is from material intended for people who do it for a living, and that not only is it interesting to see how things are done, (or at least how Hamelman recommends that they're done), in a "real" bakery, but knowing what a professional does to make the great bread we buy at the bakery can only help us replicate that at home. That's enough about the professional/home division.

The book is great. The first section takes you through the steps involved in bread making and the ingredients used in bread in an interesting way with personal stories and history. It's not just a step-by-step manual. The second section is full of recipes, (or "formulas"), for different breads. Each recipe has a margin not that talks about the bread and in some places there are larger passages, (a page, instead of a few paragraphs in the margin), that talk about the history, or backstory, of a particular recipe, set of recipes or technique. Even if I wasn't reading it to get better at baking bread I would find the book interesting.

However, the most important question is: Did I learn anything from the book? And, YES! I did. Since reading Bread the bread I've made has been much, much, tastier, and much, much less flat. Bread is definitely worth the purchase price and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to improve their breadmaking skills.

This book has so much information in it that I have to reread it every once in a while. I bake bread at home on a regular basis. The recipes are great but it's the thorough explanation of the bread making process (for yeasted bread, sourdough bread, rye bread, and many more)that make this book stand out from the rest. The author's love and passion for the art of bread making is apparent on every page. I highly recommend this book if you are serious about making delicious bread.

To be honest I was very desappointed, this is not what I was looking for. This book is great for someone who wants to teach or someone who want to open a bakery. It is not intended for everyday people and it should be mentioned somewhere in the review.