No Need to Knead : Handmade Italian Breads in 90 Minutes [BARGAIN PRICE] (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

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From Library Journal

Dunaway grew up in a family of bread bakers, and shortly after a friend encouraged her to sell her breads, she found herself making 1000 loaves a week in her home kitchen. Today she and her husband are the owners of Buona Forchetta Hand Made Breads in Los Angeles, a professional bakery where her wonderful loaves are still made by hand. She prefers the texture of bread made with little or no kneading, and she likes loaves with a high ratio of crust to crumb (the inside of a loaf), e.g., baguettes; long, thin filoncini; and ladder-shaped fougasse. Illustrated with Dunaway's own charming line drawings, her book provides recipes for dozens of breads, including sweet loaves, and pizzas, along with many ways for using leftovers, from bread salads to bread puddings. There are a number of good artisan bread books available, but with its user-friendly recipes and readable text, this is recommended for most baking collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

This sumptuous collection of recipes for eighty of Dunaways best loved breadsfilled with her wonderful illustrationsoffers recipes for such classic Italian breads as Focaccia, Filoncino, and Pane Casereccio (Housewifes Bread) and also traditional American breads like Skillet Cornbread and Sourdough Biscuits. With Dunaways revolutionary methods for easy baking, everyone can have his or her breadand make it, too! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• ISBN-10: 0786864273
• ASIN: B000F3T4IG
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,872,187 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

93 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Need No Need to Knead, December 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: No Need to Knead: Handmade Italian Breads in 90 Minutes (Hardcover)

During my two month stay last summer in the LA area, I grew positively addicted to the fragrant, chewy Italian breads produced by a wonderful bakery named Buona Forchetta. Carried by only the finest restaurants and grocery stores, these fresh, crusty breads surpassed anything I had tasted in Italy. As my wife poutingly puts it, I fell in love--with a bakery!

Upon my return to Florida, the dismal selection of supermarket Italian breads left me pining for a loaf of BF's kalamata olive filoncino, or a rosemary encrusted foccacia, or a pane rustico or...and then I would arouse from my wistful daydream to face another day-- without Buona Forchetta!

My depression ended when I discovered Suzanne Dunaway's great new book, No Need to Knead. Suzanne, founder and owner (along with husband, Don) of Buona Forchetta, has written (and illustrated!) a wonderfully lively bread manual in which she shares her wealth of hard learned breadmaking secrets.

I ordered the book from Amazon immediately and quickly found myself mixing up the first foccacia dough of my life. Me, a baker! [See wife skeptically smiling].

But would it work, and could it be this easy? No kneading! Ready to eat in 90 minutes! And most important of all--would the crust and crumb taste like the great Buona Forchetta breads that I had grown to love? The answers are, Yes, Yes and Yes! Plus, it's one heck of a lot of fun. Thank you, Suzanne!

At the time of this writing I have successfully made the foccacia, both the rosemary and kalamata olive filoncinos, crusty dinner rolls, and the whimsical fougasse.

Every one has been a gustatory home run--and my neighbors now love to see me come loafing around on my bread route. If I can do it, you can too! So far I have just scratched the surface of this enticing book. Still to come are traditional breads, pizzas, sweet loaves, bread sticks, specialty breads, and...this is a great idea...bread as leftovers! As in yummy bruschette, soups, mouth-watering croutons, and desserts.

Reflecting on her own upbringing in happy kitchens, Ms. Dunaway has thoughtfully included a chapter on making bread WITH children. Reminds me of the cinnamon sugar pie crust tailings I would bake with my mom.

Obviously I am quite taken with this book. Suzanne Dunaway has distilled a lifetime of cooking and living experience, much of it acquired on the ground in Italy and France, into a first rate bread book. The best part is that her words translate into delectable products that will amaze beginning bakers and please discriminating bread connoisseurs.

Now, all of us can easily replicate the wonderful aromas and chewy bread textures of an Italian bakery right in our own kitchens.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bread Success, August 16, 2000

By	K. Warner - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: No Need to Knead: Handmade Italian Breads in 90 Minutes (Hardcover)

I've been looking for a book on bread making that would teach me how to make "European style" breads--big, rustic loaves with a chewy crust and a "hole-y" and slightly damp crumb. I had heard that one secret was to use a very wet dough, but had not seen a cookbook that used this technique. As I read the introduction to "No Need to Knead," I saw that author Suzanne Dunaway's recipes were just what I was looking for!

I've made several recipes so far and am delighted with the book. The focaccia is the best I've ever made and as good as those I've had in Italy. And it truly takes only 90 minutes to make! The first time I made it, I had a hard time keeping my husband from nibbling it all away before serving it for dinner! Now I'll try mastering the other "daily breads."

One of the best things about the book is the author's approach that takes some of the mystery out of bread making. She tells us that bread dough is forgiving and that bread is NOT difficult to make. I'm particularly happy to give up kneading dough--which I was never good at anyway.

I heartily recommend this book to anyone who wants to make good bread but who may have been put off by thinking it was too difficult. The recipes are excellent, and the author's writing style is friendly and conversational. Her illustrations are charming. I finished reading the book and wished that I could meet the author in person.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Smell Bread!, August 15, 2000

By	Cathy Petticord (NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Need to Knead: Handmade Italian Breads in 90 Minutes (Hardcover)

I love this book for many reasons. Many of my books on breadmaking tire me out before I get through the intro. While the writers extoll the virtues of baking your own bread at home, they then lead the reader through a complicated series of chefs, levains, & other types of starters that take DAYS, sometimes even WEEKS to bubble & fizz enough to allow you to begin making your first loaf. Enough! It's exhausting just reading about it.

Suzanne's book is upbeat, clear, & definitely makes you want to get started making your first loaf NOW! Best of all, with her recipes you can. I have tried several of the breads, including the fougasse & the ciabatta. Yummy, absolutely yummy, & incredibly easy.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that the author guides you along in a supportive, 'you can do it' kind of way. Her love for bread is totally there & she so very generously shares the recipes that have worked for her & her lucky customers at Buona Forchetta.

Many of my cookbooks gather dust because, while they seemed interesting in the bookstore, they don't prove to be very practical for the home kitchen. Suzanne's book is on my kitchen counter, opened to the basic foccaccia recipe, & covered with a fine coat of flour. And my house is filled with the wonderful smell of bread baking in my oven!