Peter Reinhart - Crust and Crumb: Master Formulas for Serious Bread Bakers

As always, my chief collaborator is my wife, Susan, who supported me through the daily grind and served as my pre-editor on all levels. Her palate and patience are big parts of our success.

My students at the California Culinary Academy (CCA), too numerous to mention by name, were also among the first to test the formulas developed for this book, pointing out where instructions were unclear or measurements slightly off and oftentimes making improvements. They were beneficiaries of my knowledge, guinea pigs for my experiments, and always joyful co-conspirators in furthering the bread revolution. I must also thank Keith Keough, president of the CCA; Greg Tompkins, director of faculty (now at the National Baking Center in Minneapolis); and Robert Parks, my department head in the Baking and Pastry Program for their continual support and encouragement. I have been privileged to work with outstanding colleagues at the CCA and thank them all for accepting me as their peer. A special thanks to Chef Tony Marano for his help with the instructional graphics.

This book was given its original life by Meesha Halm, who recruited me for a publisher other than Ten Speed Press. Fortunately for all of us, after a publishing adventure worthy of Tolkien, we were then encouraged to place my manuscript into the nurturing hands of Ten Speed, under the direction of publisher Kirsty Melville; my editor, Chelsea Vaughn; and the superb Ten Speed team, especially art director Nancy Austin. I owe all of them my gratitude for their enthusiastic belief in the importance of this book and their role in shaping it. I also must give a hearty thank-you to Kathy Martin, who did a superb job of editing the original manuscript into shape for submission, and to Susan Derecskey for her fine-tuning and editorial expertise.

I was thrilled beyond belief when Ten Speed offered to bring in Teri Sandison as the photographer. I have long been a fan of her work, especially in her collaborations with her husband, Hugh Carpenter, on their many books. I could not have asked for a better Christmas gift than to find her pictures in my stocking. A special thank you to Kathleen Kennedy for her help with the food styling. And thanks also to R.S. Basso in St. Helena, California, for loaning us props and accessories for the photos; and to Food for Thought Bakery in Santa Rosa, California, for allowing us to use their beautiful loaves for our cover shot.

As always, thanks to my superb agent, Pam Bernstein, and her wonderful assistant Donna Downing, for protecting me and freeing me to focus on my writing.

Finally, to the many bread revolutionaries who have fanned the flames that make a book like this possible: to Tom McMahon and Greg Mistell of the Bread Bakers Guild of America for creating, fostering, and training a network of committed bread fanatics and devotees; to Craig Ponsford and Didier Rosada for developing their world championship formulas and allowing me to modify them for home use; to Flo Braker, Marion Cunningham, Fran Gage, and other members of the Bakers Dozen in San Francisco for their ongoing support; to Christ the Saviour Brotherhood for my spiritual formation, the real genesis of this book; to Phyllis Reinhart and Connie Thayer for their undying love and support; to Ron and Lorene Colvin of Brother Junipers Bakery in Santa Rosa for liberating me to move on to the next stage of my career; and to all the bold and adventurous bakers who have opened neighborhood bread bakeries and committed themselves to this noble craft, the grueling hours, and the awakening of the American public to the realm of the possible. This book is dedicated to each of you.

The revolution of crust and crumb is close to being won, but we are now in an important, though less-dramatic phase than the ferment of the past few years. Franchises and multilocation operations, upgraded supermarket bakeries, improved training and apprentice programs, and the publics hunger for real bread are all signs of victory, but new bakeries are now replicating the breakthroughs already made by others. Home bakers and bread enthusiasts who have fueled this renaissance have high expectations that are actually being met on all fronts. New artisan-quality bakeries, whether independent or franchises, are appearing almost daily in cities and small communities throughout the country. At the same time, exciting new books, tools, and ingredients continue to become available to enhance our skills.

This section offers a small list of resources to help you achieve your baking goals. It is impossible to keep up with the constant growth in the bread world, so there may be unavoidable omissions, but there is enough here to get you started. With these leads, my hope is that the next wave in the bread revolution will find us well-armed and prepared to lead and inspire future generations. When it is the children who lead the charge, then we can say that the bread revolution has truly been won.

Happy baking!

The Book of Bread by Jerome Assire (New York: Abbeville [distributing for Flammarion], 1996)

Probably the most beautiful bread book ever published. Translated from the French edition, this is not a recipe book, but it is lush with pictures, profiles, and bread history that illustrate the central role of bread in all societies.

Bread: A Bakers Book of Techniques and Recipes by Jeffrey Hamelman (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2004)

An excellent compilation of sound baking science, classic formulas that make beautiful breads, and the voice of an authentic American baking master.

Bread Alone by Daniel Leader and Judith Blahnik (New York: Morrow, 1993)

One of the best bread books, primarily because of Daniels easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions. The side stories recounting his quest for quality are very informative and inspirational.

Breads from the La Brea Bakery by Nancy Silverton (New York: Villard, 1996)

Nancy is the unchallenged queen of breads in Los Angeles and around the country. This book conveys her philosophy, commitment to details, and wonderful, complex recipes.

Special and Decorative Breads Volume I by Roland Bilheux, Alain Escoffier, Daniel Herv, and Jean-Marie Pouradier (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1987)

Special and Decorative Breads Volume II by Alain Couet and Eric Kayser (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1987)

I cant decide which book I like better. Both cover similiar ground in slightly different ways, and both are spectacular, illustrating with great photography the full range of techniques for making every kind of European bread, as well as how to make bread sculptures and artistic showpieces. Every time these books get reprinted, the price goes up ($65 each, as of 1997), but whatever the price, these are must-haves.

The Village Baker by Joe Ortiz (Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 1993)

This is the book that really explained traditional European methods to a new generation of bakers. Joes passion, synthesis of information, and storytelling are wonderful.

Amys Bread by Amy Scherber and Toy Kim Dupree (New York: Morrow, 1996)

Wonderful recipes and easy-to-follow techniques from one of New York Citys most popular bakeries.

Artisan Baking Across America (2000) and A Blessing of Bread (2004) both by Maggie Glezer (New York: Artisan)

One of our best writers on bread has written two beautiful and useful books. The first tells the stories of some of the bakers who helped forge the American bread renaissance, and the more recent book is a personal exploration of traditional celebration breads, especially challah. Both books have wonderful recipes.

Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan (New York: Morrow, 1996)