Advanced Bread and Pastry - Received
"Advanced Bread and Pastry, A Professional Approach" by Michael Suas
I received the book this week.
They are not kidding about the word "Advanced". If you want to use this book you very much need to have some baking background (probably more than i have), and you must read the sections on techniques before doing any of the recipes.
I haven't read enough to comment extensively, but I will give a couple of examples:
There is a recipe for San Francisco Sourdough Bread on Page 201. The mixing instruction say "Improved mix (medium consistency)". That's it except for giving the DDT of 75-78 F (I think that DDT means Desired Dough Temperature). I assume that Improved Mix is defined somewhere in the techniques sections.
The same recipe has a Levain Formula that calls for "Starter (stiff)". I have looked through the book and through the indexes (there is a Glossary, a Formula Index and a Subject Index) in the back, I can't find where Stiff Starter is defined. I am thinking it means 50% hydration.
The book has lots in it. It is over 1000 pages.
Part One has a chapter is on the history of bread and a small section on bread baking today. The second chapter is on food safety and sanitation in the bakery.
Part Two has 5 chapters on bread baking techniques and a chapter on formulas (recipes).
Part Three is about Viennoiserie.
Part Four, is over half of the book and covers pastries, with 13 different chapters.
There are appendices on Conversions, Bakers Percentages, and Temperature Conversion.
It is a very serious book, written for the serious baker.
Colin
Please keep us posted as you venture on your journey through this treat. I'm seriously interested in learning via your adventures.
This book is beyond my level. I am going to keep at it, but I don't know how much I will be posting.
Colin
The only place I've really seen the tem "improved method" is the "Taste of Bread". There it means mixing with autolyse.
Colin,
It sounds like you have been fair in your evaluation. The needs of even quality bakers are different when you get to doing production unfortunately. Your SF Sourdough looks good.
I would like to see the formula if you don't mind. There are many variations of that recipe by as many bakeries. In the end I suspect that time and temperature are the important differences and of course selecting the right flour.
Eric
The pictures in the preceding post are the crust and crumb from the San Francisco Sourdough recipe in the Advanced Bread book. I must have guessed right about the Stiff Starter because it worked pretty well. I started it Friday night and finished it (after an overnight retardation) Sunday morning.
Colin
"Is it really good?"
but I have been so busy today, including eating out both lunch and dinner, that I only had time to eat a small portion.
The recipe called for the final proofing to be for 12-16 hours at 48 degrees. That temperature is not one of my choices, so i left it in the refrigerator overnight, and then pulled it out to room temperature 3 hours before baking.
Colin
and it was good. It did not have the strong sourdough flavor I was looking for, but it is very good bread. I don't know if that was because the proofing temperature of 48 degrees was something I could not provide, or some other reason.
The author of this book was not writing for home bakers. His target audience is professional bakers and baking schools. He is quite clear about that at the beginning of the book.
Colin
Hi, Colin.
Those breads look delicious, both crust and crumb!
I'd ask for the recipe, but my copy of the book should arrive early next week.
David
Has someone else read the Advanced Bread and Pastry book by Michel Suas? If yes, what do you think about it?
I'd be most interested in the "Bread" section of the book, and I'm currently wondering if I need another one of these books, as I already have a well-worn copy of Hamelman's "Bread". Could you give me an idea on how these two books compare when it comes to breadbaking?
Thanks in advance :)
Hans Joakim.
It's the best bread book in my collection... and I've read it cover to cover.
SteveB
www.breadcetera.com
It's not necessarily my best bread book but it definitely ranks high. The bread formulas I've tried produce excellent bread once you get used to the book format.
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