Bien Cuit: The Art of Bread

Amazing Bread Book in an art book format. I have been baking since the 70's and know bread. I've taught a lot of people to bake bread and think this is just as good for beginners as experienced bakers. This is in my top 3 bread books and it's because of the content, the recipes. The art format is also stunning. I love the black glossy edges of this book. The style of the book is unique and beautiful. The recipes are just as unique and the presentation is beautiful. Buy it for the serious bread recipes. They are new, fresh and show an in depth knowledge of the world of bread. Buy it for the beauty. If you like to actually read cookbooks you'll find this book a pleasure. I also like the way the pages lie flat when opened. It avoids all that hassle when following a recipe, and is highly convenient. It will also help keep your book clean. This is a serious cookbook, even though it's very pretty. The ingredients are for the most part ordinary things. Nothing looks too complex. It's what bread should be. If you're an experienced baker you'll find something in it. If you're a novice but love artisan and old world style breads you'll be able to make them using this guide. I'm thrilled with this book and have purchased two more as gifts.

this is an excellent bread book, particularly suited for an experienced bread baker. Zachary Golper provides a wealth of information as well as an array of bread recipes I haven't seen before. I have been baking bread for more than 30 years, and I have maintained my sourdough for 20. All the bread recipes are hand kneaded, And while I love the feel and texture of kneading dough, I can no longer do that. With chronic carpometacarpal joint in both my thumbs, kneading is not an option. With that in mind, I lowered the temperature of water, and used my Bosch Universal mix on low for about 3 minutes to incorporate all the ingredients. I followed this with 3 Stretch and folds at about 45 minutes intervals. As pointed out in the recipes, the hydration rates are high. For the 30% sourdough bread, I reduced the hydration from 75% to 68% . Otherwise I followed the recipe precisely. The resultant loaf was wonderfully flavorful and robust; The crumb, good sized holes; and the crust, beautifully carmelized. The addition of 25 g of buckwheat added a brilliant overtone. This excellent bread book is a treasure trove for anyone who loves the art and craft bread of baking. Follow or adapt the recipes for bien cuit!

As a professional baker in one of my earlier careers, I am always on the lookout for books that can add to my knowledge on baking and pastry. Lately, I've gotten back into the craft of bread-making as a passionate hobby. In addition to my own recipe books, I have added books from Nancy Silverton and Ken Forkish to my library. Both have their merits, but I am really excited about the Golper book. His style of writing is very economical, to the point and expresses a clear viewpoint - the darker roast, hence the title Bien Cuit. I've worked through a couple of the recipes, and his poolish and biga style starters. The book is well written and especially simple in its layout which I appreciate. There is a section in the back after the recipes on techniques with clear and simple pictures on things like fold and stretch, scoring, baking in Dutch Ovens, etc. I quite admire the beautiful look of the black pages with light type and I am not one to annotate books with writing on the page (I hate that!) - but if you are that kind of person, you will need to buy a silver ink pen or...skip this book. Which is pity because the recipes are flavorful and you will learn a great deal about making bread from it. The binding has been deliberately left exposed. I thought this was innovative especially given the subject matter and approach. My copy shipped in a cardboard box designed for the book and it can be stored in that box. Very happy with it. A new favorite!

I just received my book. It was packaged appropriately (just like every book I've ordered from Amazon). Yes, the spine is exposed. I want to bake from this book, I don't care what it looks like on my shelf. Most of the books I bake from have broken spines and are covered in flour. I'm not careless, but I buy books to use them. The recipes look interesting and the images are beautiful. I am in no way connected to the author or publisher. I buy lots of books on Amazon and rely on reviews. I understand people questioning the spine but to me it's not a problem. I will update after I bake!

I have not actually started leaning to make bread yet, so I'm not sure I should be reviewing here. I have obtained a number of books/authors that are highly spoken of and have especially collected Peter Reinhart's books - I think he's fabulous. I have the Bread Bible; Tartine Bread; Salt, Water, Yeast; and several others - but this book, this book should have been my FIRST book! Sure, it's impressive with it's wooden cover, etc., but it is a great instructional and reading book for the beginner. I'm done collecting - I have a great library - but this will be the one I begin with. I did go to the poor reviews to see the complaints and am glad I did - so I can be very careful with the binding. But given it came in it's own box, even if it falls apart, I have a place to store it safely. It sounds as though a creative and artsy idea has not been rugged enough - as for me, I didn't care. The contents of the book are all that's important. I'm a tactile person, and while I use kindle, I like to flip through a book in my hands and luxuriate over photos, be bad and fold down corners, and such. I see that experienced people have enjoyed this book, so I am glad to have it, fragile or not.

Me encantó el libro, muy bien explicado y muy buenas ilustraciones.

Ótimo livro. Receitas deliciosas. Exige uma experiência prévia na confecção de pães.

What a great cookbook. I really love Golper's approach and philosophy toward the art of bread, and to top it all off, this is a gorgeously made book that you'll want to give pride of place in your kitchen or even on a coffee table.

awesome recipes, nice wabi sabi layout

Stunningly presented book with a wide variety of breads, good instructions and gorgeous images. That said, this is not a book for those who are looking for quick and easy bakes. The simple loaf is a three day process, start making the starter on a Friday evening and the bread is ready to eat on Sunday evening or Monday morning. The breads I have tried have all been great tasting, fantastic texture and look great and while don't require much input it takes a lot of time. The instructions are mostly good and explanatory with clear photos of the process leaving you guessing very little as to what you are meant to do. The recipes are straight forward but do get better once you have tried them a few times learning the best consistencies of the breads but generally stickier is better. This could have been better with a few more basic recipes as for example there's a number of scones recipes but not a single plain one. It is also worth knowing that you need a pizza stone, a skillet and a dutch oven (large cast iron casserole to us Brits) to be able to do most of these recipes. All in all it is a good book and may be the perfect addition to your library with a good range of recipes and techniques.