The best in bread cookbooks - WKYT 27 NEWSFIRST & WYMT Mountain News -

Weather Alerts

The best in bread cookbooks

Updated: June 14, 2012 04:21 PM EDT
© iStockphoto.com / Andres Peiro © iStockphoto.com / Andres Peiro


By Marne Setton


Of the dozens of books devoted to bread on the Saveur shelves, a few proved indispensable as we developed the recipes in the Issue 147 special feature, American Bread.


Any baker would do well to keep the über–comprehensive Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2004) at hand.


The instructions from author Jeffrey Hamelman, a certified master bread maker, are blessedly detailed, with illustrations demonstrating the proper way to knead, braid (30 pages on this alone), and do most anything else required to transform a mass of dough into a beautiful loaf. 


For the beginner, The Bread Baker's Apprentice (Ten Speed Press, 2001), by baking expert Peter Reinhart, provides an accessible way in, first laying out the basic principles behind baking any bread. Then it provides more than 50 formulas for specific breads, including brioche, bagels, and the perfect Tuscan loaf. 


Good bread always tells a story about where it comes from, and in Local Breads (W.W. Norton & Co., 2007), Daniel Leader, founder of Bread Alone Bakeries in upstate New York, travels across Europe to investigate the regional traditions that were the inspiration for him and his fellow pioneers in the American artisan bread movement.


One chapter finds him in the wheat fields of Italy's Murgia plain; another, in Grimminger pretzel bakery in Munich. Along the way, he lays out the recipes collected in his travels with utter clarity. 


If it's possible, after reading these paeans to the power of bread made by hand, to wonder why all of this is important, look no further than Bread Matters (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2009).


British baker Andrew Whitley gets down to brass tacks about what exactly makes artisan bread healthier and tastier, then offers such alluring cases in point as arkatena from Cyprus made with chickpea flour and fennel seeds, a coriander–laced Russian rye called Borodinsky, and dozens of others, both savory and sweet.




See more stories from Saveur's special feature on American bread »

 

  

  • What's Cooking Now

  • Check here for the full archive of recipe collections.
    Check here for the full archive of recipe collections.

  • Stuffed with meats, veggies or cheeses, savory pies are a favorite on kitchen tables around the world. Dig in and check out this variety of recipes.
    Stuffed with meats, veggies or cheeses, savory pies are a favorite on kitchen tables around the world. Dig in and check out this variety of recipes.

  • Check out this collection of ways to use graham crackers, a snack time favorite and classic ingredient in desserts.
© 2012 SAVEUR
All rights reserved.
*DISCLAIMER*: The information contained in or provided through this site section is intended for general consumer understanding and education only and is not intended to be and is not a substitute for professional advice. Use of this site section and any information contained on or provided through this site section is at your own risk and any information contained on or provided through this site section is provided on an "as is" basis without any representations or warranties.
Powered by WorldNow
All content © Copyright 2001 - 2013 WorldNow, WKYT, and WYMT. All Rights Reserved.
For more information on this site, please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.