"A bread baker, like any true artisan or craftsman, must have the power to control outcomes," says Peter Reinhart, author of The Bread Baker's Apprentice. "Mastery comes with practice." As in many arts, you must know and understand the rules before you can break them. Reinhart encourages you to learn the science of bread making, but to never forget that vision and experimentation, not formulas, make transcendent loaves. The Bread Baker's Apprentice is broken into three sections. The first is an amusing tale of Reinhart's visit to France and his discovery of pain à l'ancienne, a cold-fermented baguette. The second section comprises a tutorial of bread-making basics and Reinhart's "Twelve Stages of Bread." And finally, the recipes: Ciabatta, Pane Siciliano, Potato Rosemary Bread, New York Deli Rye, Kaiser Rolls, and Brioche, to name a few. All recipes include bread profiles and ingredient percentages. Reimagined for modern bakers, these mouthwatering classic recipes are bound to inspire. --Dana Van Nest

Co-founder of the legendary Brother Juniper’s Bakery in Sonoma, California, author of the landmark books Brother Juniper’s Bread Book and Crust & Crumb, and distinguished instructor at the world’s largest culinary school, Peter Reinhart has been a leader in America’s artisanal bread movement for over fifteen years. Never one to be content with yesterday’s baking triumph, however, Peter continues to refine his recipes and techniques in his never-ending quest for perfect bread. In THE BREAD BAKER’S APPRENTICE, Peter shares his latest bread breakthroughs, arising from his recent pilgrimage to study in several of France’s famed boulangeries and the always-enlightening time spent in the culinary academy kitchen with his students. First you’ll peer over Peter’s shoulder as he learns from Paris’s most esteemed bakers, people like the brothers Poilâne and Phillippe Gosselin, whose pain ancienne has revolutionized the art of baguette making. Peter then walks readers through the twelve steps of building great bread, his clear instructions accompanied by over 100 step-by-step photographs. Then it’s on to over 50 new master formulas for such classic breads as rustic, chewy ciabatta, hearty pain de campagna, old-school New York bagels, and the book’s Holy Grail—Peter’s version of the famed pain ancienne. En route, Peter distills hard science, advanced techniques, and food history down into a remarkably accessible and engaging resource that is as rich and multitextured as the loaves you’ll turn out. This is original food writing at it most captivating, teaching at its most inspired and inspiring—and the rewards are some of the best breads under the sun.

This book is very informative for beginning or intermediate bread bakers. It has photos showing the techniques they describe. There is a good variety of recipes including english muffins, stollen, rustic breads, slicing/sandwhich breads, etc. The recipes are fool proof if you follow the directions and do your reading on techniques if unfamiliar.

My only complaint is that there is a lot of 'fluff'-or not recipe/baking related stuff in the beginning. Stories about himself and travels. It is worth getting though, but if you want all recipe and nothing else maybe look else where. I personally like the lengthy description of the breads, photos, and the organization/layout of this book.

I read posts from people here on Amazon and many of the bread blogs most of which sung the praises for the author and this book. I had been working on making bread and pizza since Christmas 07 without much luck. I would get the occassional good bread/pizza but I had no consistency and the results were always dull. I got this book for Christmas 08 and it's Jan 3rd. I've already made 4 pizzas that way out classed my previous attempts all thanks to the author's techniques and the new found understanding of fermenting vs levening (rising) that this book talks about. My wife HATES the book because she just wants to follow recipies. I love it because he goes into the why in great detail, not just the how.

You won't be sorry with this book.

Very in depth and informative. I loved it.
You can learn anything you want about good bread making from this book.

The bread recipes, or "formulas," as Reinhart calls them, are very good and sophisticated. Having made quite a few of these recipes, my concern is that they are not practical if you are trying to bake regularly to produce bread for yourself or your family. Reinhart focuses heavily on a delayed fermentation method that requires your starters and doughs to sit in the fridge for about a day to further develop the flavor before final rises. I am sure that this does improve the flavor of the bread. However, the downside is that baking your loaves, an already time consuming process with rise times, takes at least two days, sometimes three. This book is wonderful if you want to make exquisite occasional breads, and it does a fantastic job of explaining the science and math behind bread. However, if you are just starting out or if you are looking for recipes that will fit into your life more, I would recommend another book.

This is a great book. If you are interested in bread this is a must have. I read it and have found my new favorite bread the recipe on 191! Now I can make bread easily and it tastes like it is from the local bakery! Each formula is easy to understand, the stories and descriptions are captivating! The author does a wonderful job explain the bread making process.