The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread
The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread: member book reviews
Zosia from Toronto, ON
This is a truly excellent book……it taught me how to make bread and understand the process so I would have the knowledge and confidence to tackle recipes from other books that don’t give detailed instructions.
It wasn’t my intention to bake every recipe in this book, but over a period of 3 years, that’s what I did, starting with the raisin walnut bread and finishing with the stollen. I didn’t love all of the recipes and I did have some failures but I learned that bread is very forgiving and even the recipes that weren’t a total success were edible ……croutons anyone?
foodiewife from Monterey, CA
I bought this book a couple of years ago. A blogger had a weekly event where other bloggers would bake along with the book. I would marvel at the gorgeous breads, and so I decided to buy the book...and, I promptly forgot about it. I've been baking a lot from Artisan Breads in 5 Minutes A Day (which I like a lot). Now, I am revisiting this book. It has a wealth of information. I had forgotten how beautifully photographed this book is. It's coffee table worthy, for sure. This year, I'm on a mission to learn how to bake more artisan breads. This book has beautifully written tutorials, and the photos are like an armchair baking school. One of my best investments, for sure.
andrew from Vancouver Island, BC
This is an iconic book. I discovered it almost by accident; one of those Amazon recommendations which, after doing some reading online, I realized was just what I was looking for, as I'd been wanting to start making bread at home for some time.
As the title suggests, the book is an apprenticeship. Put yourself under Peter's authoritative care, listen to what he tells you, and you'll do just fine.
The book is laid out in three sections. The first, "What is it About Bread?" is a personal story - Peter's account of the renaissance in artisan breadmaking in North America and of his winning the James Beard national bread competition in 1995.
The second, "Deconstructing Bread: A Tutorial" is a thorough tutorial on the art of breadmaking.
The final, "Formulas" are his recipes - from bagels, challa and ciabatta all the way to his famous Pain a l'Ancienne and wild yeast cultivation and usage in sourdoughs.
I'm still exploring and learning from this book, and I know I'll continue to do so for years.
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