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Baking with wild yeast in a centuriesold
craft, but Michael’s approach is
simplified and his breads are modern.
The book begins with the complete
process for Pain au Levain, the
classic French sourdough. The other
breads build on these basics and,
thanks to ingenious modifications for
the home and step-by-step color
photographs, even cutting edge
techniques like Porridge Bread are
easy to grasp.
The master formulas include breads
like Apple Walnut Farmhouse,
Classic Sourdough, Grits and Goat
Cheese, and Ancient Grain Hearth
Loaves. The recipes work, the breads
taste great, and they’re easy to make
at home.”
Reviews
Kalanty’s follow-up to 2011’s How to Bake Bread expands on the theme, focusing on wild yeast and how it can impart unique flavors into artisan breads. It all begins with a starter, a living culture of flour, water, and yeast that deepens in flavor complexity over time. The wild yeast found in the whitish bloom on fruits such as grapes and plums is employed in lieu of commercial yeast to create the starter. Kalanty walks readers through the entire process, from creating the starter and daily feedings to tips on keeping that culture alive and thriving so it can be used for future loaves. Once readers have their starters, Kalanty gives detailed instructions on baking classics such as pain au levain and sourdough, as well as an apple-walnut farmhouse bread studded with caramelized fruits and a grits and goat cheese porridge bread. The book’s textbook approach and abundance of charts, figures, precise measurements, and detailed steps are probably best suited for professionals and culinary students. That said, novices are sure to come away with a much greater understanding of bread fundamentals (there are lots of photos and asides on techniques such as rotating breads in the oven and ornamental scoring), and amateur bakers obsessed with making perfect bread will have a hard time finding a better guide. (BookLife)
Foreword by Nathan Myhrvold
Former chief technology officer of Microsoft, Nathan Myhrvold is founder of The Cooking Lab in Bellevue, Washington. He created and oversees Modernist Cuisine and is coauthor of the James Bread Award- winning Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking and Modernist Cuisine at Home, and author of The Photography of Modernist Cuisine.
Portland (ME) Press Herald
Tasting Bread is Like Tasting Wine
News
06/06/2015
"Breaking Bread", from the National Culinary Review of the American Culinary Fed
To help with my bakery clients, I developed a flavor wheel for Breads. Here's the whole story.