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Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day
A Review by Albert "The Pizza Promoter" Grande
I am extremely please to tell you
that Peter Reinhart's new book
Artisan Breads Every Day
is incredible for any bread baker or pizza
maker.
Peter starts by giving basic bread
baking advice. Use top quality ingredients he
explains. Employ unbleached rather than bleached
flour. Use only as much yeast as needed to get the
job done. Mix the dough as long as needed. Make sure
you use higher hydration (water) levels for the the
dough.
These are just the basics, he
states. Peter then goes into a further discussion of
bread baking. He talks about the difference between
a wet poolish or sponge for your pre-ferment. The
secret is that an overnight cold ferment will get
the job done.
Reading this book was like having
Peter looking over my shoulder as I went through the
recipes. He speaks to you in such a way, bread
making becomes simple.
Each page shares valuable bread
baking information. As you devour this book, you can
understand why he is regarded as not only a great
baker but a word class instructor. He is patient
with his students. And students like me, need a
patient teacher.
He shares all of his tips and
tricks that he has generated over years of baking
bread.
The book has many full color
photographs that give you instructions and
illustrate the entire procedure. Each process and
recipe is clearly defined. I was quite astounded by
the rich pictures of bread and dough. Actually the
photographs motivated me to start trying out some of
these recipes right away.
The stretch and fold method of
preparing dough was one that I have had some
difficulty with. You will discover this method
clearly defined. The color photos will guide you
through every single step.
An interesting part of this book
is the section about wild yeasts and starters. He
shares a number of discoveries about how to start
this process. He also dispels many of the myths
associated with the use of these type of yeasts.
He doesn't hold back for the pizza
lover. There are several great pizza crust recipes
including one for a sour dough pizza recipe. As
usual Reinhart delivers recipes you will not find
anywhere else.
The recipes contained in Artisan
Breads Every Day are in a word simply delightful.
Reinhart's range of recipes cover the baking
spectrum from bagels, to cheese breads, to cinnamon
buns, to coffee cake as well rustic breads and the
best biscuits ever.
My advice? Order this book now.
And be generous. Give a copy or two to your own
friends and loved ones. They will thank you for it.
You may even get a fresh loaf of bread or a pizza
delivered to you! It really is that good. |
