The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book

Rating:
Summary: Changed My Life
Review: I absolutely love this book. Learning how to bake bread was one of the most satisfying things I have ever done and this book taught me everything I know. My favorite recipes so far are Buttermilk Bread and Pocket Bread. Whatever you do, give this book a try and be persistent. It is definitely worth it and once you learn the starter recipe the rest of the recipes will have a similar pattern and will come much easier. Finally, whole grain bread really is great for your health. After giving up refined flour and refined sugar foods for the most part and doing some walking, I have lost 25 pounds. And whole grain bread is really my foundation. I couldn't do it without it. And don't forget to eat your fresh baked bread with a little bit of real butter. There's nothing else quite like it.

Rating:
Summary: My breadmaking bible
Review: I bought a used copy of the first edition of this book last year and have had nothing but success with it. It is brilliant. My first loaf for learning rose as high as any white bread I've ever baked, and was far more delicious. I refer to the loaf for learning chapter even when I am making wholegrain bread using recipes from other cookbooks.

I cannot understand the review by the person who gave it one star. He/she must not have followed the loaf for learning; the instructions are so clear and precise, I cannot imagine how anyone could fail unless their yeast or flour was bad.

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Summary: THE reference for breadmaking with whole grains
Review: I have to bake bread from this book many times over the years, and I am sorry to say that it is always dissapointing. The loaves were edible but always way too dense and uninteresting. At first I didn't know any better, then I thought I was a terrible baker, and almost gave up.

Then I tried the recipes in The Tassajara Bread Book by Edward Espe Brown and made many wonderful loaves. They always work. I even went back and tried a recipe from Laurel's book, thinking that maybe I had learned something. But no, it was the same. I have made bread from other books as well, usually with great success.

I don't know what the problem is, but the breads never rise in the oven. It is as if they are so tired out and weak that they just sit there. I have seen bread jump in the oven to make a light and wonderful crust, even with 100% whole wheat, but this never happens with Laurel's recipes. In the end I am so frustrated that I have come to hate Laurel's Bread Book. I love her focus on whole grains, but the recipes never work for me.

On a technical level, her recipes are simply too vague on key points. Her descriptions of temperature are usually "cool", "warm", "very warm" rather than 60-65 degrees of something more precise. She uses a mixture of weights and volume measurements that can be confusing.

Rating:
Summary: Frustrating!
Review: I've had this book for many years, and generally only have about a 20 to 30% success rate with these recipes. I do appreciate that this is one of the rare bread cookbooks in which the recipes are truly whole-grain, but... unfortunately, the techniques just don't cut it with me. For some recipes they work, and many others they don't. I have been baking bread for 20 years, and this is the least successful book I have found. That said, I keep trying just in case one of these days, the techniques (especially the wet knead) work. Most of what I've made is edible, just only 2 inches tall. So, buy this book if you are serious about wanting to make whole-grain-only bread. The authors are caring, the book is well-written (I have the original edition) and explains much about home-milling as well as the bread-baking process; just be aware that the techniques here are a bit different.

Rating:
Summary: THE whole-grain bread book
Review: If you're committed to baking whole-grain bread, it would be hard to imagine a better book. The Laurel's Kitchen people present a wide range of recipes that, if followed carefully, will give you first-rate whole grain bread.

I'd especially recommend the book for the novice bread-baker. The introductory instructions are very detailed, helpful, and easy to follow.

I wish that the authors had emphasized slow-fermentation techniques more than they do: in my opinion, the slow-rise approach is the only way to get the best flavor out of whole-grain breads. In fact, the back of the book contains a very good collection of slow-rise techniques, but first-time users of the book aren't likely to find them.

Whole-grain bread, properly made, is the best bread there is; if you want to make it right, get this book!

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Summary: A bread book for those on carb-sensitive diets
Review: In the age of carb-conscious diets where bread has fallen out of vogue, it is difficult to find a good collection of recipes that follows the requirements of the South Beach or Atkins diets. This is especially painful for those who dearly love bread and are willing to switch to whole-grain breads in compliance with such diets. After searching for some time for such a collection, I discovered this title and purchased with high hopes. I have not been disappointed.

This book touts itself as a 100% whole-grain bread book, and it lives up to that claim. Every recipe is based on something other than white flour, usually whole wheat flour, but frequently rye and other good flours are used in primary roles. The authors explain, rightly, that whole grains are better than highly processed flours and that they set out expressly to bring the art of whole grain baking to the readership.

The book begins with a rather lengthy discussion of why the authors have elected to concentrate on whole grain breadmaking. This includes the health issue, but also the "lost art" argument as well. From this preface, they launch into a fascinating collection of recipes: whole wheat breads, rye breads, breads with beans in the dough, milk and egg breads, grain breads, fruit/nut/seed breads, small breads, sprout and potato breads, breads with no salt, breads with rice, and finally muffins and quick breads. After the recipe collection, the book includes a very unique section describing how to rescue failed breads, followed by discussion revolving around the ingredients, a short section about equipment and utilities, and finally bread machine bread making (with a small but decent selection of recipes).

I have tried several of the recipes in this book ,and they have all turned out quite well. One recipe yielded a surprise - the Oatmeal Bread recipe made a good loaf, but the loaf was actually better on the second day. Another choice recipe is the pocket bread (pita) - it makes a lot, and they turn out infinitely better than that found at the grocery store.

Each recipe is laid out in much detail, describing possible pitfalls and things for which to look. There is more detail in this recipe collection than in most, and there should be no trouble in understanding what is required for each step in every recipe.

There is one thing about this book that is not immediately apparent unless you look for it - the recipes do not call for processed sugar as a sweetener. In fact, several recipes do not require sweeteners at all but allow for them on an "as desired" basis. Those that have sweeteners included in the recipe as a required ingredient almost always call for honey, and usually in small amounts. In addition, the authors state their general distaste for processed sugars as sweeteners, which is a good thing for those on special low-carb/low sugar diets.

This book is a must for anyone who wishes to make very good whole-grain breads. It is especially useful to those who are on carb-sensitive diets and cannot bear to part with bread.

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Summary: The one true path to whole-grain baking!
Review: Most baking books treat whole-grain flour "as though it were white flour, only worse," in the words of the authors of this essential book. Their superior nutritional value aside, whole grains aren't "worse," but they do behave differently from white flour when mixing and kneading bread dough. This 100%-whole-grain book offers the kitchen wisdom that I wish I'd had in my earliest years of baking.

Long before so-called "artisanal" loaves were offered by supermakets, the authors of this fine book were engrossed in the mission of making fine whole-grain bread an attainable staff of life for just about anyone, even with a jam-packed schedule and no money for fancy kitchen equipment. (Laurel astutely notes that such people "probably need good bread more than anyone.") When I bought the first edition of this book more than twenty years ago, I was just such a person. The authors' sensible guidelines for fitting breadmaking into my overfilled work week came as a real revelation. They also helped solve a number of frustrating problems, such as, "Why is my rye dough so slimy?"

Not only can the scheduling fit any situation, the authors argue, but the essential equipment can be minimal. Thankfully I now can rely on a heavy-duty mixer with a dough hook as well as a bread machine. But assuming normal hand and arm strength, you don't absolutely need machines to knead up really good bread: For years my batterie de cuisine comprised only bowls, measuring spoons and cups, a dough cutter, cheap loaf and sheet pans, and my own two hands.

Laurel & Co. provide advice for mixing bread by hand, in a food processor, an electric mixer, and--thanks to the new chapter in this updated edition--in an automatic bread machine that kneads, proofs, and bakes. The authors' troubleshooting advice will help anyone, from first-time breadmaker to an expert, figure out what might go wrong. And when something goes blissfully right, you'll learn which factors will help you achieve similar results again and again.

I'm sorry to read reviews from Amazon readers who baked duds from this book, and hope that they'll try again, starting with "A Loaf for Learning." This detailed chapter is a blueprint to follow from which anyone can turn out high-rising, marvelously tasty, versatile loaves.

Though I have happily divided my loyalties among several books when it comes to baking with white flour, when using strictly whole grains, my loyalty is four-square behind "The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book."

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Summary: Desem
Review: The one thing that sets this book apart from all others is not the thorough instructions, or the fact that all the bread recipes use whole grains. It's the recipe for desem bread. "Recipe" doesn't adequately describe the extremely detailed instructions for making this what maybe the ultimate whole-grain, natural-yeast bread. It almost resembles a science experiment, and can be a great project for anyone who is interested in the way flour and water mixed together interacts with whatever bacteria (?) is floating in our air to create natural leavening agents.

And the results? Well, they are simply amazing. This bread literally tastes different every time it's baked - it keeps getting better and better as the desem (which is like a 'mother', a bit of dough you feed and carry on from baking to baking) matures. It's also quite a lot of work - I've let several desems die over the years due to neglect. If you are going away on holiday for some time, expect to have to start over or spend a lot of time reviving the desem (unless you can find a willing friend to pet- I mean, desem-sit for you!) Perhaps keeping a desem doesn't fit a modern lifestyle. Still I keep on starting new desems simply because the flavor is so unforgettable. In any case, get this book, enjoy the other whole-grain breads in there - and eventually, I urge you to try the desem bread.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Whole-Grain Baking Guide
Review: This excellent title will walk a determined beginner from know-nothing to fairly confidant baker. At least, it's done so for me. I do still cook up the occasional disaster as I tend to neglect the timer, set temperatures incorrectly, and forget to add water before I shove the loaves into a blistering 450 F oven. All that is not the book's fault but mine. I was trying to bake whole-grain even before I found a copy of Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book at my library, and it was discouraging! After applying what I found between the library copy's pages, my loaves went from brick to edible. Sometimes I even show them to strangers, if I'm pretty sure they have a low opinion of me already. Ha! No, seriously, if you have the determination necessary to work with whole grains, this is a great starting point.

The only thing I didn't especally like was the constant interjection of new-age-ish/enviromentalist philosophy, but the biggest concentration was somewhere in front of the book and so I just skip over those parts. For readers with those kind of leanings, that'll be an extra bonus, but I like to concentrate on the subject at hand. Anyways, they did do a SWELL job on breadmaking!...