Ballymaloe Bread Book

`The Ballymaloe Bread Book' by the husband of Darina Allen and co-founder of the Ballymaloe cooking school, Tim Allen (no connection to the `Home Improvement' comedian) is a very nice little introduction to bread baking of all types, although it does begin with and feature Irish favorites such as the Irish soda bread, spotted dog, and scones. The one statement made in this book which immediately gave me a favorable impression of the work was his claim that yeast bread making is actually easier than soda bread baking. It may not be simpler and it may not be faster, but soda bread and other `quick breads' with chemical leaveners are simply more tricky and more subject to environmental conditions than yeast breads. One can easily pound the dickens out of yeast bread dough and it will reward you by an even better result. On the other hand, breads raised with baking soda and buttermilk or baking powder must be brought together very gingerly, very similar to the way one might do a pastry crust. On the other hand, the `quick breads' do deserve their nickname, as they are certainly a lot faster to mix and bake than almost all yeast breads. What you loose with the speed is the great lightness and flavor that comes from yeast fermentation. While I like quickbreads, I get tired of them a lot faster than I do of a good yeast white bread. But, if you are really fond of quick breads and want to make a splash at your next St. Patrick's day party, this is the book for you. As a bonus, you get an excellent introduction to virtually all different kinds of European breadmaking. The chapters in this book are: Soda Bread, An Old Friend including recipes with chocolate, savory seeds, treacle, and potato flour. Scones, including sultanas, chocolate, orange, walnut, crumpets, popovers, brownies, and balloons. Basic Yeast Bread, including brown bread, bread sticks, rye bread with caraway seeds and Carta Musica. Sweet Breads, including croissants, brioche, banana bread, stollen, shortbread, and cinnamon swirl. Pizza, including focaccia, gluten-free pizza base, calzone, Pizza Margherita, and garlic pizza bread. Sweet Buns, including doughnuts, biscotti, muffins, and `London Buns'. Ethnic Breads including black bread, Chinese Wok bread, ciabatta, Pitta (sic) bread, and tortillas Flavored and Specialty Breads, including stromboli, fig bread, walnut bread, and zucchini bread. Sourdough (natural yeasts), including bigas, potato starter, malted sourdough, and rye sourdough. Bread as the Base, including things made from bread such as French Toast and Chicken Casserole. Essential Extras such as jams, butters, marzipan, tomato sauce, Roux, and Ice Cream. This is an extraordinary range for such a small book. Needless to say, the author devotes almost all his space to the recipes and none to the kind of background information on flours and leavenings you may find in Rose Levy Beranbaum's books. I was especially happy and surprised to find so many French, Italian, and American s

If you're looking for a bread cookbook with recipes that are different than the usual bread recipes, this is an excellent choice. My search for an authentic Irish Soda Bread recipe met with success when I found it here. And the Orange Butter Scones are a MUST. They are melt in your mouth delicacies. The instructions are easy to follow, once you look at the glossary and decipher the different types of sugar. (For castor sugar, just use regular granulated sugar.) Enjoy!