Confessions of a French Baker: Breadmaking Secrets, Tips, and Recipes

I felt I had to submit a review after reading the comments from some of the folks who are doubters about whether the recipes really work. I had the pleasure of being part of a small group of eight (four Americans and four Australians) who had the privilege of visiting Chez Auzet and working with Gerard Auzet in the back of his boulangerie. We made the walnut and red wine bread, and the green and black olive bread. Both were made exactly according to the recipes in the book, and both were fantastic. Mr. Auzet really stressed the importance of getting the temperatures of everything just right, and these careful instructions are in the book as well. Mr. Auzet also taught us to make the little canoe-shaped cookies that are emblematic of the region. Mr. Auzet had the books for sale in his shop and he very kindly autographed each one as we waited for the bread to rise and then bake, completing his autograph with a little drawing of a basket of bread. He showed genuine interest in passing along the "secrets" of breadmaking. I have since tried the recipes at home, with care to buy the recommended flour, and get the temperatures right,and so forth, and the bread turned out just as good. After our bread baking lessons, we got to take our bread with us as we proceeded to our next stop - a wine tasting at a local vineyard. The smell of that fresh baked bread as we drove to the winery about made us crazy-hungry, so we brought our bread in with us and shared it with everyone - it was wonderful with the wine. For me, "Confessions of a French Baker" will provide memories of a wonderful trip to Provence, and a souvenir of time spent with a very kind gentleman who loves to teach others the pleasures of his craft...whether in person, or through his little book. Merci M. Auzet!!

Author Peter Mayle shared news of a beloved local Provence French bakery, Chez Auzet, in a prior coverage: here several hundred visits later he and baker Gerard Auzet collaborate in a celebration of baking, blending recipes for sixteen kinds of bread - all packed with professional insider's baking tips for success - with a history and survey of Azuet bakers and achievements. CONFESSIONS OF A FRENCH BAKER: BREADMAKING SECRETS, TIPS, AND RECIPES may look small and unassuming beside weighty and larger-sized bread cookbooks, but don't let its size fool you: packed within its pages are decades of baking wisdom competitors can't match for tone, content and insights. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

Book was as described and in perfect condition - buy with confidence from this seller.

I purchased this book because I've read Peter Mayle's books & have been to the region he's mentioned & have enjoyed his stories. I also bought this book because I needed some light-hearted reading. I was disappointed at first, having read it in one night. It's mostly about making bread. I thought it would be more substantive. But my husband bought me a KitchenAid mixer as a result of it, thinking it would cheer me up, & that I'd make him some bread! I made the first recipe tonight, the baguettes - I added a some dried herbs to it(no fresh available) & the loaves were absolutely superb! I love bread, and having made it for so many years, I had my doubts about this recipe, & the mixer as well. I've always kneaded by hand. This recipe is a real winner - the texture & flavor is what I've never before been able to achieve. Read the book, make the recipes (well I've only tried one) - you'll feel like you're in Provence, breaking bread with friends, having a glass of wine, enjoying life, with the best bread you can imagine!

What is more French than bread. This small guide is perfect for the beginner and for the expert. Wonderfully written by Peter Mayle, capturing all the amience and quirks of Gerard Auzet and his bakery (who we met in Mayle's first book, A Year in Provence). The secrets are not so much secrets, if you have baked bread before, but insistence on doing the job right because the making and eating of bread is in effect a minor religion for the French and with Auzet a priest. If only the book could come with the smell of baking bread--that would be delicieux for sure.