Book review: River Cottage, bread
For me this book was that pivotal book that I needed (and why it’s the first I added here), after reading the River Cottage book on bread came the moment that I truly got a handle on baking. I’d read a few books before, but none of them really put all the pieces together for me.
I read it a few years back now, and I went from making bread that people would pretend to like, to making bread that rivalled what you can buy. The book goes step by step through the process of making bread, first covering the raw ingredients, followed by how to combine the ingredients, kneading and proving then finally moving on the the baking process. Each step is covered in great detail.
Profile - DaveTCC
DaveTCC is the sites main chef! In his spare time System likes listening to music on vinyl discs, cooking and baking..
Profile - System
The machine room. System looks after the main parts of the site (such as the categories and tags). In his spare time System likes listening to music on vinyl discs, cooking and baking..
Book review: Neil Buttery, Knead to know
While browsing around Waterstones bookshop I came across this book with a catchy title. It goes through the history of baking, along with a little of the science as to why various aspects of baking work the way that they do. I found it a very interesting read.
It covers some of the earliest baking products such as pancakes, and other “baked goods” that didn’t need a particularly complex oven to make well, right through to the “relatively” modern masterpieces that we take for granted today. There are also very interesting chapters on the history of cakes, including where many different cakes I took for granted in my childhood actually originated from. Lastly there’s a chapter on pâtisserie, covering my favourites the pain au raisin and croissant in detail.
A few notes for those getting started breadmaking
Even though bread often has just a handful of ingredients, it is actually quite difficult to get good results. As with most people starting out bread making, my first loaves were heavy and borderline inedible, even when following instructions quite closely. That led me to to read a few books on baking, then I understood a few things:
Tools needed for bread making
Bread making is one of the few hobbies that has a very low barrier to entry, just a regular household oven, and some kind of baking tray are needed. Most households will already have enough to get started.
However, although you could make bread without most of the tools below these are the items that I use often.
