FAQ for alt.bread.recipes

+ The alt.bread.recipes FAQ
alt.bread.recipes
How this FAQ is organized
+ Basic concepts
Sample Recipe
+ Technique
+ Tools and equipment
+ Ingredients in depth
The chemistry of bread
+ Troubleshooting your bread
+ Resources
Equipment
Ingredients
+ References
For Beginners
Artisinal Breads
Baking with Whole Grains
Bread Machines
Flour Milling
International Flair
History
Pizza
"Heavenly Bread"
Miscellaneous Companions, Collections, Bibles
Sourdough
American Regional Bread Books
Industrial and Commercial Baking
Anticipated Forthcoming Titles
Recipes
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+ A Treatise On Baking

Artisinal Breads

Print

Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes. Jeffrey Hamelman.
Wiley 2004. ISBN: 0 471 16857 2 (C); 432pp.

Hamelman is the Director of the Bakery and the Baking Education Center at King Arthur Flour.

Mainly aimed at the professional level market however there are also recipes are scaled at the home baker level. Extensive section on decorative breads. Very clear instructions on bread shaping, similar to Bilheaux' Special and Decorative Breads book. Recommended for bread making enthusiasts.

The Panera Bread Cookbook: Breadmaking Essentials and Recipes from America's Favorite Bakery-Café. Panera Bread, Peter Reinhart, Ward Bradshaw, Joel Cammett.
Clarkson Potter, 2004. ISBN: 1 4000 8041 x (P); 256 pp.

No Need to Knead: Handmade Italian Breads in 90 Minutes. Suzanne Dunaway.
Hyperion 1999. ISBN: 0 7868 6427 3; 192pp.

User-friendly text. High ratio of crust to crumb loaves by the owners of Buona Forchetta Hand Made Breads in Los Angeles.

Artisan Baking Across America: The Breads, the Bakers, the Best Recipes. Maggie Ben Fink.
New York: Artisan, 2000. ISBN: 1 57965 117 8 (C); 256 pp.

A bit of a travelogue with a few good recipes. It has some very good technical points on slack dough preparation and a very good section on different kinds of flours. The Acme baguette is an excellent recipe.

The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread. Peter Reinhart.
Ten Speed Press, 2001. ISBN 1 58008 268 8 (C); 320 pp.

Fast becoming the standard and most widely quoted book in alt.bread.recipes, and usually referred to as BBA or TBBA. For the more advanced or keen baker who has mastered basic breads. It is well illustrated and the recipes are given in cup-measure and weights (imperial).

Crust and Crumb: Master Formulas for Serious Bread Bakers. Peter Reinhart.
Ten Speed Press, 1998. ISBN: 1 58008 003 0 (C); 240 pp.

An excellent book in similar format to, but overshadowed by the subsequent BBA.

The Village Baker: Classic Regional Breads from Europe and America. Joe Ortiz.
New York: Ten Speed Press, 1997. ISBN: 0898154898 0898159164 (US paper); 306 pp.

An excellent book that suffers from the lack of clear illustrations. Most of the recipes are given in cup-measure but those in a chapter for professionals are given in (large) weights that can be scaled down since he also quotes the bakers’ percentages.

Nancy Silverton’s Breads from the La Brea Bakery: Recipes for the Connoisseur. Nancy Silverton.
New York: The Random House Publishing Group, 1996. ISBN: 679 40907 6 (C); 288 pp.

Most of her recipes are based on wild-yeast starters (sourdough) and are suited to the more experienced baker as there are few helpful illustrations. Her starters, based on grapes, are a controversial topic in rec.foods.sourdough (and rightly so, in my opinion).

The Italian Baker. Carol Field.
New York, HarperCollins Publisher, 1985. ISBN: 0 06 181266 8 (C); 448 pp.

This is the classic on Italian breads. The recipes, using weights (metric) and cup-measure, are clearly laid out and give alternative techniques for hand, stand-mixer and food processor.

Secrets of a Jewish Baker: Authentic Jewish Rye and Other Breads. George Greenstein.
The Crossing Press, Inc., 1993. ISBN: 0-89594-605-X (P), 0801878462; 368 pp.

A highly regarded book on Jewish and Eastern European baking.

Bread Alone: Bold Fresh Loaves from Your Own Hands. Daniel Leader and Judith Blahnik.
New York: William Morrow & Company, Inc., 1993. ISBN: 0 688 09261 6; 332 pp.

A good read with very good recipes given in cup-measure and weights (imperial). Sourdough purists scoff at his use of a pinch of commercial yeast to attract the wild yeasts for his sourdough starters.

Il Fornaio Baking Book: Sweet and Savory Recipes from the Italian Kitchen. Franco Galli.
Chronicle Books, 1993. ISBN: 0 8118 3297 x (p) 0 8118 03223 6 (C); 192 pp.

Good introduction to bread from the founder of a bakery. Good descriptions of breads and techniques but no working illustrations. The recipes are given in cup-measure but work well when converted to weights.

The Bread Builders: Hearth Loaves and Masonry Ovens. Daniel Wing and Alan Scott.
Chelsea Green Publishing Co., 1999. ISBN: 1 890132 05 5 (P); 250 pp.

Although there is some information on bread making and recipes, the book is aimed at those who want to build a traditional, wood-fired oven. Not suitable for those living in igloos or apartment buildings.

Build Your Own Earth Oven: A Low-Cost, Wood-Fired Mud Oven; Simple Sourdough Bread, Perfect Loaves. Kiko Denzer.
Chelsea Green Publishing Co., 2000. ISBN: 0 9679846 0 2 (P); 132 pp.

To be read in conjunction with “The Bread Builders”.

Amy’s Bread: Easy Innovative Recipes for Crusty Hearth-Style Loaves. Amy Scherber and Toy Kim Dupree.
New York: William Morrow & Co. Inc., 1996. ISBN 0688124011 (C); 196 pp. (out of print)

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