Rustic European Breads from Your Bread Machine 
asked by jazzman on November 13, 2006 7:10 PM
From the award-winning authors of Bread In Half The Time comes a complete guide to close to a hundred European-style breads to bake with the indispensable aid of your bread machine.
Nothing smells quite as wonderful as bread baking in the oven. Nothing tastes quite as good as a thick slice of still-warm homemade bread. And nothing can be quite so intimidating or time-consuming as mixing, kneading, raising, and baking that bread. Until now!
With a bread machine to do all the hard work, and experts Linda West Eckhardt and Diana Collingwood Butts as guides, anyone can turn out a perfect sourdough, raisin pumpernickel, focaccia, or any one of almost a hundred other varieties of classic European breads. The trick is to use the machine for what it does best-mixing and kneading the dough that produces the loaves we all love so much. Then leave it in the machine to rise, shape it by hand, and bake it to perfection in the oven.
With Rustic European Breads From Your Bread Machine in hand, every home cook will become a master baker. Eckhardt and Butts provide not only an encyclopedic knowledge of their subject and foolproof step-by-step recipes, but also limitless, contagious enthusiasm. Their clear and thorough explanations will turn every home kitchen into an aromatic, soul- and appetite-satisfying European bakery.
Nothing smells quite as wonderful as bread baking in the oven. Nothing tastes quite as good as a thick slice of still-warm homemade bread. And nothing can be quite so intimidating or time-consuming as mixing, kneading, raising, and baking that bread. Until now!
With a bread machine to do all the hard work, and experts Linda West Eckhardt and Diana Collingwood Butts as guides, anyone can turn out a perfect sourdough, raisin pumpernickel, focaccia, or any one of almost a hundred other varieties of classic European breads. The trick is to use the machine for what it does best-mixing and kneading the dough that produces the loaves we all love so much. Then leave it in the machine to rise, shape it by hand, and bake it to perfection in the oven.
With Rustic European Breads From Your Bread Machine in hand, every home cook will become a master baker. Eckhardt and Butts provide not only an encyclopedic knowledge of their subject and foolproof step-by-step recipes, but also limitless, contagious enthusiasm. Their clear and thorough explanations will turn every home kitchen into an aromatic, soul- and appetite-satisfying European bakery.
Reviews
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This book has many great recipes and they are pretty easy to do!
reviewed by macfan on November 20, 2006 8:31 PM
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Bread machines rule. But let's face it, after a few loaves you realize the thing basically makes a similar loaf almost every time. There are recipes to let the machine do everything. But you will want to be a better baker, and that is where this book shines.
The pattern of the recipes are: make a starter or "sponge" using the Dough cycle. Let the starter sit 2 hour to 3-5 days. (Yes there is a sourdough recipe). Process the dough again in the machine on the Dough setting, then shape the dough and bake in your oven on your stone. Really, this is the best way to make really good bread, unique bread, all the time.
The book covers everything you need to know to make bread at home. This is from the water to use to the different types of flour, to the equipment, to recipes just for starter doughs.
So what bugs me about the book? The authors include an excellent section on preparing starters. But many of the recipes have their own starter included. They don't give you alternate ingredient volumes to use if you have a starter from a previous batch of bread. Also, there aren't very many differnt types of easier whole wheat breads. The book focuses on variety but I would have preferred focusing on several types of breads that don't need exotic shapes or equipment.
The pattern of the recipes are: make a starter or "sponge" using the Dough cycle. Let the starter sit 2 hour to 3-5 days. (Yes there is a sourdough recipe). Process the dough again in the machine on the Dough setting, then shape the dough and bake in your oven on your stone. Really, this is the best way to make really good bread, unique bread, all the time.
The book covers everything you need to know to make bread at home. This is from the water to use to the different types of flour, to the equipment, to recipes just for starter doughs.
So what bugs me about the book? The authors include an excellent section on preparing starters. But many of the recipes have their own starter included. They don't give you alternate ingredient volumes to use if you have a starter from a previous batch of bread. Also, there aren't very many differnt types of easier whole wheat breads. The book focuses on variety but I would have preferred focusing on several types of breads that don't need exotic shapes or equipment.
reviewed by shawn on November 25, 2006 9:07 PM
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When you have exhausted all bread machine recipes, you get bored with the same kind of bread and eventually stop making bread... Well, if that is what's happening to you, try any recipe in this book!
I tried several recipes from this book, and they all came out like pro's. Rustic, chewy, and unlike many bread-machine breads, my bread tasted very good even after a few days. The recipes are quite simple, but it is more than measuring ingredients and pressing button. Still, even for a complete beginner (I just got my first machine a couple weeks ago), he/she can enjoy the process and the outcome!
Hightly recommended for any level of bakers.
I tried several recipes from this book, and they all came out like pro's. Rustic, chewy, and unlike many bread-machine breads, my bread tasted very good even after a few days. The recipes are quite simple, but it is more than measuring ingredients and pressing button. Still, even for a complete beginner (I just got my first machine a couple weeks ago), he/she can enjoy the process and the outcome!
Hightly recommended for any level of bakers.
reviewed by harrypotter on November 29, 2006 6:19 AM
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I love this book. I own two other bread making books, and this is my favorite. The other books give little antecdotes followed by a recipe, but they don't explain anything. This book has a lot of useful information on obtaining the perfect texture (creamy yet airy) and a chewy crust. My bread also rises better than it used to. And thanks to this book, my starters are finally working. I agree with the reviewer who said that the techniques discussed in the beginning of the book are not reiterated in the recipes, but they are straight forward enough to keep in mind.
reviewed by bulldogs on November 29, 2006 6:38 PM
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After using my bread machine extensively for several years, the novelty of fresh hot bread had sort of worn off (imagine that). After visiting Europe, I really wanted to be able to eat the types of breads I ate there, but didn't know how to make them and didn't want to pay the high price here for specialty breads. This book is fun, informative, and has great recipes. If some of the other reviews that mention time and complexity scare you, you should realize that there the recipes in this book vary in complexity from extremely simple to complicated and that you should decide which recipes to make accordingly. Lastly, like all recipes, a certain amount of experimentation/variation may be needed to suit your needs; the authors teach you how to do it exactly right, but a little cheating will still yield awesome bread.
reviewed by samoan on November 29, 2006 7:21 PM