The Italian Baker Redux?
Ok, so i've heard of this book since i began baking a few years ago, and i see that there is an updated version. Anyone have any first hand knowledge and comparisons with the original? If i recall correctly (based entirely on reading about it, i have never seen the book), the original contained unnecessary amounts of yeast, as well as being entirely volume based, so just curious as to whether or not it has been changed in any way, perhaps to relfect our greater awareness of technique. Basically, does it contain the same recipes, is it the same book with simply new photos, or is it just updating what is sometimes regarded as a classic, or all, or none?
And i'd also be curious to know how the non-bread recipes are, because i like my sweets. Plus, I know how to make good bread at this point, i'm looking to expand my repertoire...
Some may be of interest to you. Type Italian baker in the Search box at the upper left of the window to get a comprehensive list of all posts that mention the book. Paul
It is essentially the same book.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/23866/italian-baker-revised
One good way to see an actual recipe is to go to Amazon, find the book, and "look inside"
I'd heard this mostly about the book "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day", rather than about the book "The Italian Baker". My own experience with a very old version of "The Italian Baker" is that the yeast amounts are fairly reasonable.
Even in the old version, weights (in grams) were listed (in parentheses following the volumetric measures) for everything except the liquids (where it doesn't really matter). It appears from the Amazon "look inside" now in the revised version even the liquids are given weight measurements.
My impressions are the recipes are 99% the same, and the pictures aren't drastically different either. It's worth getting the new revision rather than the old, but don't expect it to be dramatically different.