Over in another thread, Normbake asks about Dan Lepard's The Handmade Loaf. I'm lifting over comments on the book to this new thread because it may be difficult to find it in future if left in there.
Quote:Do you have or can somebody recommend Dan Lepards "The handmade loaf" book is it worth buying it, it's $50 dollars here in Brisbane.
Normbake
Quote:I don't have it mate, but I have heard other people speak highly of it. May be best to get an opinion from one who does.
Bill
Quote:Normbake,
I would buy it even it were $200!
it is pure gold
none of my other baking books come close.
cheers
Dom
Beautiful book....written with much love for bread, in the recipes/instructions and photos (taken by Dan himself). Some of the recipes I've tried include:
Simple Milk Loaf - good bread with medium density. A million times better than Wonderbread.
Cassis and Currant Loaf - another winner.
Quick White Loaf - Interesting with millet flakes in it.
Rolled Oat and apple Bread - Very moist (for days) and truly yummy.
Raisin and Cinnamon Loaf - Lovely. Dan even has a step-by-step pictorial in his forum as a couple of us had the problem of the raisins burning/becoming too hard from the baking.
Chelsea Buns - Perfect! Now, if only one can get the dough to be as thin as Fitzbillies
Lemon Barley Cob - Soft and Yummy
Garlic Dumplings - Taste like baos...but better!
Rosemary and fresh cheese sticks - Really crispy and addictive
Oh...Jack's oven and breads are featured in pgs 160-2. There are so many recipes in there calling out to be made....
_________________
TP
Perhaps, we can use this thread for other book recs too.
Replies
Copying this from another thread...I thought it's good to have both sides of opinion.
[quote]
SourYumMum wrote:
Also ... for people up Newcastle/Lake Macquarie way ... Newcastle Kitchen & Cutlery are ordering [b]The Handmade Loaf[/b] for me. They stock a few books, but not Dan's. $49.95 - bout the same as Amazon or any other outlet.
KazaKhan?®© wrote:
Having borrowed that book from the TAFE library recently my review is "bah humbug".
$50 for a very thin book mostly filled with pictures, other than that you get Dan's no knead method.
[/quote]
For you, Kazakh (sorry, it'll drive me crazy to copy and paste your name each time), the pix are not necessary (for want of a better word). But, for me, I can't believe my luck that there [i]is[/i] a bread book so generously filled with fantastic pix. The pictures are so professionally taken that the other day I put a piece of my Onion and Bay bread next to Dan's pic, and you can't tell that his is a picture!
Thin book? 80 over recipes ain't little. I've had the book for almost a year and I've only made 1/8th of the recipes. Moreover, you get friendly access to [url=http://www.danlepard.com/forum/index.php]Dan's forum[/url] if you have any questions on his recipes. Even if it isn't one of his recipes, if he is able to, he will respond to the query. Having attended his class and sat across the man for lunch, I can vouch that he's a real swell guy. And, the style of the book reflects that and his skilled understanding of bread-making.
OK....copying more stuff relating to bread books here.....
KazaKhan?®© wrote:
[quote]
Having made an impulse purchase recently also from Newcastle Kitchen & Cutlery I'd also say bah humbug to [b]Rose Levy Beranbaums Bread Bible[/b], a reviewers quote somehwere in the book mentions it contains Rose's 150 favourite bread recipes that alone would've of warned me off had I noticed it before buying. Who has 150 favourite bread recipes
[/quote]
Haven't seen the book myself, but I've RLB's Cake Bible and I'm not exactly thrilled with her. She has a talent of making something seem more complicated than it actually is.
KazaKhan?®© wrote:
[quote]
A book I have read and will probably get around to buying is [b]Hamelman's Bread book[/b].
[/quote]
Could you please elaborate on this? I haven't perused this book either, so would appreciate comments on it. Someone who visited my blog had volunteered to loan me the book.....hmm...
Anyone else who has this book? Oh...I know...Jeremy.
[quote="TeckPoh"]
For you, Kazakh (sorry, it'll drive me crazy to copy and paste your name each time), the pix are not necessary (for want of a better word). But, for me, I can't believe my luck that there [i]is[/i] a bread book so generously filled with fantastic pix. The pictures are so professionally taken that the other day I put a piece of my Onion and Bay bread next to Dan's pic, and you can't tell that his is a picture!
Thin book? 80 over recipes ain't little. I've had the book for almost a year and I've only made 1/8th of the recipes. Moreover, you get friendly access to [url=http://www.danlepard.com/forum/index.php]Dan's forum[/url] if you have any questions on his recipes. Even if it isn't one of his recipes, if he is able to, he will respond to the query. Having attended his class and sat across the man for lunch, I can vouch that he's a real swell guy. And, the style of the book reflects that and his skilled understanding of bread-making.
[/quote]
The pictures are certainly good very professional however I feel that with a lack of technical stuff that it is just recipes and the odd anecdote. It's not that I think it's a bad book rather that at $50 it is way overpriced. I'd pay $20 for it. I don't care for recipes everyones got recipes.
[quote="TeckPoh"]
Haven't seen the book myself, but I've RLB's Cake Bible and I'm not exactly thrilled with her. She has a talent of making something seem more complicated than it actually is.
[/quote]
Yes she does make things seem complicated. Virtually every recipe in the book is a sponge & dough method. Considering I bought the book here in Australia you'd think the publisher could take the time to convert fahrenheit to celsius the recipes contain the measurements in grams so is it really too much too ask. And even though grams are given the primary measurement seems to be volume based so maybe the weights given in grams have been converted from cups in which case the recipes are not going to very reliable. The illustrations in the book look good very similar to Hamelmans Bread and it also has the right amount of glossy photos. If it was re-written\overhauled and reduced the amount of sponge & dough recipes it would be a good book.
[quote="TeckPoh"]
Could you please elaborate on this? I haven't perused this book either, so would appreciate comments on it. Someone who visited my blog had volunteered to loan me the book.....hmm...
[/quote]
The only problems I had with this book were the layout of the topics could be better, some measurement issues (why can't everyone just switch to metric ) and he rambles in the odd paragraph or two. But certainly the best book on bread I've read and I haven't read very many at all really...
[quote="KazaKhan?®©"]
The pictures are certainly good very professional however I feel that with a lack of technical stuff that it is just recipes and the odd anecdote. It's not that I think it's a bad book rather that at $50 it is way overpriced. I'd pay $20 for it. I don't care for recipes everyones got recipes.
[/quote]
Lack of technical stuff? Care to give examples? It's not a book on the science of baking, but I don't think it's intended to be.
While everyone has recipes, I find it helpful to have a set of interesting recipes from a single source that have been tested. As a beginner, having a reliable set of recipes is an asset. When things go wrong I can be fairly confident that the problem was me, not the recipe.
Cheers,
Giles
Kazakhan wrote
[quote]
I don't care for recipes everyones got recipes.
[/quote]
Its good to find someone that has some insight about recipes...Yes there is nothing fascinating about recipes if you understand it well.
In fact you can even create your own...
There are an infinite permutation of recipes and any culinary enthusiast or professional must strive to go beyond recipes and understand the essense of the craft they are skilled at.
The attaintment of true wisdom in cookery is when you reach the point that you go beyond forms, shapes and recipes,,,
BTW, I am not a fan RLBiranbaum....all her books sucks!
[quote="giles"]
Lack of technical stuff? Care to give examples?
[/quote]
How am I supposed to give an example of what it's lacking? As I've already mentioned my major gripe with this book is the cost of it. Even though I've bagged Rose's book it's much better value, more recipes, more info on a few different flours etc and more on the basics of breadmaking. And of course Dan's book was never meant to be in the same catergory as Hamelman's Bread...
[quote="giles"]
It's not a book on the science of baking, but I don't think it's intended to be.
[/quote]
It's not
[quote="giles"]
While everyone has recipes, I find it helpful to have a set of interesting recipes from a single source that have been tested. As a beginner, having a reliable set of recipes is an asset. When things go wrong I can be fairly confident that the problem was me, not the recipe.
Cheers,
Giles
[/quote]
Tested? Would you be using the same flour and other ingredients as mentioned in the book or would you be inclined to use a different brand of flour etc?
I'm just not a fan of the book...
[quote="KazaKhan?®©"]
[quote="giles"]Lack of technical stuff? Care to give examples?
[/quote]
How am I supposed to give an example of what it's lacking?[/quote]
By mentioning something you'd have included if you were the author? That's a common practice for both formal (e.g. of a manuscript for a publisher) and infomal reviews (e.g. in a website or newspaper). Random assertions that the material is lacking doesn't earn you any credibility.
[quote]
As I've already mentioned my major gripe with this book is the cost of it.
[/quote]
Compared to techincal books in my professional field, it's a steal. It barely costs more than a hardback novel. I think you are being unrealistic to quibble about the price. Obviously it's not worth AUD$50 for you, and accordingly your decision not to purchase it is a good one.
[quote]
Tested? Would you be using the same flour and other ingredients as mentioned in the book or would you be inclined to use a different brand of flour etc?
[/quote]
Different, as I live on a different continent to Dan. But once I learn how my flour works in a couple of the recipes, I can expect it to be reasonably consistent from one recipe to the next. But I'm speculating since I've not baked enough yet, and you've guessing because you're certainly not going to bake any of the recipes!
[quote]
I'm just not a fan of the book...
[/quote]
Q.E.D.
Giles
[quote="giles"]
Random assertions that the material is lacking doesn't earn you any credibility.
[/quote]
Am I seeking credibility? I've offered my opinion of the book take it or leave it...
[quote="giles"]
Different, as I live on a different continent to Dan. But once I learn how my flour works in a couple of the recipes, I can expect it to be reasonably consistent from one recipe to the next. But I'm speculating since I've not baked enough yet, and you've guessing because you're certainly not going to bake any of the recipes!
[/quote]
You seemed to imply that as these recipes had been tested that they'd work out of the box for you so to speak. And now you admit that your speculating. No I'm not guessing all flour is not the same even two flours with the same protein & ash levels will perform differently. And that's just one ingredient.
[quote="giles"]
Q.E.D.
[/quote]
Touche, any git could see that
[quote="chembake"]
Its good to find someone that has some insight about recipes...Yes there is nothing fascinating about recipes if you understand it well.
In fact you can even create your own...
There are an infinite permutation of recipes and any culinary enthusiast or professional must strive to go beyond recipes and understand the essense of the craft they are skilled at. Cool
The attaintment of true wisdom in cookery is when you reach the point that you go beyond forms, shapes and recipes,,,
[/quote]
Recipes are everywhere, I'd could swear they're just pouring out of peoples backsides. I'd like to understand the fundamentals of why things work or don't work together etc.
Well I for one am still glad that I have orderd Dan's book ... if it's full of photos, all the better because then I can see what things should (or can) look like.
We have different aims in our baking ... I have no desire to be a commercial baker, I simply want to make really good bread for my family.
We also have different desires in what we want our baking results to be, and what we consider to be 'good' or 'great' is all so subjective.
I want big, rough, rustic-style loaves that taste great. I want great earthy breads and pastries that come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. I do NOT want fussy little white buns covered in pink icing. I do NOT want 'cake shop' bread or pastries. (Oh, except for those fabulous small green frog cakes stuffed with pink mock cream that were de rigeur in every Australian cake shop in the 1970's!) ... but I digress.
They were a bit like this but not this good:
<img src="http://static.flickr.com/55/193725341_69be8baca3_o.jpg" width="432" height="324" alt="Frog">
Just like how what we all consider to be 'sour' in taste is probably quite different from one person to the next. Books, recipes, movies, life ... all the same really. We all like different things out of it.
I can't wait to get my hands on my book.
And I'm sure if I am disappointed with it (which I doubt), there'll be 20 members of the forum more than happy to relieve me of it.
I guess my aim is very close to yours Carol.
I got the danish version of The Handmade Loaf for christmas and I'm very happy with it. This was the book that turned me on to sourdough - I've tried sourdough before, with instructions along these lines: "Stir water and flour, let it sit on the counter and after 5 days it will be bubly and smelling good". In fact it will be moldy and smelling bad.
Dan's book was the first one I'd come across that actually had proper instructions to create a sourdough from scratch. I find it very beginners friendly and yet he doesn't dumb down his technique like other books I've come across.
Also, I like that he starts out with the starter and later present the yeast recipes. So many other books start out with yeast and presents naturally leavened bread as something extraordinairy and for advanced bakers only. I think that attitude makes a lot of difference.
Lastly, this guy really know what he's talking about! You can tell there's a lot of experience behind his words, it's not just hearsay and 'this is how we've always done it'. (Like my otherwise favorite baking book by a danish author who boldly states that you cannot keep a sourdough on white flour alone, it will die, period )
For someone like me, not new to baking but new to sourdough this book is very inspiring.
Hi Ms Nina in Copenhagen!
The gentlemen are right in that not all books are enjoyed by everybody, which is why we all like different movies, too!
I aim to make as much as I can using sourdough starter, and what I can't I'll use yeast for.
I'm brand new to breadmaking ... but I love sourdough, and I'm getting great pleasure out of now being able to make a halfway decent loaf of bread with my very own hands.
For someone like me, I'm not too silly, but I don't aspire to have an enormous technical knowledge, it is learning little bits here and there that are the most useful. Like .. how much my starters and breads have improved by throwing a little wholemeal flour in. Like .. how much being able to SEE other people's breads when the posts their photos helps.
Anyway, hope you're not too hot & sweaty up in the north!
Carol.
PS I didn't make that frog. But I'd eat it.
Hey I am with you 100% Carol and Nina,
Dan is a great teacher, if you want to be zen about bread or even theoretical and all bless your soul, some people just want to enjoy rather than pluck out every discrepency or whatever flaw might be found by those ethereal beings who don't want to lower themselves or there standards, remember it's just water, flour, salt and what nature provides, bacteria!
Jeremy
[quote="SourYumMum"]
Hi Ms Nina in Copenhagen!
<snip>
Anyway, hope you're not too hot & sweaty up in the north!
[/quote]
Hi Carol... well since you asked: Argh, we're boiling up here! It's been 31C in my kitchen all day, that's a LOT more heat than we're used to, even in the summer.
To stay on topic: I ordered The Village Baker by Joe Ortiz from Amazon (and they were kind enough to add danish VAT, grrr!). Any thoughts on that?
I'll probably have the book before I can read your replies, since our phone and internet is getting cut tomorrow and won't be back up until mid-August... but I still wanna know
Yep each to his/her own with the books I'm still waiting for "The Handmade loaf" book but had a look at Jeff Hamelmans book quite good.
The price is $62 australian dollars had recipes for making commerical dough using 6-8 kgs flour etc for home use the recipes are given in pounds and ounces.
I'l wait till I see the handmade loaf book before I make up my mind.
Temp down here in Brisbane is quite cool middle of winter really cold at nite 11c inside.
This sourdough making is quite addictive
Normbake
Nina - this will be my first bread book ... unless you count one of the two books I still have from my high school library (as I'm now 40 I reckon the overdue fees could be a killer!) ... Natural Tucker by John Downes whom is somewhat of a legend in the area of sourdough in Australia. Shame I didn't really pay more attention to it when I was 17! I hope your phone and internet reconnection goes flawlessly so you can come back to us soon! (My goodness ... I could cope with no phone for a month, but NO INTERNET?)
Buying anything on Amazon when you're in Australia proves quite expensive because we have such a lousy exchange rate - mind you it has been worse than it is now! So it has to be a real bargain to make it worthwhile - especially once you add postage.
Jeremy ... bake me a frog cake! My bread is now at the stage where my eldest son, 4 years, says "I love mummy bread!". I guess to explain where my head is at with my kids and food ... although we only have a smallish suburban block of land, the backyard is just about all vegetable garden, and I have put in oranges, mandarins, limes, blueberries, chilean guava, passionfruit, strawberries ... etc. I spent my first 7 years on a dairy farm where if you ate it, you grew it or killed it first. While I don't really want the boys beheading chooks, I DO want them to know where food comes from (ie. not the supermarket), and how to make food - especially the staples like bread.
The bonus is that involving them in playing with little bits of dough STOPS THEM TRYING TO KILL EACH OTHER! Which is good! Toddler fights are awful!
Norm - I'm at Lake Macquarie ... on a couple of my early starts to work (5am) it has been about 5 - 6C! 11C at 5.30pm last night.
Hey, Nina...we'll miss you! Waiting to see your first loaf baked in a new oven.
Carol....tks for posting that froggie! Do they do other critters too? Great ideas for kids' parties. I'm also envying your backyard.
For books, Amazon's shipping is also too expensive for me altho' I can't fault their service. I get some books from [url]http://www.newbookscheap.com/[/url]...mostly half price. Only gripe is the book list is not that user-friendly...no search function...you have to go down the list...don't blink. Great service too. You can choose from a range of shipping preference. Don't choose the cheapest, though. I did that once and my Colette Peters and Alton Brown books have been MIA for a year and a half.
TP ... isn't the frog hilarious? It's not quite the same as an Australian cake shop frog ... the one's I grew up with are built over a small tartlet base. And far less frog-like than this glamourous creature (who appears to have been built over a small cake square or something) ... but it's the closest I could find. That said, it is so similar it's not funny. The other one I 'fondly' recall from childhood is a mushroom cake ... same tartlet case for a base, filled with mock cream, dusted with something brownish, and a pastry stem sticking up out of it! Meringue snowmen. God, it's a wonder any of us survived! All so kitsch!
Just for you, next time I hit my local cake shop (which is rare ... Aussie cake shops are appalling - all bad sponge cakes and white bread and meat pies with mysterious fillings ... gak!#&^%) but I will take photos of frog cakes, meringue animals and other assorted 'delights'. There is a true shocker of a cake shop about 15 minutes away ... and I KNOW they make frog cakes. (I bought my 4 year old one a couple of years ago for a giggle.)
And I will have a look at your newbookscheap ... books are a bit of a weakness around here. I do love Amazon, and I get some wonderful things from them - particularly from their 'affiliates' - but the $A is a poor cousin!
I was looking at a lovely terracotta biscuit stamp on Ebay yesterday ... it costs 3 British Pounds. By the time I convert that and add postage, it will cost me about A$25! I don't think I'll buy it. (sulk)
Carol.
Oh, and if you decide to have a go at making little frog tarts, please post your results because you will undoubtedly make something beautiful! I have also discovered a fantastic replacement for red food colouring ... in our local supermarkets, they are called a 'dragonfruit' (off some sort of cactus).... absolutely tasteless so I turned some of the ones with the red interior into some nice yogurty muffins a little while ago ... what an amazing colour!
<img src="http://static.flickr.com/71/194454076_314da8f338_o.jpg" width="127" height="85" alt="Dragonfruit">
Dragonfruits are bland but have loads of vitamin C. I usually eat it in salads. If you get the white interior kind, save the skin for a facial mask. 10 minutes and you'll get your skin tight and smooth.
Hey, don't diss Aussie cake shops. I've got shots of me oogling at the ones in St Kilda. Mmmmm....
Hi all!
I'm still without electricity after 5 day's, I feeel like a Katrina victim and it's worse, we have a storm that rivals the one in the Movie "The last wave" with Richard Chamberlain!
I have been baking in the dark, I'll post the story on my Blog, so kindly provided by Graham and crew (Maedi)!
I take exception to the Frog remark, my Mother is French
zzzzz....Gosh I am so tired, but I have two more bread loaves in the works for this afternoon, hopefully the lights will come on, I'm using Bills starter, the poor thing got out of the container when the electricity went amok and I saved the rest from the deluge and curses of the city of New York like the plagues Moses put on the Pharoah! Bill, I have my sour in a bag here at work and will post it today! No frills though, it's just a starter I did the Dan way raisins and yogurt and all, but it has a good kick, I hope!
Wish you all well and that garden you have SourYum sounds like Nirvana compared to this bloody city life, I'm ready to relocate to my sister village in Switzerland pronto!
Jeremy
Jeremy ... New York seems like such an amazing place to the rest of the world, and I'm sure it is ... I hope I get there one day ... but it just amazes me that one of the biggest, most powerful cities in the world ... in the good 'ol USA no less ... has the power go out for days on end! You should move here, you'd love it!
It's winter here but my vegie garden has cauliflower, cabbage, beetroot, parsley, carrots, garlic, onions, broadbeans, coriander, thyme, oregano, spinach, white strawberries ... and probably a few other things. It's only small but I will happily shove seeds in any available piece of dirt.
My plan for later is a cauliflower and blue cheese soup ... with sourdough!
[quote="SourYumMum"]
It's winter here but my vegie garden has cauliflower, cabbage, beetroot, parsley, carrots, garlic, onions, broadbeans, coriander, thyme, oregano, spinach, white strawberries ... and probably a few other things. It's only small but I will happily shove seeds in any available piece of dirt.
[/quote]
Hmm in addition to the above we also have silverbeet and lettuces, endives, lambs lettuce (corn salad) and lots of flowers. yes winter down here is quite nice
5 days without electricity in NY seems like a long time Jeremy!
Carla ... where in the land of the long white cloud are you?
We have rels in Dunedin ... they don't have much in the garden but the odd bit of snow at the moment!
Carol.
Go the All Blacks
Can't wait fot the next Wallaby clash with the mighty All Blacks
Cheers Normbake
great stuff about the books
[quote="SourYumMum"]
Carla ... where in the land of the long white cloud are you?
[/quote]
I am on the opposite end - in Northland, Carol.
Cold at the moment but very nice and sunny days. Have sown a heap of spinach in the glasshouse as its much warmer in there. Outside its slowed right down. But the first citrus are ready now Tangelos, lemonades, lemons and ugli fruit is coming on, as are the cherimoyas soon!
TP ..
Genuine Australian Cake Shop Frog Cakes ... being enjoyed by genuine Australian boys ...
<img src="http://static.flickr.com/72/195193846_e51e2fa073_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="frog1"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/77/195193847_2cafbd202f_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="pandafrog"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/60/195193848_b0751891af_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="peafrog"></
The eyes got a bit squashed on the way home.
Truly revolting, huh?
Carla, I have just put a few dwarf citrus in the garden in the last year or so ... I would love a Buddha's Hand, but can't justify taking up space with one!!!
Unearthed this too.
[quote]
I'm just reading "[b]Handbook of Dough Fermentations" edited by Kerl Kulp and Klaus Lorenz [/b](ISBN 0-8247-4264-8, available from CHIPS books)
Expensive, but excellent stuff for sourdough geeks.
Following hint in the book I am experimenting with using a stiffer starter (50% rather than 100% hydration). I think the results are more flavoursome.
Jack
[/quote]
[quote="SourYumMum"]
Carla, I have just put a few dwarf citrus in the garden in the last year or so ... I would love a Buddha's Hand, but can't justify taking up space with one!!!
[/quote]
Sorry to report that I have a Buddha's Hand in my backyard and also a Kaffir lime. And an "Earl Grey" tree (Bergamot orange) and of course I also have a Seville orange to make nice marmalade!! ...
LOL, Carol, did the genuine little aussie hunks get a genuine colourful face after that froggie feast? Tks, they're adorable...both the hunks and the cakes.
Carol, now thats a couple of great looking loaves, obviously raised well with good looking crumb structure.
My little loaves ... tasty and smell good too, mostly!!! They were very sad to discover that the remains of their frogs were not in the fridge this morning. Mummy had thrown them out. I got out of it by reminding them how much they hate having sick tummies!!!
Carla - I have kaffir, tahitian and fingerlimes in large pots, and a Meiwa cumquat in a pot - navel orange, two mandarins, meyer lemon, and blood orange in the garden. Lots of blueberries in pots which are now two years old so we should get a real feast over summer!! It was the kaffir that started all the trouble actually! My desire to get Panang Curry just right!! One of the local mags recently had a recipe for a 'kaffir marmalade' using the fruit, which sounds interesting, so I will give that a try one of these days! A friend gave me a lovely grafted macadamia when loaf #1 was born ... but too big for my place so my dad planted it in his garden which is about 8 times as big as mine. I gave him a fingerlime for his birthday this year, so maybe I'll get him a Buddha's Hand and I can pick them!!! (problem solved!)
The Buddha's Hand is just the most spectacular thing! But what do you do with it? I know in Japan they are popular for hanging to scent your home ... they are just spectacular!
Thanks Teckpoh
I went to his web site and there was a forum about his book.
The bookshop has it on order.
Thanks for your help.
Regards Normbake
Just had a look at the page of "Handbook of dough fermentations"
wouldn't that be a fantastic book to have...
100 english pounds is a bit too expensive for me that would be well over $200 aus dollars
You're welcome, Normbake. Lol, Jack did say the Handbook of Dough Fermentations was expensive. I took a look at the amazon pages too. No pictures on the pages shown but, a great deal of history etc. Oh...Jack....are there pictures/illustrations in the book?
I spent ages early this morning about 3 hours looking on the net for info about dough fermentation...
yes hope Jack gives out a bit of info from the book
Our local book shop said that Dan's book the handmade loaf will take a few weeks to arrive.
Normbake
[quote]
spent ages early this morning about 3 hours looking on the net for info about dough fermentation...
yes hope Jack gives out a bit of info from the book
Our local book shop said that Dan's book the handmade loaf will take a few weeks to arrive.
[/quote]
Normbake, I think I had to pitch in as it seems nobody around except Jack Lang had read it,
I happen to browse that book a year ago from the university food science library and its a good book if you want to go to the technical side of sourdough baking.
You may find some of the discussion sacrilegious supposing you are a purist as many experts there suggest the use of hybridized methods.that is combining levain with bakers yeast.
Don't expect that you can find lots of recipes there like a normal breadmaking book.
My comments is .....Its expensive for a hobbyist baker as he or she might not find it useful for his/her hobby( except for its informative content) but reasonable for a professional baker doing sourdoughs regularly to own as a reference guide
Its a science text book in the Dekker Food Science series.
Expensive since the demand and hence the print run is small.
There are black and white illustrations
[i]Table of Contents[/i]
[b]General [/b]
History and Origins of Fermented Foods
Economic Growth and Potential Market of Products and Foods using Fermentations
[b]Theoretical[/b]
Yeast Fermentation
Lactic and other Fermentations
Fermentation Processes of Starters
Interaction of Microorganisms in Dough Fermentations
[b]Production of Starters [/b]
Bakers Yeasts, Commercial Types
Commercial and Retail Starters in Germany
Commercial Starters in France
Commercial Starters in Spain
Commercial Starters in USA
[b]Application of Starters in Baking and Food Technology[/b]
Starters in Wheat Breads and Products
Starters in Rye Breads and Products
Starters in Miscellaneous Grain and Mixed Grain Breads and Products
Starters for Production of Fermented Foods
Nutritional Effects of Fermentations
Please add the bread books you have read to this thread. Thank you.
But DON'T tempt me to buy!
I just picked this book up yesterday. It seems very practical. It's 224 pages are devoted to sourdough, is designed to be accessible to beginners, has a lot of recipes, great photos and seems quite up to date re. health benefits of sourdough etc. It was published in 2009. I haven't tried any of the recipes yet but they seem very accessible. She gives three sourdough bread-making methods and I'm interested to try her "starter method" which uses more starter and only one rise for my wholegrain breads.
So far very happy with my purchase.
i was given this book as a gift at xmas 07
i have found it to be quite valuable as it comes across with functional explanations, well laid out recipes and everything seems to work.
has some good photos but more would be appreciated.
the full title is: 'Local Breads - sourdough and whole grain recipes from europe's best artisan bakers'.
basically, he has gathered recipes from individual provincial bakers and worked them for the home baker. the recipes have been modified for USA flour in mind, but of course baking sourdough is all about adapting to variations, be it types of flour, seasonal weather conditions or family requests and more......
i began using a stiff dough leaven baking the 'quintessential french sourdough (pain au levain)' . has worked well & i've added soya beans and flaxseed, reasonably well into this one.
out of curiosity i went back to a liquid leaven (never really got it right previously) to do chocolate croissants (family request) - more work to be done on these, time to do it in sydney winter i guess.
now doing 'french country boule (pain au campagne)' with the liquid leaven
and have done rolls with this recipe with soya beans & flaxseed in it.
all in all the book has enhanced my sourdough experience and books for me are somewhat easier to use on the lounge than a computer. no doubt there are many good books available but i found this one good, well laid out and plenty of recipes to explore.
cheers
ben
A very useful review.
I need to discipline myself to go through three-quarters of a book to form some sort of useful opinion. As it is, I'm jumping from one book to another, but not finishing them. At the moment, I must be in the midst of delving into 8 books! *smacks head*
Best
TP
not sure if there is a beginning or end for cook books, they aren't quite the same as a novel.
keep on juggling
regards
ben
I love bread books! So many ideas and recipes, so little time to bake them.
I taught myself how to make a sourdough starter and breads using material I gleaned from the internet about 6 years ago. Believe me there wasn't a lot out there. Then I found a little book The Sourdough Cookbook by Jenny Wagner that started me experimenting because she has ideas for all types of breads. I think its an Australian book and probably out of print but it just happened to be on the shelf in my local library!
I like Local Bread I borrow it from the library and it spends more time at my house than on the library shelves. I've only made a few of the recipes but like the stories and the ideas. Another book I like for ideas is baker by Dean Brettscheider and Lauraine Jocobs, it has recipes from bakeries in Australia and New Zealand and the ones I've tried work.
A book for a good read is Elizabeth David's English Yeast and Bread Cookery. I splurged and bought a first addition then promptly spilled stuff on it.
I would like the Hamelman book but will probably wait until I go to the states and bring it back with me--unless I can convince my sister to send it to me.
Keep on baking! Liz
Thought it would make it easier for future reference if I lifted a few posts from this thread.
[quote=lily]Get yourself a copy of Dan Lepard's "The Handmade Loaf" (Mitchell Beazely) and take yourself through the white leaven bread recipe. It also produces lovely pizza, baguettes, rolls and fougasse. He'll edumecate you! :)
[/quote]
[quote=rossnroller]Ta, Lily. I've already got Dan Lepard's book included with a few others that I'm planning on ordering from Amazon. His name seems to pop up frequently as one of the foremost bread gurus, along with Jeffrey Hamelman, Daniel Leader and Peter Reinhart.
I probably should start another thread on this, but do you have any of the books by Hamelman, Leader or Reinhart? Just wondering how Lepard's book compares? (I note Lepard is from the UK, while the others are American...not that that means anything - just an observation).
[/quote]
[quote=matthew]
Hi
My favourite is Hammelman's basic Vermont sourdough either with rye or wholemeal wheat. I've kind of gone off a straight white. I used to make the white loaf from Dean Brettschneider's book Baker.
My most frequently used book at the moment is Hamelman's Bread. I've also got BBA from Reinhart, two of Brettschneider's books (he's a Kiwi like me) and Village Baker by Joe Ortiz (which I'm embarrassed to say I've never made anything from). I also make breads i've copied out of Maggie Glezer's Artisan Bakers and Carol Field's Italian Baker.
I like Hamelman because he explains the theory extremely well in a way that is easy to understand and practical. His formulas also have a metric version which I find easier to scale (it's written up in a commercial scale) though I still need to convert all his temperatures to metric. I don't have Lepard but his formulas will all be metric. I prefer a book that uses weights rather than cups so Hamelman provides that. Reinhardt is not metric so I need to convert everything which is a bit of a pain, lovely book though, lots of good pictures.
Matthew
[/quote]
[quote=lily]
Great tips, Matthew. I've got some of these books on order for greater understanding of the whole process.
I find Dan Lepard's book excellent for the incidental tips one picks up as well as recipes that work. Also his website continues his work to demystify techniques and 'try something different for a different result'.
'The Bread Builders' by Daniel Wing and Alan Scott is aimed at artisan bakers in masonry ovens but gives good theory and examples of sourdough baking too. The 'recipes' are part of the story and make a good read.
[/quote]
[quote=matthew]I also have bread builders, and it is a fascinating book. I didn't list it because it doesn't contain a whole lot of formulas, so I didn't consider it. It has a lot of information about sourdough and the microbiology though which is very interesting. I also used it as an extensive reference when building my oven. And if you find masonary ovens fascinating then it's worth buying the book just for this.
I've read Dan's book from the library (I too am trying not to collect too many books and already have a good number) and belong to his forum which is fascinating. I especially like the "This Bakers Life" forum.
Matthew
[/quote]
Has anyone got this book? Maybe if I'm good till cwistmas, it'll be in my stocking....
TP
Edit to add: Kinokuniya Sydney will be knocking 20% off cookbooks for October and you can get autographed copies on Saturday, 17th.
2 more months? I think I can juuuuust make it. Nobody's looking at the 1st 10 months, right?
BTW, Ross, I hope your trip coincides with a rumoured Big Bad Wolf books warehouse sale (whispered to be in Nov/Dec) because you ain't seen books this cheap. I just went to the Penguin and Pearson sale and managed to grab 5 cookbooks...sadly, no bread books...amongst which is Jamie's Italy for RM30 (A$9.80) and Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking for RM20 (A$6.50). Paperbacks were going for RM10 and RM15. BBW has even better deals. I'll keep ya posted.
Cheers
TP (sporting a halo *ting*)
I just got "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" by Peter Reinhart.
It was $35.00. (38 AUD, 23.45 EUR, 271.25 HKD, RM107.70)
If you are new to bread baking, like I am, I recomend it. He explains equipment and processes well and has pictures that get ideas across that just words can't. The recipes have volume and weight (english) measurments AND bakers percentages. He does have a section on sourdough with 6 recipes, but his main focus seems to be yeasted breads. I still recomend it for some good lessons in baking.
Cheers
Ross