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| The Bread Bible | 
 enlarge | Author: Rose Levy Beranbaum
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
Buy New: $20.46
You Save: $14.54 (42%)
New (45) Used (15) from $18.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  92 reviews
Sales Rank: 8482
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 640
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4.9
Dimensions (in): 10.1 x 8.4 x 1.8
ISBN: 0393057941
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.815
EAN: 9780393057942
ASIN: 0393057941
Publication Date: October 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible introduced readers to a newly illuminating baking-book approach--a precisely detailed yet accessible recipe format emphasizing baking science. The Bread Bible follows the same plan, offering 150 recipes, arranged by type, for a great variety of baked goods--from muffins, popovers, and English muffins to sandwich loaves, focaccia, rolls, hearth breads, rye bread, challah, and more, with a particularly vivid (and passionate) stop at sourdough loaves. Instruction is abetted by 32 pages of photos plus 300 step-by-step illustrations that depict, for example, bagel forming, in exact, imitable detail. In addition, an introductory section, "The Ten Essential Steps of Making Bread," includes a particularly lucid discussion on the way yeast works plus an invaluable comparison of kneading methods. Like the book's final look at ingredients, these "mini-texts" provide information uncommon to most home bread books, rendered in simple language that allays fears of putting one's hand in the dough. All this is impressive indeed, and readers bitten by the bread-baking bug will welcome the ultra-thorough Beranbaum approach. The less committed may find her technical demands too painstaking (her baguette recipe requires two starters, for example; though simpler loaves are, of course, offered) or even impractical (ingredient quantities using grams are sometimes given in minute fractions, requiring a special scale). The frequent inclusion of alternate mixing methods and equipment options can also make the formulas unwieldy. On the other hand, features like Pointers for Success and Understanding often yield exciting discovery as well as rewarding results. In short, this Beranbaum bible answers virtually every bread-making question, as well as providing exemplary formulas. It's the real deal for those willing to bake along with Rose. --Arthur Boehm
Product Description
The new baking masterwork from the author of "The Cake Bible" and "The Pie and Pastry Bible" provides bread bakers with 150 meticulous, foolproof recipes. The accessibility of Beranbaum's recipes and the incomparable taste of her creations make this book invaluable for home cooks and professional bakers alike. Easy-to-use ingredient tables provide both volume and weight, for surefire recipes that work perfectly every time.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 87 more reviews...
 For the love of bread, get this book! November 10, 2008
I started off my journey with the Cake Bible and was enchanted with that collection of recipes - and the background information provided so that I could truly understand what made each recipe tick! And then came the Bread Bible - a lovely Christmas gift from my niece. I've been happily baking my way through the book ever since!
Cinnamon Raisin Loaf is a favorite among family and friends (a thick slab is sitting in front of me as I write this review - it's swirled with a sweet, gooey ribbon of cinnamon and sugar and studded throughout with plump raisins - I use brown sugar and more cinnamon than the recipe calls for, by the way), Cranberry-Banana Walnut Quick Bread is to die for. My husband, who brews his own beer, often contributes his homebrew and malt powder (a must, I think, for this recipe - available at any homebrew store!). It has an amazing, crisp crust that crackles as it cools. The rich depth of flavour and moist crumb contrast with the crust for one of the best breads I've ever had - I may have to go start a loaf, just thinking about it!
I should say that I am by no means an expert baker - more like an enthusiastic novice. I love the educational information Rose provides so that you can understand why you do what you do as you explore bread baking. I started by following the recipes carefully and now feel comfortable enough to "Depart the Text" and make the recipes my own. She has wonderful tips for success with each recipe and offers suggestions for optional additions to the loaves. I'm happy to have a pizza stone, which now stays in my oven most of the time. I will often bake the loaves directly on the stone which has been preheated for 45 min. to an hour at the temperature recommended for the recipe.
One word of advice, though - please read through the recipes carefully before you begin!! I know another reviewer mentioned this already, but it's worth saying again! Some of the recipes take more than one day to make (I often make the biga or starter the day before I bake or allow for an overnight rise/rest in the fridge) and her recipes are broken down in a unique way so that you will sometimes find additional ingredients on a subsequent page. There are often duplicate sets of directions - one for hand kneading and one for your KitchenAid stand mixer and a dough hook. Once you get used to the method she uses to write/organize her recipes, it will feel more comfortable to you - but it is different from most other cookbooks I have used and I had a couple of false starts the first couple of times I tackled the recipes.
I can't say enough about this book for it's education, recipes and most of all for the hours happily spent elbow deep in flour and yeast. If you've ever been curious about baking your own bread, give this one a try - I don't think you'll be disappointed!
 Disappointed September 27, 2008
As a seasoned bread baker, I am disappointed that a 640-page bread cookbook contains only two whole grain recipes. She could have at least included a section on whole-grain, but one has the impression that Beranbaum doesn't like the taste of whole-grain. Her methods are good, but, considering that part of the reason to make a sponge is to soften the whole-wheat flour, it surprised me that her sponge-based recipes do not contain any. This is a good cookbook if you want to learn the sponge method of bread baking, but as a source for a variety of bread recipes, I wish I had purchased a different one.
 Found it great to use and have had excellent results September 27, 2008
I liked the Breadmaker's Apprentice a lot better than this book, not enough colour plates and I thought more complicated, but after following the receipes to a tee, great loaves came out of the oven. The Pugliese bread is excellent, but please sit down and read the tips she gives first, as they really work in a non commercial oven
Predictable Results Every Time September 18, 2008
As an enthusiastic amateur bread-maker, I have tried for years to get reliable results - unsuccessfully. Then I discovered The Bread Bible... The author's explanations are thorough and comprehensible, and best of all, the end result matches what she predicts.
With all the other books I have studied then worked from, my husband would comment that the authors must have left out some important key piece of information. My loaves were too flat, or too dense; if I had a success, I was unable to reproduce it a second time. Frustration reigned. Those days are gone, thanks to this book and the author's work.
I have made baguettes from The Bread Bible three times in three weeks - the resulting loaves have huge chewy holes, fine flavour, and blistered crisp crusts.
Two other loaves I've tried have been equally successful.
I am most grateful to the author, and encourage anyone with a passion for bread-making to get this book.
Not for Beginners ... but DO try this at home July 30, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book was a gift from someone several years ago when I first expressed an interest in learning to bake bread ... At first, I thought it was complicated and somewhat intimidating but I was determined and shelved the book while I started with some lesser complicated bread recipes. After a few months, and feeling rather confident in my abilities, I took a stab at one of the recipes ... It took longer than any other recipe I'd ever made, I spent more effort in following the directions and really FELT as though I were making something worthwhile. And, in the end, I did!
That being said ... this book is absolutely not for beginners ... it was far too intimidating to someone who'd only been baking bread for a few weeks ... but once I got my fingers doughy in lesser complicated recipes, this book was like the Light at the end of the tunnel ... and the recipes are like rewards for a job well done.
I was horrified to find out that when I moved, my copy of the Bible had gone missing! So now I simply must learn to love a new copy ... I highly recommend this for the experienced baker.
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