WINNER OF THE JAMES BEARD AND IACP AWARD • Learn the art of bread making through techniques and recipes for making pizza dough, challah, bagels, sourdough, and more!
 
“For the professional as well as the home cook, this book is one of the essentials for a bread baker’s collection.”—Nancy Silverton, chef and co-owner, Mozza Restaurant Group
 
Co-founder of the legendary Brother Juniper’s Bakery, author of ten landmark bread books, and distinguished instructor at the world’s largest culinary academy, Peter Reinhart has been a leader in America’s artisanal bread movement for more than thirty years. Never one to be content with yesterday’s baking triumph, however, Peter continues to refine his recipes and techniques in his never-ending quest for extraordinary bread.
 
In this updated edition of the bestselling The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, Peter shares bread breakthroughs arising from his study in France’s famed boulangeries and the always-enlightening time spent in the culinary college kitchen with his students. Peer over Peter’s shoulder as he learns from Paris’s most esteemed bakers, like Lionel Poilâne and Phillippe Gosselin, whose pain à l’ancienne has revolutionized the art of baguette making. Then stand alongside his students in the kitchen as Peter teaches the classic twelve stages of building bread, his clear instructions accompanied by more than 100 step-by-step photographs.
 
You’ll put newfound knowledge into practice with fifty master formulas for such classic breads as rustic ciabatta, hearty pain de campagne, old-school New York bagels, and the book’s Holy Grail—Peter’s version of the famed pain à l’ancienne,  as well as three all-new formulas. En route, Peter distills hard science, advanced techniques, and food history into a remarkably accessible and engaging resource that is as rich and multitextured as the loaves you’ll turn out. In this revised edition, he adds metrics and temperature conversion charts, incorporates comprehensive baker’s percentages into the recipes, and updates methods throughout. This is original food writing at its most captivating, teaching at its most inspired and inspiring—and the rewards are some of the best breads under the sun.

PETER REINHART is widely acknowledged as one of the world's leading authorities on bread. He is the author of six books on bread baking, including the 2008 James Beard Award-winning Whole Grain Breads; the 2002 James Beard and IACP Cookbook of the Year, The Bread Baker's Apprentice; and the 1999 James Beard Award-winning Crust and Crumb. He is a full-time baking instructor at Johnson and Wales University and the owner of Pie Town restaurant in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is the host of the popular video website, PizzaQuest.com.

CONTENTS

Introduction 1

ONE. WHAT IS IT ABOUT BREAD? 7

TWO. DECONSTRUCTING BREAD: A TUTORIAL 25

Assumptions and Rationales 25

The Twelve Stages of Bread: Evoking the Fullness of Flavor from the Grain 48

THREE. FORMULAS 109

The Final Grace Note:  Wood-Fired Baking in Bennett Valley 303


Formulas

Pre-ferments 110

Pâte Fermentée 111

Poolish 112

Biga 113

Anadama Bread 114

Artos: Greek Celebration Breads 117

Bagels 121

Brioche and Brioche Relatives 130

Casatiello 137

Challah 140

Ciabatta 142

Cinnamon Buns and Sticky Buns 150

Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread 154

Corn Bread 157

Cranberry-Walnut Celebration Bread 160

English Muffins 163

Focaccia 165

French Bread 174

Italian Bread 178

Kaiser Rolls 182

Lavash Crackers 186

Light Wheat Bread 189

Marbled Rye Bread 191

Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire 195

Pain à l’Ancienne 199

Pain de Campagne 203

Pane Siciliano 207

Panettone 211

Pizza Napoletana 217

Poolish Baguettes 223

Portuguese Sweet Bread 226

Potato Rosemary Bread 229

Pugliese 233

Sourdough Bread and Variations 238

Basic Sourdough Bread 245

New York Deli Rye 249

100% Sourdough Rye Bread 253

Poilâne-Style Miche 256

Pumpernickel Bread 260

Sunflower Seed Rye 264

Stollen 268

Swedish Rye (Limpa) 274

Tuscan Bread 277

Vienna Bread 280

White Bread: Three Multipurpose Variations 284

Whole-Wheat Bread 288

Sprouted Wheat and Brown Rice Bread 291

Sprouted Whole Wheat Onion and Poppyseed Bialys 294

Beyond Ultimate Cinnamon and Sticky Buns 297

Potato, Cheddar, and Chive Torpedoes 307

Roasted Onion and Asiago Miche 310