Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor [A Baking Book] Kindle Edition

I must begin by agreeing with other reviewers who said that this is an 'ideal book for a specific audience'. However, I don't think this true for people who are only interested in baking whole wheat breads, this book should be of interest to people interested in bread baking in general. How can you truly master the art of bread baking without mastering whole grains? Especially since it was the original and oldest baking medium throughout history.I had previously bought numerous bread baking books, some were very good some were a bit of a let down, but one thing they all had in common was that they didn't discuss baking with whole grains. Therefore, I had assumed that the methods and techniques that applied to white flour applied to whole wheat flour, but I always ended up with dense logs that weren¡¦t really that good to eat... they had a very hard and dense crumb that I was really choking down to avoid admitting failure in front of the family! :)In the past, I always used all purpose flour and, as I later found out, due to the low amount of gluten in the flour, the loaves were not developing and rising sufficiently. Once I had figured that out and during one of my trips to the local flour mills to buy a 55lb sack of high gluten flour, I was tempted to buy also buy a sack of high protein whole wheat flour as well, despite my may failed attempts in the past (but I assumed it was due to the low gluten as with the white all purpose flour... I was very wrong). After making several attempts with this new high protein whole wheat flour and getting the same old results, despite making several tweaks (although the partial whole grain breads were turning out slightly better because of the white flour content... I realized that I needed help. I had already planned on buying  The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread  and noticed this book as well and thought that such a highly acclaimed author of such a successful baking book must be able to unlock this mystery, so I bought the two together because I wasn't really worried about the white flour going bad... I was more concerned about the whole wheat flour!The difference I have noticed with Peter Reinhart's writing style and the level of technical knowledge and details in this book far exceeds all the bread baking books I have in my library! The author clearly has astonishing knowledge and passion when it comes bread baking, this is extremely clear in this book!I have to admit that the section on his personal experimentation with whole grains dragged on a bit and was slightly longer than what I am used to in terms of culinary books, but it was refreshing and reassuring to read that a seasoned baker struggled with whole grains like I did (and I'm sure many people have and do)!Also, a word of caution when reading this book, do not jump the gun like I did and immediately begin making the wild yeast mother starter, which is the first set of directions that you will encounter in this book, as it is not necessary for many recipes... have some patience and read through the entire instructional section and then you can flip through the recipes and pick and choose, like I do with most culinary books.For all those people who are new to bread baking, bread baking is a time consuming thing. It's not something that we working people do every day of the week when we barely have time to sit back and unwind! People who are used to bread baking already know this... the techniques in this book are even more time consuming ad stretch out over days to make the wild yeast culture... luckily for me though, given the summer, most of the resting time required was slashed by half as the mashes and mixtures were bubbling and active in one day as opposed to the suggested maximum of two days. So do not expect that this book will teach you how to make really great whole wheat bread in a snap bread, regardless of the flour used, doesn't happen in a few minutes... like all good things in this life, it takes time.The level of knowledge and scientific details in this book is great! I love it... I'm one of those people who always wonder why things happen they way they do and the author really goes down into chemistry and how same species of the same grain can vary greatly depending on the growing season and what the differences are to much much more! Trust me, it will leave no question unanswered in your mind!After reading these sections and going into the details of the other recipes in the book, I have attempted to make whole wheat baguettes and let me say that the result was two magnificently beautiful crisp and well risen whole wheat baguettes with beautiful crumbs!! I was so happy with the result was going around the house with the baguettes still in the baguette tray showing them to everyone like a kid!!Next to try on my list from the recipes in this book are the whole wheat pita, pizza dough, and challah bread!This has got to be the ultimate whole wheat book ever to hit the market!

I have read many of the reviews here that state this is not a book for a beginner baker.....Well, I am not a beginner and I am someone who usually won't tackle any recipe with more than 5 ingredients in it either. The kitchen is not my favorite place to be. Everyday cooking - I find tedious.... In other words - I do not consider myself an expert in anything coming out of the kitchen....So, if you are a mediocre kitchen person - this book may just revolutionize your idea about baking and you just might find yourself wishing you could be in your kitchen baking wholesome bread ALL the time!Like most books I hear about I usually get a copy at the library prior to spending the money on buying myself my own copy. When I first got this book and sat down with it I did feel overwhelmed. The recipes were written in a way I had never seen before. I knew from past experience that when I feel overwhelmed by something written - I have to simply DO what is being written. I stopped reading and plunged in with his Master Recipe and found that in DOING what was written everything began to fall into place. My sense of feeling overwhelmed soon left because of his detailed instructions on how to do each step and what to expect from each step. I was 'hooked' instantly - especially when I saw how quickly my results were being eaten.After actually WORKING with many of the recipes in the book I was able to go back and read about what I was doing and not feel overwhelmed. It made sense to me. I love how he includes little tidbits in commentaries on each page. Quick facts to read that make sense and are easy to reference to - usually relate to recipe on that page.I love the format and took up his advice of writing out the recipes on a sheet of paper that I divided into several sections so I could add notes on what happened to my loaves while in the making. Tweeks I had to make.Because of this book I now know why things are happening when I am making bread using whole grains. I love the 'science' part of it and it has unleashed years of questions I have had about bread that I could never figure out on my own. (Being a busy mother I never had time to seek out answers before. If things weren't easy after a few tries - they were left behind.)The fact that recipes take 2 days to make is no big deal, as others have stated. Once a routine is established it is becomes quite easy - almost easier than my old one day method.I also love the fact that I do not have to think about how to substitute whole grains for store bought flour. I only use whole grains that I grind and finding recipes that actually work has been difficult. (Laurel's Kitchen has been my bible for years but there aren't the variety of breads in her book that you will find here.) It is wonderful to have an entire book that I can simply open almost anywhere and begin to create something delicious with the ingredients I have been using for years without having to rewrite the entire thing. (He uses honey and agave nectar too....Not everyday you find recipes that include agave!)This book gets 5 stars because it is easy to follow, the results are great and the format of including percentages with all of his recipes simply add to a successful baking experience - even for an 'average' baker.And, YES, I bought this book and 2 of his others!

el libro me llego dañado de la parte del lomo (doblado y agrietado).

Solo tengo buenas palabras para este libro, muy completo, muy detallista, para que sepas trabajar este tipo de masas mas complejas. Lastima que no esta editado en castellano, aun asi genial.

Go for it, its easy and quite scientifically written book for bread lovers who wants to eat healthy stuff at home

Since I purchased a flour mill about 5 years ago I've been making most of our family's bread and pasta with fresh-milled flour. I have 3 pretty athletic teenagers so that's a bit of a tall order, but (in my opinion) the savings and health benefits totally warrant it. Anyway, having turned out my fair share of hockey pucks over the years (which, I must add, the kids have gamely eaten every time!) I was ready for a new method. So while ordering some other books I threw in Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads, partly because it had decent reviews, partly to get a better rate on shipping.Well, this book totally delivers. I started by reading through all the history and chemistry and microbiology stuff at the beginning and contrary to some of the reviews, I found it very helpful to have that background info. As for the recipes/formulas themselves, the ingredients and quantities are thoroughly explained and very well-defined; quantities are to the 0.5 gram - more precise than my weigh scale!. There are plenty of photos to illustrate the techniques as well, so it wasn't difficult to get the hang of it all.So far, every single formula I've tried has turned out wonderfully well with home-milled wheat and rye flours. (I use white spring wheat.)So far I've tried the basic recipe, mash bread, struan (wheat as well as multigrain), rye bread, seeded crackers, matzos, graham crackers... yup, all that, and the book arrived only 2 weeks ago. I haven't tried the transitional breads (don't have commercial flour at home anymore) so I can't comment on those. Everything has been whole-grain, home-milled and every single one of these formulas has been better-than-bakery. This book has made those hockey pucks a thing of the past.Long story short: Reinhart says to let the bread cool for 2 hours before cutting it; it hasn't lasted that long except when I've doubled or tripled the quantities.The only real disadvantage to this book has to do with my waistline... but that's not Reinhart's fault. I recommend this book to every home-baked-bread (and healthy-bread) enthusiast out there.

This is a fantastic collection of recipes for wholewheat breads for those of us who are trying to cut down on white, processed flour. I have tried about half of the recipes in this book and to be honest, these aren't the best breads I have ever tasted, but to be sure, they taste a thousand times nicer than any supermarket loaf in a plastic bag which includes 20 other anti-staling, unnecessary ingredients. I have Peter Reinhart's other books (Artisan Breads Fast and Crust and Crumb) and I suppose I was expecting the same wow-factor when making these wholemeal loaves, so was sliughtly disappointed with some of the recipes. These breads made with wholewheat flour are denser and heavier and don't have that marvellous crust that you'll get using white flour.They also take longer to make - if one afternoon you realise that your bread bin and the freezer are empty, you won't have a standby recipe to use in this book. All the recipes require a soaker and a biga which you need to start a day in advance. However, if you plan ahead you'll find plenty of ideas for including whole wheat and rye flour in your bread baking.Some of the breads included are: 100 wholewheat sandwich bread, transitional whole wheat sandwich bread, multigrain struan, rye sandwich meteil, rye sandwish seigle, transitional rye sandwich bread, potato onion rye meteil, potato rosemary bread, anadama bread, whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread (and transitional version), whole wheat cinnamon buns, wholewheat and transitional challah, wholewheat and transitional hearth bread , multigrain hearth bread, three rye hearth bread, hearth rye seigle, power bread, sprouted grain bread, whole wheat mash bread, limpa bread, German style many seeded bread, whole wheat brioche, vollkornbrot, Bavarian pumpernickel, Santa Lucia buns, stollen, panettone, bagels with different variations, focaccia, rustic bread, pizza dough, naan, lavash, crackers,Not all the recipes are 100% whole wheat, some of the `transitional' recipes include 50% white flour so that the switch from white is not too painful, allowing you to gradually increase the percentage of whole wheat flour. This is a great book if you want to eat more healthy bread, with lots of recipes if you're not ready for 100% wholemeal just yet as well. The pictures are fabulous and the instructions clear and concise. A lovely and very useful addition to any bread baking collection