New book by Michael Kalanty

"Modern Breads/Wild Yeast" is the next book in Kalanty's "How To Bake Bread" series. I got mine on Amazon and I guess it was pretty new because there weren't any reviews as yet.

Like his first book, he has does set by step in making Pain au Levain. There are about 70 pages cover from how to make the Levain to baking and cooling the bread. This time there are color photos of each technique.

The collection of recipes is not extensive, but each one builds on the Pain au Levain technique. The modern flavor profiles sound interesting. I've made the Rosemary Raisin which got completely eaten when I served it with the roasted chicken.The Grits and Goat Cheese Porridge bread is creamy and tender with a thin, crackly crust. We taste that for breakfast.

The book starts with an up-to-date view on wild yeast starters, making one, keeping it, and then how to use it. You can tell he's been a bread instructor for a long time. His Q&A section are filled with questions his students actually ask.

I recommend this book as an intro to baking with starters and for refreshing your understanding of how these starters brings flavor and health benefits to breads and not just leavening them.