19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great bread textbook, April 14, 2009
This a great book for those who want to understand the science of bread-making rather than just follow a recipe. Daniel DiMuzio first gives a brief history of bread, and then walks the reader step by step through the bread making process. Each chapter covers an aspect of the procedure, beginning with ingredients and their characteristics, followed by mixing methods, fermentation, division and shaping, proofing and retarding, and finally, baking. Additional chapters instruct the reader on topics such as baker's math and how to use it to create formulas or modify batch sizes, and rich and laminated doughs. DiMuzio also includes advanced topics such as flour composition and milling technology, advanced baker's percentage, controlling fermentation, and creating decorative showpieces. The book contains formulas for some exceptionally good bread, in particular the bleu cheese & toasted walnut bread, and a fantastic pizza crust, as well as color pictures of finished loaves and some truly stunning showpieces. This book is excellent if you want to not just learn how to bake a loaf of bread, but to have an in-depth understanding of everything that goes into making that loaf. Additionally, it will give you the knowledge needed to be able to take a finished loaf and troubleshoot it; you will never go back to grocery store baguettes after reading it.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent for a Novice, September 16, 2009
Honestly, I didn't know what to expect out of this book. I was turned off to other books due to the reviews saying things like 'the formulas are all wrong!' and 'the author comes off way too excited and egotistical!' So, I decided to purchase this relatively new book with only a few glowing reviews.
However, once it arrived, I was pleasantly surprised. This book has everything you could possibly need to learn about baking bread. It goes through each process involved with baking the bread, and even has extra chapters devoted to a further understanding of these processes. I found the writing to be clear, concise, and illustrative. Usually, the author gives a desired result (say sourdough), the process involved in getting there (let the dough sit), and the science behind it (the bacteria are developing in the following ways...).
This book gives you the knowledge to make a loaf and actually adjust all the parameters to your liking. It even has a whole chapter devoted to creating recipes for your own bread. It really is much like a class in a book.
Certainly, this book doesn't teach you *absolutely everything* (like how to shape the perfect baguette), but no book can. He even says at a couple of points in the shaping chapter that you're better off learning from a teacher because it's an action that you just can't show in pictures and words.
Finally, most chapters end with a lab / experiment, and review section to make sure you comprehend the chapter. One lab, for example, shows the differences between 1 and 3 hour periods of fermentation. It's really eye opening and illustrates the principals of the chapter you just read.
Anyone looking to learn more about the science of bread and it's practical applications should without a single doubt pick up this book. It's a book you'll read once, then constantly go back to easily found sections and re-read parts to refresh your understanding of what you are doing, or perhaps even give you inspiration to try something different. The recipes are varied enough to cover everything talked about in the book.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Text, April 15, 2009
This book is the perfect text for an artisan bread course, as well it should be. It is written as Chef DiMuzio teaches: clear, consise, and exactly all the information necessary to understand the bread baking process from flour to yeast and beyond. I wish we'd had this book as our text when I was his student. The formulas are tried and true and the bagels are one of my favorites.
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