Crust and Crumb: Master Formulas for Serious Bread Bakers

I am always a little nervous reviewing a book such as Joe Ortiz? ?The Village Baker? published over ten (10) years ago when there are several unread books which are known to me as leading authorities on the subject. This situation means I can praise a book while knowing there may be even better, more recent books on the market. Well, I am beginning to correct that situation with this review of Peter Reinhart?s ?Crust and Crumb? which is just one of his two major award winning books on bread baking. I am pleased to say that not only is ?Crust and Crumb? just a bit better than ?The Village Baker?, Reinhart, in ?Crust and Crumb? recognizes ?The Village Baker? as one of the most highly recommended books on the subject of artisinal bread baking. Both books are so good, it may be hard to recommend one over the other, but I will make some suggestions in this regard at the end of the review. For people knowledgeable about and committed to the task of creating artisinal breads, this book is hands down one of the very best in English, readily available to people living in the United States. The subtitle says it all: ?Master Formulas for Serious Bread Bakers?. The term formulas should not put you off. The author is not turning bread baking into a mathematical exercise. Reinhart is simply using that term to replace recipes in order to reflect the well-known fact that written bread baking procedures are a different sort of thing from savory recipes where measurements can be approximate, with a variation to suit taste of up to 300% in things such as seasonings. Serious baking writers get nervous about statements that may lead to a variation of 10% in the weight of flour or water. For people who do not know what artisinal bread baking is all about, I warn you that the difference between artisinal baking and savory cooking is similar to the difference between building a house out of prefabricated pieces and building a house out of logs you cut down and hew into lumber yourself. If working with active dry yeast is new to you, working with natural yeasts is a quantum step in sophistication beyond that. While you can create quick breads such as biscuits in an hour and you can bake a perfectly good loaf of yeast-risen white bread in six hours, artisinal baking can take days to set up. Then, the chances of success depend heavily on ambient conditions affecting flour and wild yeasts, plus the almost impossible to teach ability to sense stages in dough development by touch, look, and smell. If you have no interest whatsoever in embarking on an artisinal baking project, this book may still have much to offer you. It has some quick bread recipes and it has many recipes that use fresh, active dry, or instant yeast. In addition to these, the knowledge you gain about the nature and history of artisinal bread baking is superb. I was tickled to see Reinhart correct the mistake in another book that attributed the invention of the ?poolish? technique to Polish bakers in Pari

I have for my entire adult life had the ambition to bake what Peter Reinhart fittingly calls "world-class" bread, but in spite of buying and reading several books dedicated to bread and much work and experimentation, the good bread eluded me. When I saw Peter Reinhart's "Crust and Crumb" advertised, I was reluctant to buy another baking book, having resigned myself to the fact that good bread cannot be baked at home. "Crust and Crumb" got me over the hump. It made me understand the chemistry and process of bread baking, and the result is that I now bake bread which is as good as any that I have had anywhere - and I have eaten a lot of good bread, including in Italy and France. And it made me understand that in order to bake good bread, you have to take it seriously, be dedicated and take the time it takes - there are few shortcuts ("poolish" starter being one of those few) and really no compromises. "Crust and Crumb" is really the only bread baking cookbook you need. Well, maybe Joe Ortiz' "Village Baker" too.

I purchased Crust & Crumb as another addition to my many cookbooks on bread baking. I sat down to scan my new purchase and the next thing I realized is it was 2:00am and I'd just read the book word for word, cover to cover. I honestly believe I could throw out the majority of my books on bread baking and not ever miss them as long as Crust & Crumb was on my shelf. One telltale sign of the books influence on myself is that my Kitchenaid Mixer is gathering dust as I roll up my sleeves and passionatly begin kneading. Once again connecting to the magic of transforming singular ingredients into a living, united mystery that is more than the sum of it's parts. I feel I've found a kinderd spirit in Brother Peter, and am truly inspired by his knowledge of the history about bread, the fundamental meaning of bread to mankind and the humble passion he has for the process. Brother Peter walks one through the combining of the age old flour, water and salt, and then encourages ones "unbeilf" as grace takes over and a golden, crusty loaf is born. As spacey as these musings sound, the book is concrete, practical and it follows,easy step by step formulas. I try very hard to find the meaning and mystery in the everyday (mundane) events such as baking bread. Brother Peter has done that for us in "Crust & Crumb".