Modernist Bread

An outstanding book with comes with an outstanding price tag - and probably the last book I will buy or ever need to buy on bread cookery. I found the earlier volumes of compelling interest, including for example the section on bread and health issues as much of discussion of the history of bread or of the nature of flour and fermentation. Clearly everything here has been thought through afresh. A scientific approach has been adopted. And the reader feels confident at all times in the expertise and knowledge of the writers. The photographs are very impressive too. Finally, the book gives great confidence about its accuracy, when it comes to recipes. It has encourage me to try steaming bread - just because I now believe this will work (and it does), or to make hamburger buns (and actually if you follow the recipe it will look just as it does in the pictures in the book), as well at to try new approaches to familiar breads and to pizza dough. And I did microwave one loaf, in line with the book's instructions - and that worked too...Of course it's always tempting to try to cut corners - but probably 99 times out 100 a mistake, when everything has been so meticulously worked up for use. Strongly recommended.

If you are into your breadmaking then this is the most useful reference work you could ever hope to have. Knowing the actual difference between a poolish, a biga, and a sponge and how to use each of them in a specific recipe is one of the things you'll learn. Like the previous opus Modernist Cuisine there are five gigantic volumes containing photos of bread and equipment cut in half so that you can see what is going on inside the dough as it ferments as well as the different densities of crumb within the particular loaf. Included is the handy waterproof kitchen manual containing all the recipes that can be used without any fear of damage in the kitchen. (OK, maybe melting). The books cover most types of yeasted breads, but do not include the whole family of quickbreads (nor any bread using chemical leavening). There are whole sections on different types of Chinese bao as well as a section on making the perfect pizza. There are also indepth sections on how to make the perfect French baguette. I didn't notice any of the binding defects that other owners have reported, although the edge of one of the books did split slightly, and I don't think it was due to misuse - still a minor quibble. There are a few errata in the book, although if you measure by mass it shouldn't be a problem. The list of errata is available on the modernistcuisine.com website.

This is a collector item. Thanks for publishing such a wonderful books. I bought both of the Modernist sets. They worth every single cents!!

Very fast shipment and brand new!!!! thank you very much!! the item was in safe pack kai brand new!!!

Great books on Bread use it in educational purposes fantastic Look forward to Nathans next books.

A most remarkable and outstanding piece of art.

Great Books, with detail in depth about bread making and science

A must have, its all I have to say!

Love this series of books, I learned way more than I thought I'd ever care to about the history of bread. As someone who is not getting TOO adventurous with different flours/ingredients this is more than I'd ever need. For the average person looking to get into making their own bread or just learning about it I highly recommend.

Um verdadeiro tratado sobre como fazer pão. Muito completo e tecnicamente perfeito. Só para profissionais.

Es gibt sicher im deutschsprachigen Raum das ein oder andere Werk mit mehr Spezialbrotrezepten. Wer sich aber der Materie mit wissenschaftlichem Hintergrund nähern möchte und auch historische Entwicklungen und Trends verstehen möchte, dem sei dieses 5-bändige Werk mit praktischem Rezeptbuch auf bedrucktem, abwaschbaren Kunststoff sehr ans Herz gelegt. Nathan Myhrvold und sein Team haben viel Zeit und Mühe in dieses Standardwerk investiert und über Versuchsreihen optimale Misch-, Gär-, und Reifezeiten sowie die Temperaturabhängigkeit der Prozesse untersucht und aufbereitet. Egal ob Profibäcker, der sein Sortiment erweitern möchte oder Hobbybäcker, der sich den Hintergründen widmen möchte, jeder findet hier sein Spielwiese. Die Rezepte funktionieren, die Zutaten sind in der Regel leicht erhältlich und auch ohne Profiequipment lassen sich beeindruckende Ergebnisse erreichen. Lediglich an der für einige Rezepte empfohlene Polydextrose bin ich gescheitert, da ich keine Gebinde im kg-Maßstab finden konnte. Mir macht es nun richtig Spaß, Baguettes, Brote etc. frei von Zusatzstoffen frisch zu backen, meinen Sauerteig zu züchten etc. Durch den vermittelten Hintergrund und entsprechende Anleitungen lassen sich die Rezepte gut zeitlich anpassen, um das Backen zu bestimmten Zeitpunkten zu starten etc. Vielleicht nicht so revolutionär wie Modernist Cuisine, aber dafür alles einfach handzuhaben. Ein Tipp: Wer keinen Dutch Oven hat, der für Heimbacköfen empfohlen wird, um die Luftfeuchtigkeit beim Backen hoch zu halten, dem lege ich eine (oder mehrere) Pyrex-Formen mit Deckel nahe. Hier kann man sogar den Prozess des Backens optimal überwachen. In Band 1 wird die Geschichte, in Band 2 die Zutaten, in Band 3 das Equipment und in den übrigen beiden Bänden die Rezepte mit bebilderten Schritt-für-Schritt Anleitungen dargestellt. Meine im Vorfeld gestarteten Versuche sind mit dünnen, blassfischigen Broten gestartet und mittlerweile sieht es verkaufsfähig aus.

Per carità, sulla panificazione c'è tanto da dire. Non so se 2600 pagine siano sufficienti. Però per chi ha proprio passione per questo ambito, a mio avviso è un qualcosa di assolutamente consigliato. E' una pubblicazione più che seria e ben trattata. Non le solite cretinaggini con stampato sopra titoloni e nomi roboanti e poi magari dentro le ricette son sbagliate. No, direi di no in questo caso. A mio avviso, vale tutti i soldi che costa e può essere una buona rampa di lancio per conoscere anche i bilanciamenti delle materie prime e quindi creare nuove ricette o modificare quelle che già si ha, migliorandole.

As expected, the content is amazing just like with Modernist Cuisine. Do be careful when moving these, the new metal design of the case holding the books together might leave some scratches due to the weight if left in a wooden book shelf.