"Simply THE BEST !" | 2009-10-24 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2YVGUJONSURLU |
| I'm a Polish cook , I just love to cook and bake . I baked couple different breads from this book and my family just loved them . I like the "professional " way of explaining the process of making bread . If You enjoy baking buy this BOOK . |
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"Only one word: "Heaven"" | 2009-10-19 |
| - Reviewed By drjesullivan |
This book was given to me as a belated birthday present just after I got back from a business trip to Italy (it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it). Every page was nothing short of a revelation, and when I got to the Pizza Napoletana dough recipe, I had to try it out. I had just come from a region that had changed every notion I ever had of pizza and I wanted to see how much this recipe stood up. Here's the bottom line: I refuse to ever order out for delivery pizza or buy frozen pizza again. Why should I? The recipe for Naples-style pizza dough is worth the price of the book alone, and is far less expensive than buying the requisite airline ticket it would take to actually go there and see for yourself. Trust me, it's exactly the same. The same recipe can be used for calzone.
In fact, it's the exercise in pizza dough that gives you insights to the book as a whole. Follow the directions exactly. If the recipe calls for chilled water, like the pizza dough recipe does, by all means follow it to the letter. Peter Reinhart welcomes users of bread machines that makes us want to aspire to new, higher levels beyond what the manufacturers envisioned, and he doesn't disappoint. If you think I'm kidding, let me relate a true story: after I tried the pizza dough recipe a couple of weekends ago, I got a text message from a "customer" stating (and I am not making this up), "The pizza here sucks compared to the one you made...I'm craving it bad. Please make it again over Thanksgiving..." Besides the dough, the only other details were to replicate the ingrediants used in the authentic Italian pizza I had and make sure they were fresh.
If you decide to get this book for a loved one or friend, you should also consider adding a gift card from King Arthur Flour. If you get this book for yourself, for that matter, you should also consider adding a gift card from King Arthur Flour. You will definitely want to break out of your comfort zone and begin exploring the flavorful reasons why people in Europe rave about their breads while Americans merely buy them. |
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"Take your bread to the next level" | 2009-10-09 |
| - Reviewed By lisle_g |
I have been baking yeast breads for 40 years. I thought I understood yeast and breadmaking. But this well-written book took my bread to the stratosphere. I've made 6 recipes so far from this book, and every one has been great -- better than you can buy at the grocery, and even better than most homemade. My rye bread was the lightest ever. The whole wheat bread made fabulous sandwiches. The hamburger buns made me want to eat hamburgers every day!
After all this success, I even made my own sourdough. (I tried this once, 20 years ago, and it was a nasty disaster.) With Peter Reinhart's method, I created a sourdough starter and then bread. My first effort was a success, with a great flavor and texture. I think it is better than anything you can buy in the mega-stores (even better than the bakery bread that they import).
Yes, some of the recipes are complicated. Most of this bread takes more than a day -- but rising can happen in the refrigerator while you go on with your life.
Whether you are new to baking or have years of experience, this is a very worthwhile book. Study it and use it! |
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"Beautiful, pracitcal and inspirational" | 2009-09-24 |
| - Reviewed By ldnyberg |
| I have a frightening number of cookbooks, many related to breadbaking so it was a hard sell to purchase yet another book, especially one at this price point. It is, however, worth every penny in both the helpful explanations of the actual processes going on within your bread bowl and the carefully detailed recipes. Better yet the breads made with this method (most require a 'sponge' and two day process) are delicious, healthy and not just the 'same old, same old' breads that appear in most cookbooks. |
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"Culinary masterpiece" | 2009-09-13 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1OXDH7WVPX03O |
| Making bread as an art form. Not only are the recipes extraordinary for any level of bread enthusiast, the history and personal stories of the chefs are a fascinating read. My brother ordered this for our mother now I must have one as well! |
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"Truely Extraordinary Tasting Bread for the Home Baker" | 2009-07-08 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2NI95MQ5Y1E5G |
It took me quite a while to purchase this expensive break cookbook, but what finally drove me to buy it was not being able to buy decent bread locally, and although I love to bake, the recipes I was using were not satisfactory to achieve the results I wanted.
I was not disappointed with this book--it is worth every penny and I'm starting to look at the author's book on whole grain bread. Yes, as the other reviewers have said, most of the recipes take more than one day to make. But if you cook everyday as I do, it's not a terrible thing to do, I dont find it daunting to bake in a several step/several day process when you know your final product will FINALLY satisfy your craving for quality breads. The first day might be mixing your basic ingredients (flour, water, yeast), kneading the dough, and letting it ferment. The second day, either final preparation or an intermediary step. Not a big deal and not any more time consuming than one-day baking, the prep time is spread over several days. The process for sourdough is longer, but again, if you don't mind having dough sit around for a week, while you add a little flour and water to it everyday, not a big deal. I'm looking forward to it :-)
I was born and raised in San Francisco and think I must be a bread snob. The only area I've found that produces comparable bread is Boston's North Side. I moved to Ohio three years ago, and am faced with lots of fluffy, white bread that might as well be plastic. I can't even find a decent doughnut here. The next time I visit SF, I may just go and cultivate my own SF sourdough starter as Peter Reinhart explains the wild yeast cultures in the area are responsible for SF sourdough bread's distinctive taste.
The author is amusing and reminds me of one of my favorite photography instructors. He is very opinionated and specific about what it takes to achieve a great final product, and he's right. |
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