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Great Natural Breads Made Easy
Simple Ways to Make Healthful Bread
Bernice
Hunt
Illustrated by Lauren Jarrett
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ISBN: 0-7570-0294-3
Length: 224 Pages
Size: 7.5
x 9-inch
Format: Quality Paperback
Category: Cooking
Price: $16.95
US
Availability:
In Print
Click below for:
Synopsis • Contents
Introduction • Reviews |
Synopsis
Who can resist the heady aroma and fabulous
flavor of freshly baked bread? Called the "staff of life" for good
reason, wholesome bread has been a staple since Biblical times.
Today, even though commercial breads contain more healthful natural
ingredients than they did a generation ago, they just can’t compete
with the taste and goodness of a whole-grain loaf baked in your
own oven. The problem has long been that bread-making is too difficult--or
so it seemed until now. Bernice Hunt’s Great Natural Breads Made
Easy is a simple-to-follow guide that enables anyone to make
a spectacular loaf of artisan bread--even if they’ve never baked
before.
From the classic whole-grain loaf, to the versatile
focaccia, to the humble bagel, this book tells you exactly how to
mix, knead, shape, and decorate nutritious, mouth-watering breads.
The author presents step-by-step instructions for creating perfect
muffins, scones, dinner rolls, turnovers, coffee cakes, sourdough
loaves, olive-oil-rosemary bread, potato bread, quick breads, and
even holiday breads from around the world. To further insure success,
Lauren Jarrett’s illustrations show exactly how each step is performed.
If you love bread, but have avoided making your
own because you thought the process was difficult, don’t wait to
discover the joys of Great Natural Breads Made Easy.
Bernice
Hunt, MS a prolific writer and a psychotherapist, has always
found time to indulge her love of cooking. Beginning her writing
career as an author and editor of children’s science books, she
soon honed her ability to write crystal-clear instructions. Her
very first book was about molds and yeasts--and, of course, it contained
a recipe for bread. When her three children were small, Bernice
began to bake daily, and between caring for her family and pursuing
a busy career, she found it necessary to invent shortcuts to traditional
procedures without sacrificing taste.
Bernice has written several general
cookbooks. Even though it’s easier to purchase natural, healthful
bread than it was when she began, she still prefers to bake her
own for all the pleasures it affords. She lives in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania
with her writer husband.
Contents
Acknowedgments,
Introduction
PART ONE--THE BASICS
1. The History of Bread
2. A Loaf of Bread--The Basics
PART TWO--THE RECIPES
3. Mostly White Breads
4. Whole Grain Breads
5. Sourdough Breads
6. Sweet Yeast Breads
7. Quick Breads, Biscuits, and Muffins
8. Flatbreads, Rolls, and More
9. Dips and Spreads
Index
Introduction
The title of this book promises to tell you the easiest possible way to make great bread. Let me explain.
“Easiest” means that with very few exceptions, the recipes can be completed in minimal time. None of them requires highly specialized equipment or exceptional talent. While a few basic utensils are necessary, they are all things you probably have in your kitchen anyway; there are no machines required. This is plain and simple bread-making the way your forebears did it long before you were born, and the directions are clear and direct so that you can follow them even if you are a novice.
Although the recipes are simple, the breads are not. The best bakeries feature “artisan” bread--that’s the kind I make, and you can make, too. An artisan by definition is “a skilled manual worker,” so artisan breads are those that are skillfully made by hand. The skill comes with surprisingly little experience, and once you have learned a few basics and embellished them with your own creativity, you will be able to make magnificent breads that are a joy to create, to behold, and especially, to eat.
Baking bread is a craft, a means of unlimited personal expression even though every baker follows certain age-old steps. It’s a particularly rewarding craft because in addition to the pleasure of making the bread itself, when you are done, you will have the even greater pleasure of feeding it to the people you love.
And the people you love will love your bread, and will love taking part in the baking, too. Invite your friends, your spouse, your children into the kitchen. Give any kid, of any age, a lump of dough to knead and form into a loaf of bread, and you will all have a grand time. Guaranteed!
So get ready to bake bread--after brushing up on a bit of history in the opening chapter. All you really need to begin is some flour, and water, and yeast. As soon you mix them together, you will be creating a kind of magic by connecting to the continuous chain of civilization and culture that began in the mists of the past, long, long before any history had ever been recorded.
Reviews
to come
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