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| The Bread Builders: Hearth Loaves and Masonry Ovens | 
 enlarge | Authors: Daniel Wing, Alan Scott
Publisher: Chelsea Green
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
Buy New: $21.94
You Save: $13.06 (37%)
New (34) Used (11) from $20.89
Avg. Customer Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 16665
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 250
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.9 x 8 x 0.8
ISBN: 1890132055
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.815
EAN: 9781890132057
ASIN: 1890132055
Publication Date: July 1, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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| Customer Reviews:
 view from a retired baker October 26, 2005
31 out of 33 found this review helpful
As a bkaer who was trined as an apprentice back in the 1960s before real bread was dismissed as being too time consuming, I remember much of what is discussed in this book. These methods are from ages past and still hold true today. To me it is amazing that young folk are re-discovering methods we took for granted in the production of bread of quality and substance.
To go back to baking in wood fired ovens amazes me and peel oven and the challange to the aker of baking breads in this methods add to the challange of baking quality bread. The research that has gone into the construction of these ovens is encouraging to see these skillls are not lost.
This by far is the best book on bread baking from the point of the chemistry and science of dough fermentation etc I have ever seen. I wished it was about when I was doing my trade schooling. It is explained in such away that any one can understand the rediuments of bread baking.One thing that does cause me great annoyacne in this book is the term where the author refers to "the coooking of bread". We don't cook bread, we BAKE it, that is one reason why they callle our trademan BAKERS. we bake in a dry heat of the oven.
And th construction of brick ovens is well researched and explained. Excellent work chaps.
Not here yet! September 21, 2005
3 out of 51 found this review helpful
I'm sure this is a good book, but don't know yet for myself. I ordered it weeks ago and it still hasn't shipped yet. After a revision or two, the projected delivery date is around the end of October (ordered the end of August). It's probably worth waiting for, I just wanted everyone to know that the 1-2 weeks shown above, is probably not what it will take to ship.
 The Bread Builders - Great resource! July 8, 2005
19 out of 22 found this review helpful
A wonderful resource for anyone who is interested in baking some good breads and in a building a lasting oven that will produce some of the best tasting breads and baked goods you can imagine. Since the beginning of baking, clay ovens, brick ovens and underground ovens were created to bake outdoors and then indoors, evolving to modern day indoor ovens. Imus, Brick, Hornos and Adobe ovens were almost completely replaced with stainless steel but we lost something in the translation. The revolution of going back to these masonry ovens is bringing back the most flavorful savory breads baked in them! New bakeries utilizing these ovens are making bucks .. Why? Because their breads are crisp crusted, solid textured and delicious! People are flocking to them. You can create your own homemade breads and ovens with this book to guide you through your adventures.
Chapters in this book include:
Introduction
Naturally fermented Hearth Bread
Bread Grains and Flours
Leavens and Doughs
Dough Development
Baking, Ovens, and Bread
Masonry Ovens of Europe and America
Preparing to Build a Masonry Oven
Masonry Materials, Tools, and Methods
Oven Construction
A Day in the Life at the Bay Village Bakery
From making the leaven to making the bread in your own oven this book will guide you through the process. Full of photos and illustrations nothing is left out! The end result? A crusty rich loaf of bread baked by your own hands that tastes better than any store bought bread!
Incredible Resource October 22, 2004
I've read this book cover to cover at least three times, with some sections so mauled and tattered that frankly, I should replace the book. For that I'll await the next edition. I've lent this book to several bread-building friends and felt fortunate to have it returned - though usually not until their own copy arrives.
You see, besides being incredibly well written and edited, the primary contributor to this book is a life-long contributor to the community of baking fine breads. While Alan Scott does publish the plans for ovens described in this book - they are not included in the book. You would need to acquire them separately. He does however provide fairly detailed drawings, photographs and directions in the book for one of his ovens that are adequate for someone with a minimum of construction skills to build one of his ovens from just the book (I did).
This is hard to describe, but Alan Scott seems to be a person truly committed to the lifestyle surrounding the community of baking fine bread. Alan expresses this by defining (and these are my words) that a goal of our "culture" should be to create a community that can create and support the artisan who builds a fine loaf of bread, as well as the artisan with the knowledge and skills to build a fine oven to bake that bread. For me, this represents a refreshing break from the world of finance and technology that represents so much of my life.
This is a book that can change your perspective on the world. It's terrific and should be an important reference document in the library of eveyone who bakes bread, or wants to.
Don't hesitate, just build it ... February 19, 2004
19 out of 20 found this review helpful
If you want to know how to make sourdough bread, this is THE book to get. It not only tells you how, but equally importantly (at least for me) why. My sourdough bread has turned from a heavy, unappetising brick, to a loaf that my friends and family are actually enjoying. Even better than the bread, if you want to know how to build a wood-fired oven, then look no further - this book has nearly everything you need. With discussions on fundamental design guidelines, required tools, materials and one set of plans in the book, anyone with a little "handyman" experience should be able to build a robust and reliable oven. But don't expect everything to be laid out in the form of fool-proof instructions - YOU will have to do a bit of work in figuring out what size you want the oven, (dome height, door width, floor height), exactly how things will fit together and how many bricks, how much cement, aggregate, etc. you will need. But for me, doing this was part of the challenge, even if I did spend 6 months reworking my plan a dozen times or so. The only thing I'd change in this book is to add just one example of how you could do a chimney - this caused me considerable torment, although what I've done seems to work just fine. So if you want a wood-fired oven, and are thinking of building one - don't hesitate, just build it ...
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