Tartine Bread [Hardcover]

Chad Robertson (Author), Eric Wolfinger (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 29, 2010

For the home or professional bread-maker, this is the book of the season. It comes from a man many consider to be the best bread baker in the United States: Chad Robertson, co-owner of Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, a city that knows its bread. To Chad, bread is the foundation of a meal, the center of daily life, and each loaf tells the story of the baker who shaped it. He developed his unique bread over two decades of apprenticeship with the finest artisan bakers in France and the United States, as well as experimentation in his own ovens. Readers will be astonished at how elemental it is. A hundred photographs from years of testing, teaching, and recipe development provide step-by-step inspiration, while additional recipes provide inspiration for using up every delicious morsel.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Chad Robertson (co-owner, with his wife, Elisabeth Prueitt, of San Francisco's Tartine, Bar Tartine) brings his master Tartine Bread technique to those who may not have the chance to try the famed Bay Area loaves hot out of the oven. This "baker's guidebook" is divided into four parts: Basic Country Bread; Semolina and Whole-Wheat Breads; Baguettes and Enriched Breads; and Day-Old Bread. Robertson's basic recipe is explained in depth with numbered steps, and consists of making a natural leaven and baking in a cast-iron cooker. The author's passionate tone and tales of baking apprenticeships, along with top-notch step-by-step photos, elevate the title from mere manual to enjoyable read. The later sections include variations on the basic recipe; bread-to-use recipes for sandwiches; bruschetta; and salads and entrees made with croutons and breadcrumbs. The sophisticated and clean design, exceptional photos, and padded cover give the book a luxurious feel. (Nov.)
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Review

"...the most beautiful bread book yet published..." -- The New York Times

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books; First Edition, First Printing. edition (September 29, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811870413
• ISBN-13: 978-0811870412
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Baking > Bread

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

264 of 282 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For intermediate or advanced bakers, September 28, 2010

By 

Cookbook Gal "Cookbook Gal" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tartine Bread (Hardcover)

Some background: I am an advanced home baker with a couple years of professional baking under my belt, many years ago, so that is the perspective from which I write this review.

What this book is: a compilation of recipes from Tartine Bakery. There are only a few bread recipes, and then a collection of dishes made with those breads.

What it is not: a comprehensive bread baking book, or a book for beginners.

There really are only a few bread recipes in this book. The author goes into lengthy detail about his breads, his philosophy, and how to make them. For those of you who are familiar with Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking's treatise on how to make an omelet (it's about 20 pages long), that is what you will find here, just a lot fewer recipes. Why? Because Tartine specializes in making a few breads and pastries, and this book is about their bakery.

If you are looking for a comprehensive baking book of artisan breads, try Jeffrey Hamelman's "Bread." If you want easy, tasty recipes for most home bakers, take a look at the King Arthur Flour baking books, or Beth Hensperger's excellent "Bread Bible."

So, if you are not into creating and nursing sourdough starters, or you have no interest in reading through 20 pages of instructions to teach you how to make an artisan loaf of Tartine bread, this is not the book for you. There are plenty of other wonderful books on the market for that.

I would recommend this book for intermediate or advanced home bakers, or for professionals who are really looking to expand their bread baking repertoire.

The book does have some of the most detailed photos on folding and shaping loaves that I've seen, but the "artsy" quality of those photos is really irritating - I don't want to see special shadowing, I just want a clear picture of a technique.

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for a bread baker looking to take their breads to the next level, October 20, 2010

By 

jhow - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tartine Bread (Hardcover)

I started baking bread using a bread maker a few years ago and decided to revisit bread baking again earlier this year. The recipes I have been made thus far have used commercial yeast and have turned out fairly well. Since I started baking my own bread again, I have not needed to buy a loaf of bread at the store.

Initially when I read about Tartine's country loaf, I was reluctant to pay $7 for a loaf of bread. However, my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to call in and reserve half a loaf for $4. After trying the bread, I could see what all the fuss was about. It was the best bread I have ever tasted (granted that I have never been to Europe). After searching online, I discovered that Chad Roberston, one of the owner of Tartine, was going to release a Tartine Bread book later in the year. I proceeded to pre order the book.

After receiving the book, I made my own starter following the directions and attempted to use it about a week later. Unfortunately, the first try did not turn out so well because my starter was not mature enough. I continued to feed it the next week and tried making the bread again. This time it came out a lot better. I probably made the basic country loaf about 5 times now and my results are becoming more consistent as I learn how to balance time and temperature. As another reviewer mentioned, there is a lot of flexibility when making this bread. I mix my leaven in the morning, mix the dough that evening, let it rise overnight, divide and shape the next morning, do the final rise under refrigeration, and bake when I get home from work on the second day. This seems to work well with my schedule.

I would recommend this book for the bread baker that is looking to take their bread to the next level. At first, the thought of making my own starter was daunting. But the author's detailed description of every aspect of the bread making process is very enlightening and helpful and takes a lot of the guesswork out.

One more thing, I have kept this bread a week after baking it and after toasting or baking it, it still tastes good. The yeasted breads I have made in the past lose a lot of their flavor and texture after only 2-3 days.

44 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the believers, September 28, 2010

By 

Andrew N Benson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tartine Bread (Hardcover)

I live in San Francisco, an avid home baker, and Tartine and I go way back. When they first opened their shop on 18th and Guerrero, I lived a half-block away, and would sneak over for a croissant, morning bun, or some bread pudding early in the morning. Since those days, Tartine (along with the other shops on 18th St.) has become a big attraction for food tourists visiting the Mission, but continues to have a strong and devoted local following. These guys believe in what they are doing, and the quality of their breads and pastries far surpasses anyone in SF. You haven't really experienced bread until you've popped in at 5pm to grab a steaming country loaf and squatted on a stoop outside to tear into it. I can never get more than 10 yards away from the shop before pinching off a bit to taste. When my wife bought me a copy of this book, I was ecstatic. Here is a story of a man who is dedicated to bread, telling you how he arrived at his perfect loaf, and then how you might make your own perfect loaf. Rather than providing exhaustive formulas, you are required to smell, touch, look at your dough, and adjust for variations. Living in SF, where the weather will change in an instant, you have to be able to improvise as a baker, and this book shows you how to do that. If you don't have time in your life to become a devoted bread lover, cultivating a natural yeast culture, this book might not be for you, but maybe it would change your mind. The bread really is that good.