Bread: A Baker′s Book of Techniques and Recipes

The intended target audience for this book are professional bakers, this shines through such as in the description of techniques (how to handle 20 kg's of dough, anyone?) and the assumption that all mixing will be done with a pro mixer instead of kneading by hand. Still, the techniques are clearly written and have descriptive drawings that illustrate every step. The recipe index is fairly compendious, with the emphasis lying on breads made using pre-ferments although a variety of straight doughs and specialities are also discussed.However, it is seriously -and for amateur bakers perhaps fatally- flawed:The recipes scaled for professional quantities use (also) the metric system, which is fine if you're running a bakeshop and feel like baking 30 loaves in one go. The scaled down recipes for the home baker however indicate no metric quantities and go on endlessly about cups of flour, ounces, degrees Fahrenheit etc. This is all the more galling since the author himself writes that it's preferable to use metric quantities when dealing with ingredients. Unfortunately he doesn't practice what he preaches. The day is saved to some extent because the bakers' formula is also always given and this allows for easier conversion.This is a great book for learning about baking in general, learning about technique, the ingredients etc. But if you're an amateur bread baker who's interested in baking a few loaves in one go and especially if you're in a country using the metric system I'd think really, really hard and consider some alternatives before pressing the 'buy' button.

I have quite a lot of books on cookery in general, cookery methods etc. and this book tops the lot.It is not a book for general recipes of bread making, although it does contain a significant amount - 200 pages.It is more for the casual home baker, or even the commercial startup, who wants a complete understanding of bread making. The first 60 pages give a thorough explanation of the constituent parts of bread, followed by 30 pages on Hand Techniques. The next 200 pages cover making just about any bread made in the world, with fully scaleable quantities in commercial US lbs, commercial Metric kg, Home making quanties and Bakers percentages. Each recipe has notes on taste, nature, preparation & appearance of the bread. If you are looking for a book full of glossy photographs, then this book is not for you, although there are some photos. This book does not need them. Although the book is of american origin, the author, Jeffrey Hamelman, does make comparisons with european grains and yeast involved. This is quite simply the best book on baking I own and can only inspire every reader/owner of the book.

Its difficult to know where to atsrt in reviewing this work.. I bake bread by hand at home and I already have the River Cottage handbook as a guide.. However I felt that I needed some more in depth knowledge and came across this book right here on Amazon.. I held back somewhat due to its American bias in ingredients but after It arrived I found that all the weights and measures were actually very workable for me as there is a home listing as well as a bakers listing for all the ingredients both in LBS and cups.. I love the way the book explains the process of bread making from the seed sowing to oven and incorporates as many potential failings during his descriptions. I like this book very much and I have begun reading it from start to end and I have already discovered so much new information. Highly recomended and practicle book to keep and use when baking bread at home or indeed at a bakery where you intend to be the sole bread maker and do it all yourself..

A Brillant Book if you want to learn how to make good Bread or refresh from past knowledge -Knowledge is the key.A book to trust. it tells you all the answers to the questions you need to be asking ---follow the techniques, finding the water temp of the water to make the bread and the knack of timing is made simple.snips of information that improve your breadmaking and save you time.I highly recommend this Book to all would-be Breadmakers. It takes time to get it right! but i now make Vermont Soughdough Bread three times a week and it is a lovely Bread.

this is the bible for artisan bread making. There is nothing missing and is the default reference work for me whenever I come across a problem or want to try something new.BUT it is a technical work for the serious bread maker. This the book to work towards after you've got the bug following one of the many other excellent bread writers (Dan Lepard, Andrew Whitley et al).It's a readable book with lovely anecdotes - if, like me, you are a bread geek.So, a fabulous book, but make sure it's what you want before you buy.

I bought this as a Christmas present.

This is a very detailed bakers book. Probably not for the first time baker, but very interesting and informative for the committed baker. You will understand the bread making process better after reading this book - and make better bread too.

This is one of the best bread books I have ever bought. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to make great bread. Thank you for writing it and putting all those wonderful recipes and all that knowledge in one place.