The Italian Baker

This classic kitchen text is an essential addition to the library of any cook interested in serious bread baking. When I bought this book, I'd never baked a loaf of bread in my life. I started reading on page one and quickly read the whole thing. In six month's time, I could bake a wide variety of Italian breads, all thanks to Carol Field's clear directions and wonderful recipes. The book covers everything from rustic country breads to holiday and celebration breads to biscotti to fococcia and pizza. Also, there are great suggestions and recipes for using left over bread.

When I was hired to be the bread baker at an Italian restaurant in Carrboro, NC, I had no experience baking. The chef told me the restaurant wanted to start baking its own bread instead of buying it from a local bakery. She handed me this book, and I took it home to read and to pick out some recipes to try out. I found the book quite readable, and I agree with the reviewer below who praises the book's "detailed, insatiable descriptions of the regions, and history of the recipe at hand." Also worthy of praise are the sections on the fundmentals of baking, which were particularly helpful to me when I was learning to bake. By covering the fundamentals and the various techniques used in different regions of Italy, the book gave me a good idea of what aspects I could experiment with comfortably, and which steps were more or less prescribed. Our baking program turned out to be a success. Diners were especially fond of the scroll-shaped loaves that we learned to make from "The Italian Baker." Later we started making sourdough bread at the restaurant, based on techniques learned from this book. One night after we had been at it for a few weeks, one of our waiters came back into the kitchen to pass on compliments from a diner from San Francisco who said that our sourdough bread was as good as any she had had at home in SF. We were ecstatic. Only a few months before my cooking expertise had been more or less limited to heating up canned soup!So I give this book a very enthusiastic recommendation for anyone wanting to bake Italian bread and then possibly go on to improvise their own loaves. In addition to being well-written, it is also a very handsome volume.

If you love baking Italian, whether it be breads, tarts, cakes or cookies, then you'll love this book. As the Italian Online Cooking Host @ Bella Online, this book is my personal best reference when baking traditional Italian breads and sweets. Carol Fieslds manages to teach traditional Italian baking skills while still making it possible for even a novice to create quality breads and sweets. I would advise anyone interested in both baking and Italian cooking to add this one to their cookbook collection.

I am enjoying two weeks off at Christmas and went "crusing" on the net to find recipes for Panetone (festive Italian Christmas Bread) and found this site with the lavish comments and laudatory praises for Carol Field's book. I also found a "doable" panetone recipe I could conjure up. After a visit to a local bookstore and finding this "treasure" I am hooked! I bought it on Sunday and it's now Thursday and I have read over 100 pages--not only for the tasty recipes, but the detailed, insatiable descriptions of the regions, and history of the recipe at hand. Never have I had a cookbook that I could rave about like this one. After spending 10 years in Vicenza and Napoli with my Army husband, I recognize the regions she so adeptly describes and the foods that complement the plates on the table. Do not miss this one, it is a rare jewel. Thank you Carol for the best christmas present I got this year!

I checked this book out so many times my husband finally got the hint and bought it for me five years ago. A wonderfully written book with fabulous recipes. Here are our favorites: Focaccia (any), Pizza (any), Panforte (this is better than the stuff you buy in Siena. I could eat the whole thing), Panettone (easy, light, wonderful), Raisin Rosemary rolls, the Rosemary bread (I've made this many, many times and it is unbeatable--gorgeous and delicious), the little herb rolls, the ciabatta, the breadsticks (so so easy and terrific), and I can't remember what else. Oh, several cookie recipes, and the incredible, incredible tarts with pasta frolla (rice tart....). And on and on. Highly, highly recommended. Six stars if I could.