Peter Reinhart's "The Bread Baker's Apprentice"

[jegesmedve]

After reading all the glowing reviews of this book in another thread (Baking Bread: Explain it to Me Like I'm a Box of Rocks...), I decided to purchase two copies of this book: one for myself and one for a friend whom I'll be visiting over the holidays. Right now, I am making the foccacia. I plan to make the bagels sometime in the near future, quite possibly with the recipient to-be of this book.

I am new to bread baking. One thing I noticed about these recipes is that a lot of them take two days (the dough is refrigerated over night). Is this normal? What if I don't want to wait two whole days for a loaf of bread? Can these recipes be modified so that the whole bread making process will take only one day? Does anyone have any advice, comments, and/or recipe recommendations from this book to share aside from the ones that are already posted in the other thread? Thanks.

Grace

[biscotti girl]

Grace,

Ah, yes, the wait... but wait until you taste the bread! The flavour that develops with this method is amazing.

I make the cibatta a lot--- sometimes with olive oil and rosemary, raisins, olives, or whatever I'm in the mood for, as well as the 100% whole wheat bread. I'd suggest making the poolish the day before---leave for the required four hours and refigerate overnight. Then in the morning, it just needs to warm for an hour or so, and you are on your way to bread later in the day. Meanwhile start another pre-ferment and let it sit and then pop it in the fridge for tomorrow's bread. Or it will wait for up to three days if you don't get around to it.

I think that the coolest bread in the book, though, is the ancient bread. And it's easy (and fast). You just mix the dough, put it in the fridge overnight, and in the morning after letting it warm, you simply shape into baguettes and bake. Ta da!

Hope you enjoy the book

[jegesmedve]

Hi biscotti girl,

I just took the foccacia out of the oven, and even though Peter Reinhart advises to let it cool for at least 20 minutes before eating, I tore off a corner to taste it, and it was delicious!! I'm sold on the refrigerating overnight technique except that I'm just so impatient when it comes to good food.

I used a silpat instead of parchment paper, and following the silpat maintenance instructions, I didn't grease it will olive oil; as a result, the bottom crust of the bread is not as golden brown as the rest of the crust, but the bread is still really tasty.

After the bagels (which seems like a fun holidayish activity), I will try my hands at the "ancient bread." I'll let you know how it turns out!

Grace

[vici]

Although I don't have the book, I have made Reinhart's focaccia. The recipe was in "Fine Cooking" magazine, March 2004, and I'll assume it is the same one. Lots of flour and olive oil and a recommended rise overnight in the fridge http://grafffamily.com/focaccia.html
... I have tried many focaccia recipes, and his is my favorite.
I am sometimes anxious and skip the overnight rise; let the dough proof at room temperature; punch it down, spread it into the pan and let it rise again before baking. The resulting bread is just as good. The overnight refrigerator thing is really so easy though. I love the idea of fresh bread in the morning...v

[vici]

I'm very anxious to hear how the bagels turn out, since I have been trying to find a good recipe for them...v

[biscotti girl]

Has anyone tried Reinhart's suggestion for baking the breads on a baking stone or unglazed ceramic tiles?

[jegesmedve]

Vici, sorry, I was out of town for a few weeks. I actually didn't get a chance to make the bagels with my friend, but I probably will this weekend (after I pick up some malt powder or syrup). I'll let you know how they turn out.

biscotti girl, I don't yet own a baking stone, but it's on my list of gifts to buy for myself (I also make pizza a lot, and a stone would certainly come in handy then). If I did have a baking stone, I would most certainly experiment bread baking on it.

Happy New Year,
Grace

[dougal]

I am new to bread baking. One thing I noticed about these recipes is that a lot of them take two days (the dough is refrigerated over night). Is this normal? What if I don't want to wait two whole days for a loaf of bread? Can these recipes be modified so that the whole bread making process will take only one day?

Hi Grace - bread making isn't an instant thing. It does take a while, but it is possible to make good bread in just a couple of hours.
That said, Peter Reinhart's aim isn't 'good' bread, its to go beyond that and produce 'great' bread. And many of his techniques towards achieving that require processes that are slow. And that takes time. But its mostly waiting time, rather than labour time.
Maybe you should have been warned that one of his previous books was subtitled "Slow rise as method and metaphor" - he doesn't believe that the best results for anything are likely to be instantly achievable...

[Flora]

Hi Biscotti Girl,
I've been using a baking stone for bread making for several years now. There are 2 main advantages - it retains heat very well and produces a crisp crust with breads baked directly on the stone. The disadvantages are the length of time it takes to heat up (about 1 hour) and the length of time it takes to cool down before you can take it out. I usually remove my stone from the oven if I want to use the oven for cooking anything else. Just make sure you don't try to carelessly pick it up without first bending your knees and elbow and keeping your back straight - it's heavy and you can do your back some serious damage if you're not careful!

I recently purchased Peter's book and have tried the pain de campagne - wonderful chewy crumb and extremely flavourful shell. The overnight fermentation is necessary to get your bread to taste good. Would love to try the pain a l'ancienne next.

Happy baking, all!

Flora

[jiminminnesota]

I am new to bread baking. One thing I noticed about these recipes is that a lot of them take two days (the dough is refrigerated over night). Is this normal? What if I don't want to wait two whole days for a loaf of bread? Can these recipes be modified so that the whole bread making process will take only one day?

Grace,

No, these two-day recipes are not "normal"! They are for bakers who want to make extraordinary bread, even prize-winning loaves, and are willing to take two days to make them.

If you are just beginning to bake bread, I suggest starting with a different book, one with easier recipes. Look in a library or a bookstore and pick a book that feels right for you, one with recipes that suit your tastes. Check to be sure that they take only one day, which almost all bread recipes do.

Once you've become friends with yeast, learned the technique of rising, made lots of different kinds of breads, and enjoyed the delicious home-baked flavor, THEN think about picking up the two-day cookbook again. And taste the difference the slow method makes.

Jim

[pcardozo]

Hi, ya'll:
when i was a stayhome mom, I loved to make bread. But now I am working full time, It is hard for me to make fresh bread every day. I am thinking about making Poolish a few day in advance, then take a little bit out, make & bake everyday. Now my main concern is will this everyday baking bread cost a lot of electricity? I heard if I run the oven everyday, the electic usage will be unbelievable.

I want to know you all out there who love to bake: how do you manage to bake bread everyday without using a lot of electricity?

[crespowu]

Can't wait to read the book.