Ten Speed Press The Bread Baker's Apprentice, 15th Anniversary Edition: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread [A Baking Book]

Great book

Simply one of the best written bread baking books out there. It's time tested (I ordered the 15th anniversary edition) and approved by hordes of fans. If you already own the original copy you might not need the newest edition. However, it does include 3 new master recipes (on top of the previous 50 or so), and a big new section on sourdoughs (aka wild-yeast starters). The sourdough section is rather simple, but like the rest of the book it's well written in a friendly and understanding tone (you don't ever feel pretentiousness or "my way is the only way"). Below are the reasons you should consider this book based on your baking experience: Beginner baker (little to no experience, but lots of interest): This book teaches you the fundamentals of solid baking and breaks everything down into easy-to-understand steps that can be applied to all baking. These steps are critical knowledge to becoming a good baker and not having to rely as heavily on recipes (and being able to adjust based on variables). The book is written well, easy to understand, has a friendly tone, and very much feels like it's written for the home baker with the understanding that sometimes you have to work with what you have (e.g., not everyone has a la cloche or dutch oven). The book also uses a decent amount of pictures to show you how things should look, and each recipe feels like it is personalized by Reinhart, often times including notes for changing the recipe. By simply following any recipe in this book (and the recommended techniques) you will create a bread that amazes friends and family (and probably yourself). This book represented a major shift in my understanding of the baking process and has helped me (in less than 6 months) go from a simple recipe follower to someone who can create his own bread based on learned knowledge and techniques. Somewhat experienced baker: With some experience you'll be able to use this book to it's fullest extent. The recipes may not blow your mind as an experienced/somewhat experienced baker, but they are all delicious and reliable. The techniques and approach to teaching the recipes and techniques is what makes this book shine for me. If you have felt like you were struggling to take your baking to the next level or to really understand the how/why behind baking techniques and recipes, then this book is for you! This book will help you better understand and combine techniques (provided you have learned others to combine with) as well as improve your understanding of recipes. It sets the stage for a leap into expert level baking. Highly experienced baker: As an experienced baker you won't find this book to be ground breaking, but it could teach you a few tips and tricks you may not have known. Reinhart does a great job of adding notes to recipes that tell you how to adjust/change things up. He also does an amazing job of breaking down all the steps of baking (all 12 of them) and explaining what they are and how they are applied in different bakes (some combine/skip steps). The techniques portion of this book offers interesting professional approaches tried and tested by Reinhart but seems to fully accept (and even occasionally mention) that there are other techniques/recipes/etc. The recipes in this book are solid, and you'll find them to be tasty and appealing (although as an experienced baker you may already have preferences for other recipes). The sourdough section won't blow your mind, but it's a useful refresher. I would not recommend purchasing this book solely for the sourdough section. Wrap-up: Combining this book's recipes and techniques with other books I've read/am reading has allowed me to exponentially improve my baking techniques and understanding. Reinhart's writing style and teaching style come through in this book, you can tell it was written by a teacher and someone who loves baking (not one or the other, but both!), and for that reason I love it.

Pretty much good book with proper explanations. Makes you want to bake bread by yourself and become self-sufficient. Became very useful especially during 2020/2021 lockdown.

My opinion should be more books related bakery and Pastry

Me encanta este libro. He hecho varias de las recetas y todas han quedado muy ricas. Me gusta mucho que en cada receta dice al inicio las características generales del pan, así como los días que se necesitan para lograr su ejecución. La mayoría de las recetas tienen fotografías muy vistosas que facilitan la elaboración del pan. Este libro, a diferencia de otros, incluye en cada receta los ingredientes en gramos, onzas, tazas o cucharadas y en porcentaje panadero (este último el más útil cuando se quiere escalar la receta). En algún lado de internet alguien se quejó que contenía pocas recetas integrales y aunque es cierto, el libro brinda muchas ideas y conocimientos que permiten que el lector experimente y cree sus propias recetas con gran variedad de semillas y granos. El libro tiene gran cantidad de recetas de pan "salado" (~2% de sal) y muy pocas incluyen azúcar. Me hubiera gustado que incluyera más recetas con mantequilla, azúcar y huevos. Vale mucho la pena conseguir harina panadera, los resultados son muy diferentes. Como no tengo 'Polenta' y no sé dónde se compre siempre la sustituyo por harina nixtamalizada de maíz Amarillo MASECA por su sabor y porque no tiene gomas, colorantes ni saborizantes añadidos.

This is a really nice book with a lot of interesting receipt. It's perfect to learn something about the science of bakery products. Moreover it has a lot of beautiful pictures.