Peter Reinhart at Omnivore Books in San Francisco

I got to meet Peter today at a book signing at Omnivore Books in San Francisco. The place was packed--standing room only, people taking notes, pictures, asking questions, and somewhat in awe of the master. Peter talked a fair amount about his upcoming book, Artisan Breads Fast, i.e., how his new book further refined and simplified techniques (e.g., delayed fermentation) from BBA and WGB. He noted that artisan bread wasn't "fast" in the sense of "quick" but in new techniques that require less labor from the home baker and, at the same time, allow great flexibility in timing, e.g., how one batch of dough yielding several loaves could be held and baked over the course of four days. I can say from first hand experience that Artisan Breads Fast is really cutting edge technology.

--Pamela