Customer Reviews

Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads: Revised and Expanded

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
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I should have a kind of loyalty to Bernard Clayton, Jr.'s bread book. It's big, it's complete and it has just about any bread including crackers. (Like author Clayton, I love crackers.) But recent bread books,especially those artisan books, surpass The "New Complete Book of Breads" for getting that European effect, especially for free-form wheat breads like ciabatta and Tuscan bread.

However, this book shines for the American kitchen, in which you might not be using all the latest gadgets or have re-created a stone hearth. The recipes work well with the flours available in the grocery store and health food store, whereas you might need to mail order high-ash French-style flours from catalogs if you are working towards artisan breads.

The section on holiday breads like Panettone, Pandoro, challah and stollen are especially good. There is a Finnish bread that I especially admire.

So I find I still pull this book off the shelf when I want to make good bread, but don't want to agonize over getting crackly crusts, gel-like crumb or other artisan features of specialty breads. Easy, reliable and plenty of variety here.

After purchasing a bread machine, and baking a few loafes, I was unhappy with the results. I decided to try baking by hand. I bought this book randomly, and I am sure glad I did.
This book is the complete book on bread making. From white breads, to whole wheat, to sweet and special breads, this is the one source for recipes.
All recipes are clearly and logically laid out, and offer instructions for food processor, stand mixer, and by hand. Mr. Clayton offers insights, reccomendations for serving and storage, and background and origin of each recipe. My favorite so far is the "Rich White Bread".
If you are new to breadmaking as I was, or are a seasoned baker looking for a treasure trove of recipes, I cannot say enough good about this book.

The subject of bread baking seems to attract large, authoritative titled books, as this is the third 400 or more page book on bread which claims to be either complete or a bible. As the other two books (both entitled 'The Bread Bible' by Beth Hensperger and Rose Levy Beranbaum) were published in the last five years and Mr. Clayton's first edition of his book was published thirty years ago, Bernard Clayton has a distinct claim to have commanded this cookbook niche for the longest time, thereby having ample opportunity to correct, improve, and augment. From the author's new introduction, I see he has been doing that faithfully for the last thirty years.

In a sense, Mr. Clayton is very old school, as he was in a position to consult not only with Julia Child, but also with Craig Claiborne and James Beard, both of which have left us for tables on high. The augmentation of thirty years' effort gives us a volume which weighs in at 685 pages at an exceedingly reasonable $35. Kudos to Simon and Shuster for giving the volume the price of most cookbooks which rarely exceed 300 pages.

While Mr. Clayton arose from an 'old school' background, the general technique behind his bread recipes is very modern and will be very welcome to the inexperienced home baker. The heart of his technique for yeast breads is to use the newest incarnation of commercial yeast, typically called 'Rapid Rise'. I believe this yeast was specifically developed to work with bread machines. The fact that 'Rapid Rise' yeast can be added to dry ingredients without being proofed in warm water and sugar or flour is what distinguishes it from the older 'Active Dry' yeast from producers like Red Star and Fleishmans. Virtually every yeast based recipe in the book mixes the yeast with dry ingredients and starts with water at 120 degrees Fahrenheit rather than blooming the yeast in water at about 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

The very best thing about Mr. Clayton's book in comparison to it's closest competitor, 'The Bread Bible' by Rose Levy Beranbaum is the fact that Mr. Clayton makes a point of showing you how bread baking can not only be easy, but it can be relatively easy with an incredibly wide range of historically and ethnically interesting breads made with manual kneading, bread machine, stand mixer, and food processor. After reading books by such hyper fussy bakers such as Beranbaum, Silverton, and Reinhart, this is a real revelation. The second best thing about this book is revealed in the title. This is a complete book of BREADS. Note the plural. The most important aspect of the book is that it presents, in depth, recipes for twenty-four different types of breads, including many ethnic favorites. I found, for example, a recipe for the Russian Easter bread, Kulich, a close cousin to the local Lehigh Valley favorite, Paska from the Ukraine. None of the other encyclopedic approaches to bread included this recipe. However, I did recently find it and the true Ukrainian recipe in the new book 'Celebration Breads' by Betsy Oppenneer.

The great thing about this variety is that it gives pretty complete coverage to all special needs, such as those who need a gluten-free bread, those who need a yeast-free bread (and are tired of Irish Soda Bread), and those who want healthy, whole grain bread recipes. It even covers recipes for crackers and batter breads and baking for dogs, if you can believe that.

The most amazing thing about the subject of bread baking is that in spite of the great size of this book, it simply does not cover everything, and, what it does cover is done from what is not the only or even the best point of view. While this book does touch on breads made from starters, the book does not deal with this subject in any detail. The book does not even include the words sponge, poolish, or biga in the index. It is on this subject where Ms. Beranbaum really shines. Unlike Mr. Clayton who gives a relatively cursory introduction to the techniques of yeast bread baking, Ms. Beranbaum gives about 90 very detailed pages to the intricacies of artisinal baking with both natural and commercial yeasts. I have already noted Mr. Clayton's focus on 'Rapid Rise' yeast and it's techniques. Other writers prefer either 'Active Dry' or even moist, 'live' yeast that must be refrigerated. Other baking experts such as Peter Reinhart also make compelling arguments for very long rise times, which, in the interest of appealing to the amateur, Clayton does not discuss in depth.

If you want an exceedingly rich source of baking recipes for a very reasonable price with a very friendly voice which will make you confident that you will do well when you bake bread, this is the book for you! If you have no interest in a deep understanding of bread baking or in natural yeast techniques, you will need no other book. If your interest in baking is more professional or more in need of deeper understanding, check out Beranbaum or Reinhart's books.

Highly recommended. Makes bread baking inviting.

Clayton's book came out long before the latest round of fancy sourdough and other artisan bread books, but it is every bit as good as they are.

He does not spend hundreds of pages fawning over artisan bakers. He just assumes, rightly, that you and I can just go ahead and bake very good bread.

Recipes include hand, mixer and food processor versions; I have no trouble following any of the methods for any of the recipes.

And the recipes WORK! Not true for all bread books.

So if you just want to bake, rather than worship bread and a few famous bakers, get this book and get going.

Clayton's book is a highly useful text that lets you produce all kinds of wonderful breads. I've been using it successfully for several years.

The book's greatest value is the broad range of recipes that it offers.

It has, however, a couple of weaknesses. As one reviewer pointed out, the mingling of procedures for mixer or food processors, is rather confusing. Also, a few of the quantities given in the recipes need to be examined. Fortunately I've baked enough and can feel my way through the problems.

Don't let either of these shortcomings discourage you from getting this book. I still haven't found a better all-around book on the topic.

I purchased this book when it first came out and I haven't purchased a loaf of bread, buns, ..., since. The recipes are specific enough so that the beginner (as I was when I started) can succeed immediately and yet Clayton's many variations on general themes help one to sense the "plot" of a recipe and adapt it to available ingredients and techniques to produce a desired result. Now, with experience and Clayton's book as a reference close at hand, I produce all of the "regulars" from memory, with a wide range of variations for any occasion. The book provides practical guidance on technique, feel, etc., without becoming pedantic or overly fussy. A huge variety of bread and similar products from all over the world. The only "bread" book most cooks will ever need.

Before I bought this book I had only made bread once. It turned out well so I was motivated to try out more recipes. I pretty much got this book because it was one of the biggest books I could find. I find the recipes easy to understand and many have had great results. So far I have only baked one bread recipe that I would not make again. For the most part I have been able to find everything needed for these recipes. My husband and I especially like the marbled bread in the vegetable section. Even though I am far from an expert in the kitchen I have found this book very enjoyable and usefull.

If you can't get your hands on Clayton's original "The Complete Book of Breads" which came out in the early '70s (I've had mine equally long), this is a good second choice. While updating the methods with fancy kitchen gadgets, such as food processors, Clayton still remembers those of us who do it all by hand. Although his original is still my favorite, I've made many excellent breads from this book and don't bother with anyone but Clayton anymore when it comes to breads. In addition, it's well written and, with Clayton's innocent sense of humor, a pleasure to just sit down and read.

I've been baking breads for over 20 years and this is still the book I turn to the most. There are many recipes here that I continue to make over and over and I still turn to it to find a recipe that I have not yet tried. I'm quite amazed at the breath and dedication that Bernard put into writing this book. If you have never baked before this is the book for you and if you have been baking bread for years, this book will quickly become a staple in your kitchen.

Lots of explanations and instructions. One of the best cookbooks I own (collection of over 70) It's even has instructions on building an outdoor oven.