Bread Bakers - Which "Bible" Do You Use?

[Meg O'C]

My dad has recently gotten very into bread baking. I would like to get him a great book on bread baking - simple but comprehensive. I've heard of "The Bread Bible," but when I checked on the B&N website I discovered two books titled "The Bread Bible" - one by Rose Levy Beranbaum and one by Beth Hensperger. Which one do you recommend? Or do you have a different bread book that you think is better than either of these.

Thanks in advance for your recos/opinions!

[patt]

I got so much information from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, by Mollie Katzen It was the book that demystified the whole process. Now I'm moving on to The Village Baker, by Joe Ortiz. It's a whole step up and much more focused on the European style artisan breads.

Hopefully, you get to taste all his trials.

Patt

[donleyk]

I have Beranbaum's and like it a lot. There was a thread regarding this tho' I'll see if I can dig it up.

[donleyk]

http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=69673&highlight=Beranbaum


Here it is.

[cangoss]

I prefer Peter Reinhart's "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" for a first book on serious bread baking. I also have Berenbaum's "Bread Bible".

[Varaile]

Here is a link from a similiar question I asked about a year ago (I hope it works). :rolleyes:

http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=54064&highlight=bread+and+cookbooks

I started out with R.L. Beranbaum's Bread Bible, then a freind gave me B. Hensperger's Bread Bible. I also now own Bernard Claytons's New Book on Breads.

RLB's book is in depth and really particular about weights and measurements. A fair amount of artisal bread.

BH's book is more relaxed and has a nice variety.

Clayton's is even more relaxed and has an incredible about of variety.

All three are really good - though I think I've actually baked more from BH's and Clayton's.

[Meg O'C]

Thanks for all the good advice and for pulling up the old threads! My dad is pretty relaxed in his approach, so those are probably the best for me to check out for him.

Patt, yes I do get to taste many of his trials - my parents live a couple of blocks away and we are frequently exchanging baked goods and getting together for Sunday dinners!

[funniegrrl]

I have RLB's book and I like it a lot, but I admit it might be overwhelming for some people in its precision and exhaustiveness.

If you get into whole grain breads, I HIGHLY recommend Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book. It was published in the 70s or very early 80s, and has a hippy-earth-mother-health-food vibe that is ... quaint. Of course now that we have shows on macrobiotic cooking on PBS, maybe not so quaint any more. But ANYWAY ...

I had made some yeast breads just by following a couple of recipes, but really didn't know much about it. I bought this book 20 years ago when I had started to get interested in whole grains (yes, I was into whole grains before whole grains were cool! LOL). It has a TERRIFIC recipe/tutorial called A Loaf for Learning that is worth the price of the book. It goes into great detail about bread-baking in general, and whole wheat breads in particular, that taught me a great deal. I still rely on the basic lessons learned from that book, white or whole wheat.

[Beth]

I have all the ones mentioned so far and then some (I'm bad, I know, but I've been working on them longer than most). Beth H's Bread Bible and Bernard Clayton's Complete Book of Breads are probably my favorites in terms of most used recipes.

[jtoepfert100]

I only have Clayton's book but am a novice bread baker. I would love to gain more experience baking bread but two things frustrate me about Clayton's book: he uses only instant yeast and I didn't feel there was enough instruction on kneading. I think I do it wrong and I've yet to see a book that really shows me how to do this. Do any of the other books mentioned here have illustrated detail on this?

The instant yeast thing bothers me about the Clayton book because, even though I have some, I also have a bunch of regular yeast and I'm never sure how to sub. I probably need to take a class for some real hands on experience so that it will finally click but until I find one around here, I keep hoping I'll find a book that will help me get it.

[funniegrrl]

Well, RLB's book would definitely give you that information.

[patt]

I guess I'm just a big fan of the Moosewood books. The EBF gives a well drawn, specific, east to follow primer on bread kneading. I'd bet it's almost the same as Laurel's kitchen. Yes, there have been newer books, but this old hippies likes the one she learned from.

Have fun with it, regardless of which book you use.
Patt

[bobmark226]

Originally posted by jtoepfert100
I only have Clayton's book but am a novice bread baker. I would love to gain more experience baking bread but two things frustrate me about Clayton's book: he uses only instant yeast and I didn't feel there was enough instruction on kneading. I think I do it wrong and I've yet to see a book that really shows me how to do this. Do any of the other books mentioned here have illustrated detail on this?

The instant yeast thing bothers me about the Clayton book because, even though I have some, I also have a bunch of regular yeast and I'm never sure how to sub. I probably need to take a class for some real hands on experience so that it will finally click but until I find one around here, I keep hoping I'll find a book that will help me get it.

Which is why I pretty much live with the older edition of the Clayton, not that I need to learn technique anymore. (It can still be found cheaply.) In that one, he also had five or six very basic recipes at the beginning, each using different techniques, as starting points. Recipe wise, the book has never failed me, and combined with a couple very old bread and baking paperbacks from Delores Casella which remain my favorites, it's still the "old" Clayton all the way.

Bob

[jtoepfert100]

Thanks, Bob. I forgot that you had mentioned your older one was quite different from the updated one. I do like Clayton's style (simple, straighforward) so I will attempt to find the older version.

And, patt, I didn't realize the Moosewood books went into much detail on bread. I've been meaning to pick up a few so this gives me more of an incentive. Thanks!

[Meg O'C]

Hmmm . . . I think I'll have to get him more than one! Thanks again for the input. I am intrigued by the Clayton book - will have to check that out. The nice thing about the Moosewood book is that there is more than just bread in it. Yes, more than one book is probably necessary!

[lisas3575]

I have that older Clayton book (thanks, Maureen!), and I've been very happy with it. BBA would be intimidating to a new baker (or at least it was to me), but with a little experience and confidence under your belt, it has loads of information about kneading, etc. and has improved my breads.

Mostly I just wanted to pop in and say "Hi, Meg!!!" <waving> :)

[Meg O'C]

:)
Hi Lisa, waving back at ya!

I think I've decided on Hensperger (or maybe Clayton's old edition - if I can find it). Sounds like Reinhart might be a good one to "graduate" to.

I'm intrigued by Laurel's since I am trying to eat more whole grains. I might look for that one for myself.

Thanks again, all.