291089 Tue Dec 03 23:10:45 -0800 2002 25 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1582432 What do you folks suggest as MUST HAVE Bread books. I'm a big cook -- and I'm starting to get the bread bug. What should i get? Tue Dec 03 23:10:45 -0800 2002 0 jen 1 1582434 Artisan Baking Across America by M. Glazer. Lots of good advice on technique, beautiful clear photographs, and excellent recipes. Wed Dec 04 00:02:06 -0800 2002 1582432 0 Lindsay B. 1 1582438 Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads is my bible. It's thorough, encompasses everything from crackers and holiday bread to artisanal loaves and workaday breads, and includes instructions for hand, mixer and (I don't believe in 'em myself, but people seem to like them) bread machines. Charming histories and clear instructions for bakers of all skill levels. His soups & stews book is also coming in handy in the midst of this frigid winter. Wed Dec 04 00:41:38 -0800 2002 1582432 0 Kat Kinsman 2 1582448 Kat - I couldn't help noticing the way your e-mail address is included. Looks like an ingenious way to keep online-e-mail-address-culling-software from picking it up, but lets the rest of us have it....does it work? Wed Dec 04 09:15:16 -0800 2002 1582438 0 GG Mora 2 1582655 I have Bernard Clayton, too, and endorse his book enthusiastically. The three ways to make a recipe--by hand, food processor, or mixer--is great, because I like to use the Cuisinart and my mother likes the Kitchenaid. And his book passes my highest test for a cookbook: almost every recipe I have tried was excellent. Even his dog biscuits taste good. Thu Dec 05 16:31:35 -0800 2002 1582438 0 Miss Crabapple 1 1582451 I love all of Beth Hensperger's books. The recipes are not difficult and I have never had a bad result. Wed Dec 04 09:22:47 -0800 2002 1582432 0 Sarah C 1 1582452 I, like you, am a big cook and just started to get the bread bug. To feed my jones, I bought the Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread by Peter Reinhart. I bought it, in part, because it won a James Beard Award. To be honest, I've found it to be challenging. Reinhart is clearly an artist, and he seems to be trying to teach you his art. I think I could use a bit more hand-holding before I start to fly. (Yes, this in spite of the fact that I read all 30-40 pages of introductory material before the recipes (excuse me, formulas!) begin!) In other words, while I think it has many strengths, I'm not sure it's a good book for a beginner bread baker. Smokey Wed Dec 04 09:26:13 -0800 2002 1582432 0 Smokey 1 1582453 For a real yeasthead approach, try Daniel Leader's "Bread Alone". At his bakery in upstate NY, he's been cranking out beautiful, traditional rustic loaves for years, and I believe his book provides an authoritative starting point. Wed Dec 04 09:35:36 -0800 2002 1582432 0 GG Mora 2 1582487 I've just had a chance recently to meet Dan Leader and taste his breads. If his book is as good as the breads, I'd buy it. Wed Dec 04 13:12:26 -0800 2002 1582453 0 Katerina 2 1582517 I have found this to be the most useful book. I really learned how to make bread from him and from Julia's discussion in "The Way to Cook." The only problem with it is that it is extremely repetitious. Wed Dec 04 15:34:02 -0800 2002 1582453 0 Pat Goldberg 1 1582456 why has no one mentioned Beard on Bread. Wed Dec 04 10:00:50 -0800 2002 1582432 0 minuet 2 1582570 Interesting question, and I'll be reading subsequent posts to see why! I tried to get into bread making 20 years or so ago and bought Beard on Bread, but I just never got any good at it and gave it up. Recently I bought a Zojirushi and have been loving it. The most spectacular loaf I've made so far was using Beard's recipe for buttermilk bread!! Some of these other posts sound interesting, tho. Great thread. I'm getting some ideas on what to ask Santa to bring me. Thu Dec 05 01:23:14 -0800 2002 1582456 0 hermitt4d 1 1582458 No Need to Knead by Suzanne Dunaway is great - quick and easy and you will impress yourself immediately. The focaccia recipe is by far the easiest and best I have ever tried. Also check out the King Arthur Flour cookbook for a comprehensive baking book. Wed Dec 04 10:27:16 -0800 2002 1582432 0 Gina 2 1582488 See, I'd never trust a book that says no to kneading. Isn't that half the fun? I LOVE kneading yeasty dough. And it's needed to develop the gluten, too - no? Besides, a punny title... bleah. Wed Dec 04 13:15:47 -0800 2002 1582458 0 Katerina 1 1582464 I bake lots of bread. I like Joe Ortiz's The Village Baker and George Greenstein's Secrets of a Jewish Baker. There's also a fabulous jewish rye bread recipe in an old book called Better Than Store-Bought by Helen Witty and Elizabeth Colchie. The book is hard to find, so I've given you a link to the recipe below. I also like Beth Hensperger's books and Daniel Leader's book. And finally, a great inexpensive book for anyone just learning to bake bread (it has lots of pictures and good info on basic technique) is Sunset's Breads: Yeast & Quick, Sweet & Savory, Bread-Machine Basics -- it lists for $12.95 and can compete with far more expensive books. Link: http://emr.cs.iit.edu/~reingold/ruths-kitchen/recipes/breads/ryebread.html Wed Dec 04 11:02:46 -0800 2002 1582432 0 Nancy Berry 1 1582466 My favorite bread book of all time has to be Elizabeth David's English Bread and Yeast Cookery. I can't praise this book highly enough. It's like taking a college course in the history, poetry, and practical aspects of breadmaking. Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0964360004/qid=1039018753/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-7726892-2062344?v=glance&s=books Wed Dec 04 11:21:22 -0800 2002 1582432 0 Sharon 2 1582474 If you are interested in bread, that book is THE definitive English-language book to have. Wed Dec 04 11:56:42 -0800 2002 1582466 0 Karl S. 3 1582480 Is Elizabeth David's book good on recipes, or is it more for the scholarly/literary appeal? Wed Dec 04 12:34:18 -0800 2002 1582474 0 adam 4 1582486 It has recipes, and great ones at that, but it's a narrative first and foremost, at least from my perspective. It's not Joy of Breadmaking, as it were.... Wed Dec 04 13:08:39 -0800 2002 1582480 0 Karl S. 5 1582641 It is a fabulous book. But if you get it be sure to get an edition with American measurements, unless you weigh everything. Thu Dec 05 15:34:38 -0800 2002 1582486 0 ruth arcone 1 1582467 I have found Nick Malgieri's book, How To Bake, very helpful. I also love The Village Baker by Joe Ortiz. He includes detailed explanations of how flour, water, yeast interact to produce BREAD! Good luck with your baking and have fun. R Wed Dec 04 11:25:34 -0800 2002 1582432 0 Seattle Rose 1 1582489 If you have the time, you might try Breads from La Bakery by Nancy Silverton. I don't speak from experience, I speak from my stomach. Her breads are wonderful. At the very least it is a wonderful read. I use the other Bakery cookbook all the time because her sweet baked goods are superb. Wed Dec 04 13:33:29 -0800 2002 1582432 0 JudiAU 2 1582498 I think you mean "Bread form La Brea Bakery", no? Wed Dec 04 14:02:59 -0800 2002 1582489 0 GG Mora 3 1582500 And I meant FROM. Wed Dec 04 14:08:07 -0800 2002 1582498 0 GG Mora 1 1582665 In addition to the other books mentioned, Carol Field's The Italian Baker has extremely good recipes for traditional italian breads - to my taste a much more user friendly book than the Daniel Leader book if you are starting to make breads with sponges. Thu Dec 05 17:05:26 -0800 2002 1582432 0 jen kalb 1 1583120 I either own or have paged through virtually all the books mentioned. It's fascinating to me how differently folks react to cookbooks--some I find either impossibly (and unnecessarily) difficult for a home baker and some I find unreliable got good marks from some posters! I've been baking virtually all of our breads for a long time--for instance, our sourdough is old enough to drink--ryes, challahs, wholewheats, oat, mixed grain, you-name-it. I use recipes from numerous books, but the three I find myself returning to the most are Casella's "World of Breads," Dworkins' "Bake Your Own Bread and Be Healthier," and the aforementioned "Jewish Baker." Dworkin is particularly good for new bakers, the first chapter being subtitled "a bas le mystique!"I also like the Londons' two "Bread Winners" books for the fascinating variety of approaches and Stella Standard's "Our Daily Bread" for the variety and particularly for the pancakes, waffles, amd quick breads. I did a quick count of the "upstairs" bread books--some have been moved down to the basement library to make room for newcomers--and saw 45 on breadbaking. I thought "Better than Store Bought" had been reissued. Everyone who likes to cook needs a copy of that. Since I like corn rye, I use its, making some adjustments to keep it from being too gluten-y, but also a very good one in Narsai David's cookbook. Tue Dec 10 00:48:17 -0800 2002 1582432 0 Fine