About book Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals Of Artisan Bread And Pizza (2012)
I've sampled the overnight white bread made by others several times and had great results on my first attempt at pizza margarita using the overnight straight pizza dough. I followed his recipe for a sauce with San marzano tomatoes and it was amazing! I'm looking forward to trying an overnight wheat bread tomorrow. It does seem complicated at first but he does a good job breaking it down, even showing pictures of how to work the bread. I also appreciate the tips for manipulating the schedules so you can make the timelines work for you. The only problem how is that I want to make and eat bread all the time! It's empowering to be able to make such amazing food yourself with inexpensive ingredients and a few basic supplies, just by paying attention to the details. Flour Water Salt Yeast isn’t a basic bread cookbook but rather a recipe and guide book for artisan breads. I’ve been hoping for a book like this, and Ken Forkish explains and shows in detail how to make gorgeous breads. While he uses professional terminology throughout the book, probably some only familiar to fellow bakers, he writes in a way that enables bakers from any skill level to successfully recreate artisan breads at home.All his recipes use baker’s percentages (which is explained) and focuses on basic ingredients. Clear, color photographs accompany the text to show how to fold, divide, and shape the doughs, and if you’ve never actually proofed a bread dough, Forkish explains what a ‘finger test’ is.The book is sectioned into four basic parts: The Principles of Artisan Bread; Basic Bread Recipes; Levain Bread Recipes; and Pizza Recipes. I enjoyed the ‘lagniappe’ at the end, his own Oregon Hazelnut Butter Cookies recipe. You’ll find familiar breads using store-bough basic instant yeast, long fermented (straight) doughs, doughs using pre-ferments, breads using levain cultures (no commercial yeast), and hybrid leavening (combo levain breads with additional yeast).Forkish’s essay on ‘Where Does Our Flour Come From?’ sheds light on exactly where flour for his bread comes from and he follows the farm where he gets his flour. It is nice that he shared a finished boule with the farmers that produce his flour which, as he states, brings it full circle.I loved how he started the book with his experiences of starting his bakery business from the ground up, beginning with a simple idea and completely changing career paths. He shares both his successes and the things that didn’t go according to plan. The author’s insights into the artisan bread baking business should be required reading for anyone wanting to ‘jump’ into the field. It takes long hours, dedication to the craft, and relentless marketing to make any business a success; a bakery must also produce tasty fare. Ken Forkish accomplishes that with his bakery in Portland, OR, and authentic recipes with Flour Water Salt Yeast.This review was published on my pastry blog.
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Great recipes - the dutch oven technique has changed the way I make bread (for the better)!
—Danika
