Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread

A Bread Baker's Dream Come True

Odd as it may sound, I read this book cover to cover after buying it yesterday at my local B&N. I love to bake bread, and the author's philosophy when it comes to baking the perfect loaf made the book impossible to put down. Reading through the formulas, even the beginning baker can see how the 12 steps described in the first chapter apply to each type of bread. Today I made the Greek Celebration Bread, and the Brioche based bread with cheese and salami (certain to delight my father-in-law).

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

SUCH A GREAT BOOK .. SUCH GREAT BREADS

I truly love this book .. in fact I keep it on the coffee table so that I can pick it up every day and seek out my next baking adventure .. which I have to say .. thus far .. have been very lovely.

I have lots of experience with baking .. cookies and cakes .. but not much at all when it came to breads .. so .. I have to tell you I was a bit apprehensive when I ordered this book .. it seemed a little intimidating me .. but I love learning new things and the Bread Baker's Apprentice certainly did not let me down : )

I attacked this book like it was text from a class .. I worked until I learned the formula for baker's math .. I savored the twelve stages of bread baking .. I graduated to the mixing and kneading .. the hot oven and the baking stone .. and finally .. the reward of eating delicious breads. It was well worth the effort. I've made five different breads so far .. some of them several times .. and I have to say .. it can be done .. even by a 'newbie'. I think one of the nicest things about the way this book was written is that I can grow into it .. that the same recipes that I conquered in the beginning .. that they'll get even better with time and a few more trips around my flour dusted kitchen. I have to warn you though .. these breads .. they are addicting and this family of mine .. they've become quite spoiled by them .. but O' what a way to go : )

Thanks to all of you who wrote reviews on this book .. it was the encouragement I needed to take the leap and order the book .. you haven't let me down : )

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

A stress inducing cookbook

I spent a few days reading this book, trying to decide what bread I would make and just became more and more stressed about it. I have a huge collection of cookbooks and cook extensively, but this one was over the top for me. It is very esoteric. I'm sure the bread would be great if you had the time to learn the techniques, find the ingredients, and make it. I returned it and bought Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. It's much more accessible for someone who isn't ready to bake bread full time!

2 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

I learned it all here!

This wonderfully written, articulate masterpiece is the reason I no longer fear flour and all things, yeasted. Peter Reinhart has taken the fear out of breadmaking with his easy-to-follow instruction. Building a starter, maintaining it, and learning to go beyond the simple loaf, is easier than ever imagined. I'm living proof that an old dog can learn a new trick. My breadmaking skills have grown ten-fold with the written instruction of this master. Thanks, Peter!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Completely new to breadmaking.

Having never baked a loaf of bread in my some 50 years of life, I approched the book with more than a little trepidation. It's been an extraordinary experience. In my family I'm now the homebaked bread guru! The directions are amazingly precise and easy to follow. I've had excellent results virtually every time. The cinnamon/raisin loaf recipe is worth the price of the book all on it's own!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A Classic

This is an exquisite book that will improve your baking by demonstrating the why and how of breadmaking. The book is well thought-out and clear in its explanation of baking techniques and the science of baking. The recipes or formulas are not simply guides for something you bake once and then forget about. These are amazingly good baked goods, and you will, no doubt, find yourself coming back to this book again and again. Don't hesitate to buy it. It is clearly the best baking book in recent years.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Best Cookbook I have bought

Wow. After reading and cooking along with this book I have a much better understanding of what it means to bake bread. The science of bread baking is provided along with the recipes but that never gets in the way of the fun.

The layout of the book allows you to skip around to different types of breads. Techniques are well documented with plenty of high quality photographs depicting each step.

The bread was really good the first time trying a recipe. By the third effort, the bread was wonderful. I now enjoy bread more because I understand the impact of each step of bread baking.

Wow.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Splendid Book

I greatly enjoyed reading it front to back, something I have not done with any other cook book (if one could call this a cook book). I now a much more confident baking by feel--rather than by strict recipies--and enjoy altering recipies to see what tastes better to me; however, this book gives me one problem in this area, I have trouble improving the excellent bread formulae in this book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

By far the best of the best

Peter's methods are simple and precise. He is extremely descriptive and leaves no unanswered questions. His recipes and techniques are easy enough for the beginning baker, and can be utilized by any bakery. This is the best of its type in my collection. Thanks.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

How & Why

The Bread Baker's Apprentice continues from Crust & Crumb. It goes beyond Crust & Crumb by giving more information on how and why of the baking process. It empowers everyone to make fine artisan bread.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I understand bread now !!!

Best cookbook I've ever had.

A definite must have for any bread enthusiast!!

So here's my story: I visited several monasteries last year; and the baker at one of the monasteries said, "Oh, you want a good bread book? Look at this one." He opened the cabinet and pulled out one of two copies of this book. One was totally tattered - used daily for years. The other was brand new, because he wanted to get another copy that was easier to read.

I bought three Reinhart books when I got back home. I've made several recipes from this book in the last month or two; all of them have come out marvelous.

I particularly enjoyed the "Poolish Baguettes". I have been asked for several of the recipes already by folks who have tried the breads.

Inspirational

I went to the school where the author teaches and his classes are well taught. Everytime I went to the school's library this book was always on the shelf with the classic cooking books of all time. I am finally looking to expand my bread baking skills and this book was the first on my mind.

Very good

My go-to recipe books are usually from the America's Test Kitchen series, but I wanted to go further with how to make really good bread. This book was everything I was looking for:

-Reinhart is a conversational author, which works really well with the apprentice theme the title hints at.
-The list of included bread "formulas" has a lot of delicious sounding things, and I want to try most of them.
-The bagels and white sandwich bread I made were both very tasty.

You'll be surprised how much you didn't know about bread when you're done reading.

Great Book!

I wish I had this book years ago. I have been making bread for quite a few years but never have I made so many varieties of bread and never has my bread turned out perfect every time. The texture of the bread is always great and the bread looks and tastes better than the bread purchased at the bakery.

Beginner bread bakers

This book is great for information and background on bread baking; my son actually recommended it to me!! It is easy to use and a great reference.

Excellent!

I recomend this book to anyone who is serious about bread making. It has indepth instructions. I have made several of the "formulas" and they have all turned out great. This book is not for someone who wants to make a quick loaf of bread, but for someone willing to study the book and follow the detailed instructions. Great variety also--you can learn to make many different types of bread.

I reviewed many books on bread making before selecting this one--and although complicated to some degree, I feel it is an outstanding guide.

Good Textbook For The Serious, But Non-Professional, Baker

Having received the book well after the publication date, it serendipitiously came after many years when I was determined once again to learn how to bake real bread--having then just read some French papers on the subject. Much of it is counter-intuitive, which is why bread baking is the hardest thing in the world to do with only four ingredients, but it certainly puts "paid" to the question of how one village baker could supply enough bread for the whole village. Through the years more chemistry has been understood in the baking process, so this book will be, in my estimation, the new foundation of the science of baking. It is not a particularly good book to actually bake by while at the oven however, but see Reinhart's "Artisan Breads Every Day" for that.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great guide to baking

I've made several recipes from this book so far and have enjoyed both the process and the final product. Highly recommended.

Great, comprehensive bread book!

This book was a great purchase. I looked at several before I decided on this one. The recipes are not only excellent, and easy to follow, but the book is a good read. It is everything I was looking for in a bread book.