Della Fattoria Bread: 63 Foolproof Recipes for Yeasted, Enriched & Naturally Leavened Breads

by Kathleen Weber, Thomas Keller (Foreword by)

Overview

Easily hone your skills and bake scrumptious breads with this James Beard Award–finalist cookbook from an award-winning bakery.

Bread is one of the most fundamental parts of our diet, yet so many of us rely on bland grocery-store offerings when flavorsome breads can easily be made at home. Della Fattoria Bread teaches readers to make the popular breads of this award-winning bakery. More than an instructional guide, the book takes the fear out of bread baking, and encourages bakers to draw on their senses, experiences, and instincts. Founder Kathleen Weber’s teachings are homespun and based on passed-down wisdom, not on finicky science or dull kitchen textbooks.

The book is filled with invaluable bread-baking secrets, including starters and proper techniques, and features recipes for all levels of bakers. Beginners can learn to bake yeasted breads using pans. Advanced bakers can jump right into making free-form loaves of naturally leavened breads in all shapes and flavors. Other chapters include recipes for enriched breads like brioche and challah; pre-fermented breads, including baguettes; and crackers, breadsticks, naan, and more. The book includes recipes that incorporate the breads, too, such as Tomato Bread Soup and Della Fattoria’s famous Tuna Melt Piadina, along with the stories of the bakery and the unique family that has run it for nearly 20 years.

“I love this cookbook! Kathleen not only gives us the recipes to make her amazing breads, but she’s also infused her book with so much joy that I want to fire up the oven right now.” —Ina Garten, New York Times–bestselling author of the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781579656416
Publisher:	Workman Publishing
Publication date:	10/07/2014
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	305
Sales rank:	554,402
File size:	56 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Kathleen Weber opened Della Fattoria in 1995 after years of obsessively baking bread at home. Some her first clients included The French Laundry and the Sonoma Mission Inn, which quickly put Della Fattoria on the map. In 2011, Bon Appétit named the bakery one of “America’s 10 Best Bread Bakeries.” The business has grown to include a café in downtown Petaluma and a stand at San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza Market. Located on a working ranch in Petaluma, California, Della Fattoria is run by Kathleen; her husband, Ed; and her children, Elisa and Aaron.Weber is the author of Della Fattoria Bread.

Editorial Reviews

09/15/2014
Opened in 1995, the Della Fattoria bakery in Petaluma, CA, once made the bread for Thomas Keller's acclaimed restaurant the French Laundry. Founder Weber began baking as a hobby while managing a clothing boutique, and here she recounts her transition from amateur to full-time professional. In recipes for yeasted and naturally leavened breads (e.g., pull-apart cinnamon-raisin loaf, wheat & barley pullman loaf, walnut levain batards), she teaches readers to appreciate the merits of various flours and the utility of the baker's box, a means of organizing recipes by weights and percentages. While her book recalls similar titles by Peter Reinhart, Dan Lepard, and Chad Robertson, it contains many new techniques for replicating professional baking conditions at home (like using a steamer basket filled with ice cubes to generate steam in a conventional oven). VERDICT Highly recommended for serious home bakers, especially those looking to move on from easier titles such as Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois's Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

Library Journal

I love this cookbook! Kathleen not only gives us the recipes to make her amazing breads, but she’s also infused her book with so much joy that I want to fire up the oven right now.”
—Ina Garten, author of the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks

“I challenge anyone to pick up Kathleen Weber’s incredible bread book without falling in love. She’s a true baker, who yearns to make you one, too.”
—Carol Field, author of The Italian Baker

“I’ve been a great fan of Kathleen Weber’s distinctive breads for years. Now anyone who loves bread can get a taste of what makes hers so special. The pages of Della Fattoria Bread glow with Kathleen’s warmth and enthusiasm, and kindle the urge to bake with her imaginative recipes, handy tips, and stories that remind us why cooking matters.”
—Harold McGee, author of Keys to Good Cooking

“The greatest gift a baker can give is to share her experience and knowledge with those who want to learn the craft of baking bread. In Della Fattoria Bread, Kathleen guides you page by page with stories about her journey of bread making, giving you the encouragement to start yours, too.”
—Cheryl Day and Griffith Day, authors of The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook

“Perfect for someone who has newly fallen in love with the craft of home bread baking . . . but there’s plenty here to make us veteran bakers give it a space on the shelf.”
—The Kitchn

“Something for bread fanatics of every level and persuasion. . . . The recipes are interspersed with tips that encourage experimentation and—crucial for beginning bakers—courage.”
—San Francisco Magazine

“Weber teaches you to think like a baker about the whole process. . . . Superb, inspiring recipes and photos fabulous enough to spread with butter and eat.”
—BookPage

“The book is beautifully laid out with full color photographs. The recipes are easy to use . . . a great book for those who have been frustrated when making bread in the past.”
—Library Journal
 
“[Della Fattoria Bread] takes the intimidation factor out of the home bread-making process.”
—Food Network Dish
 

From the Publisher