[alert variation=”alert-info”]Publisher: Phaidon Press
Formats: Hardcover
Purchase: Powell’s | Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble[/alert]

From the first words of Éric Kayser’s book, The Larousse Book of Bread: 80 Recipes to Make at Home, you can feel it’s something special. Kayser, as a renowned baker, has put together a back to basics stylebook, aimed at re-teaching the “lost” art and honesty of bread, bread making, and real ingredients. Throughout the beautifully photographed and deeply educational pages, readers can feel author’s love and knowledge for flour and yeast and the way they come together to form the alchemy of bread. The scent of yeast fairly wafts from the pages, or Kindle screen, in this case, and the author’s knowledge, passion, and enthusiasm emerge like a slowly rising loaf.

“Bread making is all about intuition.”

Kayser begins by explaining the history of ingredients, also giving background information about food and ingredient choices. He explains the composition of a grain of wheat, how to choose good flour, describes the equipment required, how to knead (and why!) including an awesome pictorial diagram for both wet and dry kneads as well as using a mixer, and much, much more. From types of flour to how to knead by hand or using a mixer, this book offers delicious recipes and informative instructional sections on baking artisan style bread in your own home.

A great book for the novice and intermediate baker, The Larousse Book of Bread provides wonderful information about the history and science of bread making to help illuminate the process. The lavish and deceptively simple pictorial demonstrations accompanying each recipe are inspirational, and the recipes themselves are broken down well, offering helpful hints to would-be bakers. This book is a visual treasure, extremely informative, and will make your mouth water while reading. Kayser’s empowering words will give readers a sense that they CAN successfully bake their own bread using real ingredients and traditional methods. If you want to make and understand your artisan bread, this book is essential for your library and your kitchen.

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