Customer Reviews

Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Let me make a couple of things clear up front. First, this book is not for the casual baker who likes to toss a recipe together on short notice, throw it in the oven, and be done with it; Reinhart goes the extra mile of effort to extract every last ounce of perfection from whole grain breads.

Second, it is entirely possible to make delicious whole grain breads without using his complex methods. I've done it using the recipes in both the King Arthur Flour Company's "Whole Grain Baking", and "Secrets of a Jewish Baker". If you are the aforementioned casual baker then I highly recommend picking up one (or preferably both) of those books instead.

However, this is the perfect book for the cook who's always fiddling with their recipes trying to make them Just Right. It's the ideal companion for the home baker who's willing to go the extra distance to get not just delicious and enjoyable whole grain bread, but perfect whole grain bread. It isn't the right book for everyone, but for the right audience I can't imagine a better read.

Do be sure to read the first few chapters, which explain the history and science behind Reinhart's methods. Not only is it fascinating stuff, but it's necessary to give you the understanding you'll need to make the most of the recipes. Unlike simple recipes where you can just follow a few steps and be done with it, these methods require you to have a feel for the doughs. The amount of kneading required, for example, can vary so much depending on which grains you've used, how you've kneaded them, and so on. If it weren't for Reinhart's "windowpane test," which has you test the gluten development of a bread by gently stretching the dough and seeing if you can stretch until it's somewhat translucent (illustrative photos are included), we wouldn't have known that the difference in airiness between the loaves we made was entirely due to kneading. But because he armed his readers with that knowledge, we were able to make a loaf of super-high-fiber oat bran bread that was fluffy. Yes, I did indeed just describe a whole grain high-fiber bread as fluffy.

No matter the grains you want to try in your breads, you'll find a formula to use them in here. Quinoa? Cooked rice? Bran? Doesn't matter--there's a recipe in here you can use. Reinhart has also included a number of `transitional' breads that use part-white flour and part-whole grains so as to ease your transition to whole grains.

The recipes do involve a certain amount of flipping around from section to section, and you need to start them the night before. (In the case of those recipes involving a wild yeast starter--which he does tell you how to make from scratch--you'll need to engage in even more advance preparation.) The book is complex in ways that normally I would hold against a cookbook. However, in this case I won't. These aren't unnecessary complexities at all.

Reinhart set out with a very specific goal in mind--the creation of the perfect whole grain loaf of bread--and did everything he had to do in order to achieve that goal. Through playing with the recipes I'm convinced that everything he has you do is, in fact, integral to achieving his fantastic results. It may take you a few tries with any given recipe to make it come out perfectly as you learn how to gauge the feel of the doughs, but with practice... well, let's just say I'm going to take a break after this review to go back to the fridge for some more oat bran bread. Surprisingly yummy, fluffy oat bran bread.

As others have said before, this may not be the right book for beginners.

As most regular home bakers know, practice is the best teacher; no one book has taught any of us how to get the best oven spring, to know when the bread is finished rising, etc. Great bread books only serve as great "Teaching Assistants" to our own paths towards learning how to make great bread at home. And Reinhart's earlier books were some of the best TA's I had.

But this book is really something different. My family consumes a lot of bread, and I prefer to make sure that it's whole grain, organic and healthful. So while I still turn to a variety of bread recipe books for making authentic-ish French baguette, or an Italian corn/rye bread, this is the one I've turned to week after week to make the staple bread on our table.

The formula used in the book really creates an outstanding, high-quality loaf of bread - in texture, taste and beauty - while capitalizing on the hard work of enzymes and the natural yeast, and yes instant yeast, and minimizing my time in the kitchen.

Here's how it works for me. Before and after work on Thursday and Friday, I refresh my starter (5 min each time). On Saturday, I mix the soaker and the wild yeast starter (15 minutes). On Sunday afternoon I assemble the bread (15 min), do the usual two risings and bake. I never feel like I have to hover over the bread. So other than needing to be around the house (happily doing other things) on Sunday afternoon, the only real time commitment is the actual baking.

This book is not without some problems (like somewhat strange measurements (5/8 teaspoon, 501 grams, etc.) That said, once I got my brain and hands around the method, it has quickly become my favorite bread book for my weekly loaf of whole grain bread.

As I write this, I'm happily ignoring the makings of muligrain Straun (one of my favorite recipes in the book. I'm going out for lunch and feel great about rolling back around after 3 and making great bread before dinner. I would also put a plug in for the High-Extraction Flour Miche, similar to the wonderful Poilâne bread.

Peter Reinhart, thank you for this book. I was lucky enough to be a tester and worried about how complicated the method might become, but you've done a great job. I get to bake beautiful loaves that nourish my family. What more can a baker ask for?

I have been baking bread for many years. I also like to read about bread baking practice and theory, so when Peter Reinhart published his new book, I was eager to try it.

On the positive side, I like the fact that the recipes focus on whole grains. The photographs are done well throughout the book. I also applaud Reinhart for thinking out of the box, trying new techniques.

Essentially, Reinhart's technique is to prepare two mixes the day before: a sourdough starter or biga, and a soaker or mash. This advance preparation coaxes out the flavors in a relaxed way, so that the following day, you combine both parts to flour, salt, and yeast, and then proceed with traditional timing. Reinhart refers to this amalgamation as epoxy glue, an unfortunate image.

Because the purpose of this book is to promote whole grains, I find it counterproductive that practically every recipe includes quite a bit of sugar, brown sugar, honey, or agave nectar. The complex, tantalizing taste of a freshly made whole grain bread should be plenty reward for most.

Reinhart explains in great detail the attributes and construction of using a soaker and a mash. However, out of a total of 55 bread recipes, only 4 recipes utilize the mash.

Some of the recipe quantities are curious: 1/2 cup plu 2 TB water or 5/8 tsp salt. Bread baking is not an exact science because so much depends on variables, such as type and age of flour, humidity, etc.


I am hesitant about recommending this book. If you are a first-time bread baker, you will find the techniques advanced. And, unless you like to read about bread, you may find reading the very long personal narrative gratuitous. Finally, baking hints, rather than organized by topic, are placed sporadically throughout the text.

In sum, Whole Grain Bread: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor is a good concept, but, for me, at least, I found redundant recipes with ordinary editing.

This book is not for anyone and unless you appreciate the art and the science of baking, you might find this book too complicated. This book would be the right one if you:

-are a whole grain lover, or thinking of exploring whole grain baking
-loves artisan baking and not satisfied with "quick-and-easy" bread machine bread recipes
-have tried wholegrain baking before but failed miserably because you weren't sure what you were doing
-don't mind going extra mile for the greatest tasting whole grain bread you ever had
-loves to tweak and make your own recipes

Just as the title says, it is "Whole Grain Bread" book. You will not see any recipe with less than 50% whole wheat in it. If you are not sure how you would like whole grain breads, you should try another Peter Reinhart's book "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" and try his whole grain bread recipe first. "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" book will provide you with great artisan bread recipes around the world and most of his recipes are not whole grain, so it will give you a good place to get started with the art of bread baking.

I got this book just a week ago and as a serious bread baker who likes to bake more whole grain, I just LOVE this book. I tried out a couple of recipes, and it is AMAZING how great the bread taste. It is worth your effort and this book will make you not want to go back to your regular loaf of bread at supermarket.

Some people wrote his recipes are too long and tedious in their reviews, but this is what makes his recipes fool-proof. If you follow his recipes, it is very hard to mess up your bread. Again, this is not a casual bread cook book. You should consider this more like a text book. He will teach you everything you need to know about Whole Grain Bread Baking.... So, when you get a copy of this book you should not skip the first few chapters where he explains why all these steps are necessary to successfully bake a whole grain bread.

I highly recommend this book to all serious bread bakers.

This book is appropriate for anyone looking to expand their whole-grain or artisan baking repertoire and for people who are *really* into whole grains. Reinhart is serious about his whole grains-- there are VERY few recipes that call for any white flour (and when there is white flour, it is a very small amount... these are not WGINO (Whole Grain In Name Only) recipes.

In addition to recipes, you get a long explanation on his method and why/how it is different than other whole grain baking formulae. He insists the result will not be bitter, flat, or gritty, but he makes some suspicious suggestions along the way (give a recipe three or four tries before you give up). I have also had problems getting my dough to pass the so-called 'windowpane' test-- not surprising considering the low gluten/protein content of the flours/grains. Likewise, the loaves seem dark and flat-- again, not surprising considering the percentage of whole-grain flour. One of the recipes I tried was tasty (and surely healthy), but there was not enough strength in the dough to support a very high rise.


Most recipes involve some combination of a biga, mash, starter, and, of course, whole grains. Like other artisan baking methods, there is enough flexibility in the recipes so you do not need to stand over your dough doubler waiting for the precise moment to do the next step.

If you are not interested in eating A LOT of whole wheat or rye, this book is not for you.

Here are his chapters:
1. following the flavor (anecdotal account of his own experiences with Whole Grains and the rise in popularity of whole grains)
2. From wheat to eat: a tutorial
3. The theory and practice of delayed fermentation (this is a unique aspect of the book that sets it apart from some other baking resources)
4. The breads
this chapter includes:
enriched breads
(whole wheat sandwich breads; oat bran broom bread-- this is called broom bread since, according to the author, it cleanses the colon; rye sandwich meteil, etc.);
hearth breads
(whole wheat hearth bread, three rye hearth bread, etc.)
specialty breads
(power bread, 100% sprouted grain bread, spent-grain bread etc)
International breads
(transitional german-style many seed bread-- he's not kidding--, vollkornbrot, swedish limpa rye, santa lucia buns, etc)
Bagels and Flatbreads
(whole wheat pita, whole wheat naan, roti, focaccia, etc.)
crackers
(lavash, matzo, seeded crackers)

In sum a good resource for whole grain fanatics, Peter Reinhart fans, artisan bread bakers interested in whole grain baking.
NOT a good resource for people who do not want to work exclusively with whole grains or for people who want to mix together some ingredients and have bread ready after 2-3 hours.

This is probably a four-star book for people who are very interested in whole grains.. probably a three for artisan bakers who are not enthusiastic about whole grains. Daniel Leader's new bread book is a better alternative for skilled bakers who do not want a book exclusively devoted to whole grain.

First off, let me say that I am NEW to bread baking, having only started a few months ago, and I do not find this book too difficult to understand or the formulas and techniques intimidating. So if you are new to bread baking, don't shy away from this wonderful resource! I did check out two of Peter's other books from the library ("Crust and Crumb" and "Bread Bakers Apprentice"), and I did find those books laid a better foundation for general bread baking techniques, so new bakers might want to refer to those resources if they are available. But you can certainly just buy this book and get wonderful results without those other books.

This book has made my life easier. I spent the entire day yesterday hovering over a loaf made from a recipe from another book, but with Peter's book, you do some of the work on one day, then put everything together the next day. In addition, the recipes are more forgiving -- if I can't get to my dough for a few hours (or even an entire day), it's not the end of the world, or my bread. Especially when baking from whole grain flour, soaking the flour leads to higher, lighter loaves, and better flavor.

After devouring the Bread Baker's Apprentice and mastering his delayed fermentation techniques my bread baking skills have improved 10-fold.

Unfortunately as the amount of baking I do has increased so has the paunch around my midsection. Whole grain baking was never for me because I always got a low rising, bland, dense product that wasn't good for anything but croutons or toast. Having baked and sampled some of Peter's recipes I am on the way to becoming a whole grain convert.

The recipes within this new book are not for inexperienced baker's, while anyone can probably follow the recipes a two or three day process is required to attain flavorful loaves and most home baker's lack the patience and desire to stretch the boundaries of baking from practical to phenomenal.

As a former long time homebrewer the techniques and concept of extracting flavor from the grain came pretty easily to me. I began to wonder how the grains could be manipulated by holding them in staggered temperatures throughout the mashing process as they do with beer. That's what this book will do for a serious bread fanatic - it will open new doors and enable the average baker to realize that whole grain breads can be very good if done correctly - as I learned while sampling market fare while I was in Portland, Oregon several years ago.

The only thing that would have made this book better was perhaps some new recipes. Peter provides whole grain conversion recipes for many classic breads. I would like to have seen some breads with new ingredients,nuts,dried fruits and cheeses but the foundation is there for the homebaker to proceed on his/her own.

This book is well worth the investment....

I signed up for the testers list for this book, (albeit too late)so hopefully I'll get in on the next!

I have made many a recipe from this book already with fantastic results. I am a professional baker as well as an avid home baker, so the techniques are ones that I use already, with a few original tweaks. That being said I believe someone with little or no experience could make quality bread following the instructions within a few dedicated attempts.

I love the combo of formula, knowledge, story, science and spirituality that always come with a Peter Reinhart book.

I like how many of the formulas allow you to pick and choose your soaker grains to make the bread's flavor what you desire. I went out and stocked up the pantry with wheat berries, rye berries, millet, polenta, kamut, and many other grains. Cool and healthy!

I love the portion dedicated to enzymes as I am always looking for that extra tidbit of knowledge to give me an edge. I have been studying every bit of available information regarding enzyme action in bread making, so I welcomed the info. Hopefully Peter will expound on this more in the future!

I was intrigued at how pleasantly soft the "crust and crumb" of the majority of these loaves are. That, balanced with the crunch/chew of the grains, make for very pleasing loaves of bread.

I would recommend this book to everyone and am looking forward to Peter's class next year in Sonoma to hear him talk about the methods first hand!

Buy many copies!

I'm revising this review now that I have considerable experience with the book and have seen a class on it by Chef Reinhart. I am tremendously enthusiastic about it. At this point I have made whole wheat, several variations on rye, the miche, anadama, mash, the focaccia, whole wheat mash, 'spent-grain' (uses leftovers from beer making). I've made both hearth and loaves, and on the ones where you can use a buttermilk biga or your mother starter I've done both. I have had NO failures. A sheet pan of the focaccia serves two. (:->

This 'epoxy' method sounds complicated but it actually is very, very fast compared to traditional methods, and very simple. To say that you make the loaves over two days makes it sound rather ominous, but the fact is that the stuff on the first day occupies maybe half an hour at most. Later that day you just remember to stuff the biga or starter part into the frig, but it is very fault-tolerant as to time. The second day has a predictable timeline that is just like making one-day bread -- and you get to pick the second day out of the next several, so if something comes up, just leave it in the frig.

Some tips:

a. When the book says 'tacky', it means about as sticky as the sticky part of a post-it note.

b. Get some powder-free latex gloves (I got mine at Safeway) and put one on your strongest hand to mix / knead the soakers and bigas the first day, right in a small bowl. No need to get the mixer out, just measure, squeeze, squeeze, fold, fold, throw away the glove and you're done.

c. Best tip in the book: if you need to add both oil and honey, do the oil first and the honey won't stick to the spoon. See page 98 for other tips.

d. White whole wheat (as sold by King Arthur, for example) ought to be sweeping the country. I make my mother starter out of it and then if I need to make a bread that normally uses a white-bread starter, the color is unnoticeable. Unless you are a purist, you don't need a bunch of different starters.

e. Agave instead of honey is interesting.

Original review follows:

This book is not for beginners. You should have some experience with the various kinds of recipes in the The Bread Baker's Apprentice. It is also not an omnibus bread baking book -- even the cinnamon buns (gasp!) are whole grain.

Importantly, the rhythm of the process is really much easier. You make two parts, a 'soaker' (flour salt buttermilk, for example) and a riser part (sourdough starter or a small amount of yeast, flour, water). It takes 15-20 minutes and you're done, and later in the day you come back and put the 'riser' in the fridge. That's similar to what you are used to from TBBA or refreshing your starter.

The second day you put the two parts together with a considerable amount of yeast and some recipe-specific ingredients, knead it a little, and let it rise. With all that yeast in there it is going to rise in a short, predictable time, and that's what I liked -- I had a good idea when I would need to be there for shaping and baking.

The book production people should get a lot of credit. There are lots of helpful photos and the layouts are clean and pleasant, and easy to read.

I have found consistently that I need more liquid than called for in both books. The author makes the point that you have to adjust for your local flour, humidity, etc. Believe it.

Since the book is new I have limited experience but the outcomes so far are fantastic. Now if I was only not so bad at shaping...

For me, this has been another great bread book. I own a bakery and over our 13 years of business we've made a lot of bread. In the early days we stumbled onto Peter's Brother Juniper bread book and that gave us a great start in bread making. Later I bought the Bread Baker's Apprentice and made the best Sourdough bread I'd ever made, first try. I've never made a great whole grain bread before this week, after reading this Whole Grain book. The first batch I made (I made four loaves rather than the one in the recipe) blew my mind. It was so soft and delicious that I was really amazed and pleased. There is much to like about this book. I would agree that it is not probably the best book for someone who just wants to make a quick loaf of bread, but if you want to make whole grain bread and take your bread making to another level, this might be a great book for you. All of the recipes include the recipe and a baker's formula, which makes expanding your production fairly easy if you're a bakery and need to make many loaves. I've got 16 loaves in the works as I write and will have some more great bread tomorrow.