Richard Bertinet - Crumb: Show the dough whos boss

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Bread. A staple of the human diet for centuries. The foundation of any good meal. Eaten and enjoyed the world over. How is it then that really good bread is something very hard to find?

In this book, my friend Richard Bertinet, chef and baker extraordinaire, reveals the secrets of making bread to be proud of. There are recipes galore together with hints and tips to aid your breadmaking and clear pictures showing exactly what each stage should look like.

Over time, Richard has taught me so much about making decent bread. Now, Richards unique insight into the world of bread, formed from years of experience both of making, and in teaching people to make bread, is set down here for you too. His advice is a revelation from someone whose passion for breadmaking is unrivalled. Instead of the expected ingredients and utensils, Richard begins by saying that what is needed to make bread are your hands, your instincts and patience and not to look at the dough but to feel how it responds. Richards respect for his art and his desire to dispel the myths surrounding breadmaking is evident in his advice, which is down-to-earth, practical and invaluable to anyone who wants to bake amazing bread.

Throughout Crumb, Richard takes you on a fascinating journey through the history, science and methodology of breadmaking, culminating in a comprehensive collection of recipes from the traditional to the modern and for every occasion.

If you only have one book about how to make bread, this really should be it. Mind you, one word of warning! Leafing through the book will make you hungry so get baking!

Nathan Outlaw

Great bread is all about the quality of the dough, the crust and the crumb the appearance and texture that epitomises a particular style of loaf. When I published my first book, Dough, in 2005, I just wanted to demonstrate the fun and satisfaction of combining flour, yeast, water and a little salt into a simple, silky and responsive dough, and to share my particular technique of working it, which is different from the more traditional English method of kneading and knocking back.

My second book, Crust, aimed to take the journey a stage further, with slightly more complex doughs and techniques, focusing on the role that a fantastic crust plays in the enjoyment of many styles of bread.

In the decade since then, there has been an explosion of baking books and blogs, new ideas and different techniques. At the beginning of classes, to break the ice, I always ask my students to talk about their experiences of buying and eating bread and why they want to make it themselves. Invariably newcomers to baking say they want to eat clean bread, free from additives, or they hope that baking will be a therapeutic, relaxing escape from everyday stresses. Above all, they want to learn how to make sourdough, which has become the holy grail of all bread. Then there are those who have just been given a voucher for one of my classes as a birthday present, and have no idea what they are letting themselves in for! But of those who have either had a couple of goes at making bread or have been baking for years, once we get talking, what people tell me they most want to achieve, but often struggle with, is bread with a beautifully light crumb.

No one ever says: Id love to make a loaf that is really heavy and dense! When I ask them to describe their results so far, they frequently say that the texture of their bread is too tight, too doughy or grey-looking. And when this happens repeatedly and they dont know why, it is easy to lose confidence and become disheartened.

So this new book is all about texture. The breads I have included all have a different character and their crumb varies from open and airy to more compact, but even a 100 per cent rye sourdough that is meant to be dense should not be tight and dry. I will introduce you to some simple ), and I have adapted many of the recipes to work easily in a food mixer. But I want to begin, as I always do in classes, by introducing you to the way I mix and work the dough by hand in order to really feel how magical it is when the dough comes alive. It is only when you understand the whole process that you can become comfortable with using a mixer, and it is only when you have mastered a simple dough that you can have the confidence to move on to more complex ferments and sourdoughs.

Your three most important tools are free: your hands, your instincts and patience. The key to great bread with a fantastic crumb is learning to touch, feel and handle the dough with confidence. I encourage people to start off by not even looking at the dough when they are working it, but to study a picture on the wall or to gaze out of the window, to look anywhere but at the dough itself, so they focus on really feeling the way it is responding. One of my most special moments was teaching a tiny girl who was almost blind to make bread. It was unbelievable how brilliant she was, because her hands became her eyes. She grasped the technique and just allowed the magic to begin.

Once you master my technique you will find that the dough is very responsive and forgiving. When you are making bread using yeast, you are harnessing something reactive that grows, changes and responds to the conditions in which it finds itself. The more you bake the more you will discover that your dough behaves a little differently according to the weather and temperature. In the summer, if it is very hot and dry in the kitchen, the dough might need a little more cold water, and because it will want to grow more quickly it may need shorter resting and proving times. In winter your dough might need a little less water, which can be a little warmer, and it can take longer to increase in size while resting and proving. So trust your instincts, and think logically: if your body is cold you put on a jumper, have a warm drink and try to keep your room cosy, and if you are too hot you do the opposite think of looking after the dough in a similar way and the more you bake the more you will find yourself making those kinds of small adjustments automatically.