The Best Bread Ever

[CyberDiva]

I picked up a cookbook named "The Best Bread Ever." I was curious -- can it REALLY be the BEST?? Julia Child's french bread, Mark Patent's whole wheat bread, the Fleishmann's Yeast honey wheat bread -- those are really good. How does this book live up to it's title? The bread is yummy (isn't just about all homemade bread?), and has that crisp crust and fluffy inside that I love. That is really great considering I use a buillt-in oven from 1968. The book emphasizes precise measurement of the flour, careful monitoring of temperatures (water, flour, dough), uses the food processor to quickly knead the bread, and s-l-o-w, cool rising. There's no sugar in the basic bread recipe, so the yeast is gently awakened by the interaction with the flour. The author carefully explains each process.

So what makes this book great? The combination of techniques plus simplicity -- back to the basics of breadmaking. Is it the BEST? Well that is up to each reader and cook.

Post Script: My daughter, a 20 year old total bread novice liked the loaf I made so much that she decided to make another the next night. She thought the cookbook was great.

[momcook]

I'm not sure this is "the best", but, I love collecting bread books, and I know that this can be a hard book to find, and is considered one of the better gems on making bread in the food processor. It is a novelty, at least, and I like having it in my collection. When I found my copy a few years ago, the prices were sky-high, and I felt very lucky to get one at a reasonable price.