[.ca] Bread (ISBN 0756618894)

From Amazon.com:
Take one French food authority and author, one Italian food authority and author, give them a subject like bread and a publisher like Britain's Dorling Kindersley, and the result can't help but be one of the more engaging books on bread and bread baking. DK Publishing is of the seeing-is-believing school of cookbooks, and this philosophy works particularly well in their Ultimate Bread. The opening plates of the world of bread are enough in and of themselves to drive anyone--beginner or expert baker--right into the kitchen. The "Baking Essentials" section shows and explains the differences in various kinds of flour, wheat and nonwheat, as well as the basic ingredients (yeast, oil, eggs, salt--not a long list) and tools. The "Basic Techniques" section shows you exactly what dough should look like in the various stages of bread production. The photos are so thick with color you can almost touch and smell the dough. But the majority of the book is dedicated to recipes. Here you will find Country Oatmeal Bread, French Baguettes, Pretzels, Ciabatta, Pain aux Noix, Brioche, Nan, Pita, Corn Bread, and Challah. There are dozens of breads in all, from the very basic to the festive. And finally, there's even a section devoted to problem solving--although the biggest problem you may have is deciding which recipe to start with. --Schuyler Ingle

The Scent of Freshly Baked Breadý:
As I sit here dreaming of living in France and visiting French Bakeries, Rendezvous a Paris from Starbucks is playing in the background. Yesterday I made homemade bread and I can promise you there is nothing quite like baking your own bread even if you employ the help of your loyal bread machine. Although, one imagines there is nothing quite like freshly baked Pain de Seigle. If you have ever watched A Year in Provence, you can't help dreaming about baking your own baguette's in Provence. Bread really is a universal food. This "photographic gallery" reveals the variety of breads. There are as seemingly large as life pictures of the breads. Everything from the continental classics such as Tuscan Focaccia scented with rosemary to sweet enriched reads studded with spices and fruit. You will also find flat breads from the Middle East and rustic country loaves from France. Sigh This is an exciting resource written by authors who are experts in bread baking. Eric Treuill was born in Cahors in southwest France and first became interested in breadmaking when he worked as a mitron in his uncle's boulangerie. Ursula Ferrigno grew up on her father's vegetable and olive-producing farm in southern Italy. "Ursula remembers the hot summer evenings when her grandmother would light the wood-fired oven on the terrace of their family home in Campania. She recalls the sweet, yeasty fragrance of the seemingly magically growing dough and its soft, springy texture as she formed it into a round, for it was a family tradition that each person shape and top his or her own pizza." After a brief introduction to the Fundamentals of Breadmaking a world of possibilities is revealed in the next few chapters. A Gallery of breads shows wonderful pictures of French, Italian, British, European, American, Eastern and Festive Breads. Baking Essentials - In this short chapter you explore: Wheat Flours, Nonwheat Flours, Ingredients and Equipment (lots of pictures!) Like you can see pictures of brioche molds and a French Baguette Tray. How to Begin is a chapter about how to prepare the yeast. An explanation of the perfect water temperature is discussed. If your kitchen is extra warm, you also might want to consider using cold water. That was something I had not considered in the summer. Basic Techniques - Using a starter, mixing, kneading, using appliances, rising, punching down, shaping and proofing, glazing, topping, preparing, baking, using a bread machine, storing and freezing. Recipes - Here you will find recipes for basic breads, sourdoughs, breads using starters, flavored breads, enriched breads, flat breads, quick breads, festive breads, recipes using bread. Some of the recipes include: Country Oatmeal Bread, Daktyla, Victorian Milk Bread, Bagels, Pretzels, San Francisco Sourdough, Cheese Hearth Bread, Tomato and Red Onion Bread, Dark Chocolate Bread, South African Seed Bread, Stromboli, Brioche, Cinnamon Raisin Bread, Prune & Chocolate Bread, Nan, Piadina, Pita, Irish Soda Bread, Cranberry Nut Loaf, Classic Corn Bread, Dresdner Christstollen (YUM), Challah (my favorite), Panettone (try toasting this and serving with butter and confectioners sugar - this has to be the best bread treats in the world!) and Bread Pudding. A glossary helps to explain baking terms like "sponging," "Nigella seeds," "orange flower water," and " Boule." This has to be the best book on bread out there besides The World Encyclopedia of Bread and Bread Making by Christine Ingram & Jennie Shapter. You really might want both if you are totally serious about bread baking. I'd start with this one and then take a look at the second one. Simply Gorgeous!

The ONLY bread book you'll need:
I have several bread books on my shelf, but this book is the first one I pull out every time. It has become my ultimate reference on bread making techniques. The pictures are clear and lavish, and easy to follow, especially when it comes to shaping the bread. Almost every recipe has a picture of the finished product; clear, concise directions; and on the right hand margins, headings for proofing time, yield, oven temp., etc. While bread making is simple and rewarding, it takes a lot of time. However, with this book, you'll be feeling like a professional bread baker in no time. Must-try recipes include brioche, challah, the bread and butter pudding (made from bread you made yourself!), and the Hungarian potato bread.

Short, Sweet and Good!:
Ultimate Bread is one of the better yet easy to use bread baking books on the market. For the first time bread baker it is user friendly and offers numerous recipes which are fun as well as delicious. For the experienced baker it is a welcome relief from the over written 500 page monster found on the shelves of todays book stores. It also has beautiful photographs which alone are worth the purchase.

Carelessly written book:
I bought this book because it contained a recipe for raisin bread. There were errors in the recipe;there were two references to adding flour but no flour left to add. The directions caused the bread to be severely overbaked and unedible. No, there is nothing wrong with my oven and I am an experienced bread baker. This error in the one recipe makes me suspicious about the entire book.

Awsome Pictorial Bread Book:
I recently purchased this book at Barnes & Nobel's, and really like it. I am making my second bread tonight. I was very happy with my first basic bread recipe, and for someone like me with little or no experience it turned out good. The huge color photo's in the book really help, and all the many types of bread around the world are really neat. And there are variations with almost every one, which really extends the already long list of recipe's. It also covers all the cooking items to use. A really good book from start to finish to learn to make very good bread the first time, and lots of bread types & options to do with it after. For more experienced chefs, there's still a lot of recipe's & tips...