The Bread Bible

by Rose Levy Beranbaum, Alan Witschonke (Illustrator), Michael Batterberry (Foreword by)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Man shall not live on bread alone – but you sure can try. This multiple award winner from one of the biggest names in baking will enhance your skills and elevate your loaves from crust to crumb.

Winner of the Gourmand World Cookbook Award, Best Bread Book

The Bread Bible gives bread bakers 150 of the meticulous, foolproof recipes that are Rose Levy Beranbaum's trademark. Her knowledge of the chemistry of baking, the accessibility of her recipes, and the incomparable taste of her creations make this book invaluable for home cooks and professional bakers alike.

"Understanding" and "Pointers for Success" sections explain in simple, readable language the importance of various techniques and ingredients demonstrated in a recipe, providing a complete education in the art of baking, with thorough sections on types of flour, equipment, and other essentials. Easy-to-use ingredient tables provide both volume and weight, for surefire recipes that work perfectly every time.

Recipes include bread made with yeast starters, quick breads, flatbreads, brioche, and much more. From ciabatta, semolina, rye, and sourdough breads to bagels, biscuits, crumpets, and pizza dough, The Bread Bible covers all the baking bases.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393057942
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	10/17/2003
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	640
Sales rank:	11,571
Product dimensions:	8.38(w) x 10.14(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible earned the International Association of Culinary Professionals/Seagram Book of the Year Award and is currently in its twenty-ninth printing.

Michael Batterberry was a food writer and historian who with his wife founded two magazines, Food & Wine and Food Arts. He resided in Manhattan until his death in 2010.

What People are Saying About This

Charlie Trotter

Rose, of course, is the reigning Goddess with regards to the definitive word on all things pertaining to pastries and cakes. But now she has decided to clear away all misunderstandings by giving us The Bread Bible. My question is, 'When are we going to have a 'Rose Levy Beranbaum National Holiday'?'

Editorial Reviews

"Every book by Rose Levy Beranbaum is a highly anticipated event, but this one is particularly close to my heart. The Bread Bible brings together an amazing amount of useful information with many many great and trustworthy recipes—you can always count on a recipe by Rose, and her attention to every detail. For a baker like me, this book is heavenly, just as the title promises."

Peter Reinhart

"Rose will not only walk you through a recipe, she will hold your hand all the way. She is the ultimate perfectionist and we readers are the beneficiaries. We can always count on her to create recipes that not only work flawlessly, but taste out of this world."

Maggie Glezer

"This is a book that has left no questions about how to make and bake bread. The Bread Bible belongs in every baker’s kitchen."

Marion Cunningham

"The world of bread baking has been a secret society for 5000 years. Not any more. This book explains bread in all its historical, gastronomic, chewy, crusty, glorious detail. Of course, it took Rose to do it. This is the bread book."

Bill Yosses

As in her seminal The Cake Bible, which won an IACP prize, Beranbaum doesn't just offer recipes here; she dissects them, explains how they work, then puts them back together again with a number of variations. The front matter to what Beranbaum terms her "bread biography" contains perhaps the best explanation anywhere of how yeast works and a description of the sponge method used for almost every yeast-risen bread. Each recipe also includes a "Rose ratio," which shows at a glance the percentage of water, yeast, flour and fat in each bread. The author's discussion of the pros and cons of various kneading methods (bread machine, by hand, etc.) is invaluable. After all this information, bakers will be eager to get to the recipes, which are equally rewarding. Beranbaum covers everything from a Chocolate Bread made with cocoa nibs to a Traditional Challah. Recipes are arranged by type of bread, with groups including sandwich loaves and dinner rolls and brioche breads. A chapter on artisanal hearth breads includes Heart of Wheat Bread, with wheat germ for extra crunch, and New Zealand Almond and Fig Bread with an apricot glaze. Every time Beranbaum seems about to go overboard with too much information, she steps back from the brink, as in the excellent introduction to sourdough, where she thoroughly explains how sourdough works, then provides a simple box with eight rules for making a starter. Beranbaum could have a second career as a scientist, but luckily for home bakers she seems intent on creating a library of seminal cookbooks instead. (Oct.) Forecast: Beranbaum's The Cake Bible is now in its 30th printing; this volume, which is a selection of The Good Cook Club, appears poised for similar success. The author will embark on a seven-city tour, but even without the hype, this extraordinary work would find a large audience. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

To bake or not to bake: 150 recipes from a master. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal