Bread Baker's Apprentice, 15th Anniversary Edition: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread [A Baking Book]

There really are a lot of good, professional bread making books available, nowadays and this is definitely one of them. There are a good range of bread recipes in the book, several of which come from world beating bakeries, but the book, as the title suggests, is a training manual. This is not to say that the casual reader will not get a lot of good recipes and you could ignore much of the training information if you are a half competent bread maker; but this misses the point of the book. The Bread Maker's Apprentice is a book to read, to absorb the value of what is being taught and to learn, not merely to be a better bread maker, but to make bread to a very high standard, to develop "a feel for the dough." There is plenty of good advice and training out there - Paul Hollywood can be seen on iPlayer, for instance and there are countless youtube videos on technique and demonstrations of the bread making process - all of which is good. This book begins with the preparation, from the mise en place, the putting together of all the ingredients and equipment, to the preparation of the ferment and all of the things that make good bread extraordinary before you begin to form it and put it into the oven. There is a good back story to the book, including how the author wins a competition and spends a week visiting the bakeries of Paris, encounters Poilane and discovers Pain a l'ancienne, which becomes life changing. This is a book for real bread aficionados - no pretensions here, it really is for people who love the whole panoply of what it means to make good bread by hand and bake it to perfection.

Our youngsters refer to the kitchen at home as 'the laboratory'. Of all the experimenting that goes on, the most delight is found in bread making. Peter Reinhart's informed, beautifully illustrated, well-bound (thread-sewn, hard-cover) guide combines his extensive practical experience as a bread-maker with fascinating information about the chemistry of what is taking place when one bakes bread. This is not a recipe book, although it contains a wealth of recipes, and it is not a 'how to' cookery book, although it contains detailed useful instructions. It is an essential artisan's companion for anyone interested in the art and craft of making a variety of good, workman-like breads.

When i first bought this book I read the first few chapters straight away as they described in detail what was happening at each step from a scientific perspective which helped me to understand why the different processes are carried out. Since then I have made a number of breads from this book with a good degree of success. I have also found that I use the knowledge and techniques that I learned in this book to improve my results in when using recipes from other sources This book is really geared for the American market and so the recipes included have been chosen to fit that market, however there are a number of French recipes included which were the main reason I bought the book. It is a little annoying that all the measurements are in American units however given that all the recipes are presented as a formula based on weight as a percentage of the total amount of flour it is relatively straight forward to scale up or down to suit any size of loaf.

Although the author has a considerable reputation and the book is very good in places I found it less comprehensive than I had hoped. I have tried 10 of the recipes since owning the book (just a couple of weeks). I have baked about 8 loaves a week for the past decade so I have a moderate amount of experience in home bread making. I have three issues: The recipes appear to be authentic and the explanations are clear but that does not mean you are going to like all the different kinds of bread. I found the bagels (extremely time consuming to make) a real dissapointment. They looked great but tasted nothing like any bagel I had ever tasted. To be fair the author does say this is a traditional water bagel and not a commercial bagel. But in a book that champions tasty bread I found this unimpressive. The explanations of why different ingredients effect the outcome and flavour are very good. The author is very keen on long fermentation to improve the flavour and the are lots of two stage two day recipes. Dissapointingly I have not yet been able to detect the flavour enhancement that deserves all this extra preparation (nor has my family). I would have been happier if the book had contained more angles on bread making. I feel that the author has collected lots of lengthy recipes because he believes this is the best way to make bread. I had expected a greater variety of approaches. And last but not least. Why only imperial measurements? What happened to metric? This is not a book for a beginner. If you want to purchase a single book on bread making I would not recommend it. As part of a library it is a very good reference book.

This book has an American bias but is well worth reading if you want proper bread. The American bread revival seems to be a decade or so ahead that in Britain where traditional bakers have been driven off the high streets by cheap but inferior breads from supermarkets and the likes of Gregg's. If you want good bread than you should seek out whenever possible one of the few artisan bakers and support their business. However it is also fun to have a go yourself and this book will help you create breads superior to anything available in your supermarket. Great bread needs time and effort. This book will give you much better results than the quickly risen books pushed out by Paul Hollywood and the like.

This may well be the best book on the subject of home bread-making ever. The first 100 or so pages are definitely the best dissertation on bread making you're likely to come across. Gratifying, too, to see recommended some of the things I've been doing instinctively. I don't understand the gripes about "cup measurements" - my copy has both cups and ounces. Grams would have been better, but one has to make allowances for the colonies, and conversion is hardly a chore - it's not as if one has to convert all the recipes at once. For anyone wanting to go with the US measurements, measuring cups are widely available, so I don't see that it's any sort of a problem. Buy this book, and it's precursor, Crust and Crumb (also in cups and ounces) - you won't be disappointed.

I have bought many bread making books and after following their various recipes have had just as many failures. This book, which I thought was a bit of a expensive indulgence has proved that it was money well spent. The results of my labour, with the guidance of Peter Reinhart are something to be proud of. I would highly recommend this book to anyone seriously interested in baking better bread and also understanding the science involved. Money well spent. Also I have adapted the "formula's to use in my Bread Machine, successfully ! Buy the book and see for youself.

Probably one of the best bread books out there. TBBA provides you with recipes to a many different types of bread and also equips you with the knowledge of bread baking. I have had it for a month but have been using it every day since as sach time I flip through the book I learn something new. His recipe to pain a l'ancienne is challenging at first but once you get the hang of it, you would want to bake it everyday! Can't wait to try the rest of his recipes. Would definitely recommend!

Simply one of the best written bread baking books out there. It's time tested (I ordered the 15th anniversary edition) and approved by hordes of fans. If you already own the original copy you might not need the newest edition. However, it does include 3 new master recipes (on top of the previous 50 or so), and a big new section on sourdoughs (aka wild-yeast starters). The sourdough section is rather simple, but like the rest of the book it's well written in a friendly and understanding tone (you don't ever feel pretentiousness or "my way is the only way"). Below are the reasons you should consider this book based on your baking experience: Beginner baker (little to no experience, but lots of interest): This book teaches you the fundamentals of solid baking and breaks everything down into easy-to-understand steps that can be applied to all baking. These steps are critical knowledge to becoming a good baker and not having to rely as heavily on recipes (and being able to adjust based on variables). The book is written well, easy to understand, has a friendly tone, and very much feels like it's written for the home baker with the understanding that sometimes you have to work with what you have (e.g., not everyone has a la cloche or dutch oven). The book also uses a decent amount of pictures to show you how things should look, and each recipe feels like it is personalized by Reinhart, often times including notes for changing the recipe. By simply following any recipe in this book (and the recommended techniques) you will create a bread that amazes friends and family (and probably yourself). This book represented a major shift in my understanding of the baking process and has helped me (in less than 6 months) go from a simple recipe follower to someone who can create his own bread based on learned knowledge and techniques. Somewhat experienced baker: With some experience you'll be able to use this book to it's fullest extent. The recipes may not blow your mind as an experienced/somewhat experienced baker, but they are all delicious and reliable. The techniques and approach to teaching the recipes and techniques is what makes this book shine for me. If you have felt like you were struggling to take your baking to the next level or to really understand the how/why behind baking techniques and recipes, then this book is for you! This book will help you better understand and combine techniques (provided you have learned others to combine with) as well as improve your understanding of recipes. It sets the stage for a leap into expert level baking. Highly experienced baker: As an experienced baker you won't find this book to be ground breaking, but it could teach you a few tips and tricks you may not have known. Reinhart does a great job of adding notes to recipes that tell you how to adjust/change things up. He also does an amazing job of breaking down all the steps of baking (all 12 of them) and explaining what they are and how they are applied in different bakes (some combine/skip steps). The techniques portion of this book offers interesting professional approaches tried and tested by Reinhart but seems to fully accept (and even occasionally mention) that there are other techniques/recipes/etc. The recipes in this book are solid, and you'll find them to be tasty and appealing (although as an experienced baker you may already have preferences for other recipes). The sourdough section won't blow your mind, but it's a useful refresher. I would not recommend purchasing this book solely for the sourdough section. Wrap-up: Combining this book's recipes and techniques with other books I've read/am reading has allowed me to exponentially improve my baking techniques and understanding. Reinhart's writing style and teaching style come through in this book, you can tell it was written by a teacher and someone who loves baking (not one or the other, but both!), and for that reason I love it.

Pretty much good book with proper explanations. Makes you want to bake bread by yourself and become self-sufficient. Became very useful especially during 2020/2021 lockdown.

My opinion should be more books related bakery and Pastry

Me encanta este libro. He hecho varias de las recetas y todas han quedado muy ricas. Me gusta mucho que en cada receta dice al inicio las características generales del pan, así como los días que se necesitan para lograr su ejecución. La mayoría de las recetas tienen fotografías muy vistosas que facilitan la elaboración del pan. Este libro, a diferencia de otros, incluye en cada receta los ingredientes en gramos, onzas, tazas o cucharadas y en porcentaje panadero (este último el más útil cuando se quiere escalar la receta). En algún lado de internet alguien se quejó que contenía pocas recetas integrales y aunque es cierto, el libro brinda muchas ideas y conocimientos que permiten que el lector experimente y cree sus propias recetas con gran variedad de semillas y granos. El libro tiene gran cantidad de recetas de pan "salado" (~2% de sal) y muy pocas incluyen azúcar. Me hubiera gustado que incluyera más recetas con mantequilla, azúcar y huevos. Vale mucho la pena conseguir harina panadera, los resultados son muy diferentes. Como no tengo 'Polenta' y no sé dónde se compre siempre la sustituyo por harina nixtamalizada de maíz Amarillo MASECA por su sabor y porque no tiene gomas, colorantes ni saborizantes añadidos.

This is a really nice book with a lot of interesting receipt. It's perfect to learn something about the science of bakery products. Moreover it has a lot of beautiful pictures.