Let's face it, baking bread can be intimidating.
The yeast is alive, after all. And it often seems to have a mind of its own.
Enter Peter Reinhart.
The expert baker, with years of hands-on experience, has penned numerous award-winning bread cookbooks. Get him talking about the history of bread and dough science (microbial drama at its best!) and your head may start to spin. But he's also a pro at teaching the basics. With his enthusiasm and heartfelt encouragement, you can't help but think: "I can do this."
And so it was for me, one of the 500 regular folks who tested recipes
for his newest book, Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day.
Sweet baking success came in the form of chocolate babka, English muffins, cheese bread, whole wheat hearth bread, and bagels. And that was all without the reassuring and helpful step-by-step technique photos you'll find in the book.
Basic methodology: high hydration, delayed fermentation (in the fridge overnight), and a short period of actual hands-on time. You can't just come home from work, open the book, and whip up a batch of these breads. But plan just one day ahead, and you (and your creations) are golden.
Go see Peter in person or join the fray online.
By Allyson Quibell Wilinski—bread-lover, writer, sustainable foodist.