The authenticity of the bread coupled with the recipes for pizza, focaccia, and Italian tarts, cakes and cookies make this a book a must for anybody interested in Italian baking. Aug The Italian Baker — Carol Field. Therefore, I became accustomed to being able to pick up a fresh loaf of delicious Italian bread in minutes. Drive an hour to Arthur Avenue and an hour back just for a loaf of bread? I still make an occasional trip to Arthur Avenue to eat at one of the restaurants or pick up sopressata, cheese, etc.
Get used to the hot dog buns supermarkets try to pass off as Italian bread? There was only one solution left, learn how to bake my own bread. Food Advertisements by. Preheat the oven to degrees. Using baking stones, if possible turn on oven 30 minutes before baking and place the baking pans directly on the preheated stones. Bake the schiacciata minutes. Serve hot.
View 2 comments. Apr 13, Drew rated it it was amazing. During the last few years of my father's life, he became highly whimsical - buying many things he did not need. He'd then gift many things to me, my brother and my sister. Among the better items he gave me was a signed copy of this baking book. Traditional pizzas and bread were emerging onto the food scene in the Bay Area, and Field's book is the best entry into making traditional bread at home with the aid of a baking stone.
There are great things about making ANY kind of bread at home, but if During the last few years of my father's life, he became highly whimsical - buying many things he did not need. There are great things about making ANY kind of bread at home, but if you are a beginner or even an intermediate or advanced baker, you know that there is nothing you can do to recreate the crusty loaves one gets at the local bakery.
The ovens just work far too differently from our home ovens. Jul 19, Elizabeth rated it it was amazing Shelves: cookbooks , bread-books. The section on rustic breads is worth the price of the book. On each recipe, there are instructions for preparing by hand, by food processor and by mixer. Field travelled all over Italy, visiting bakers to learn recipes and then translated them into North American flour types.
I have used my copy of this so many times that the spine has broken. I'd replace it except then I'd have to transfer all my notes. One of the best lessons I learned from reading "The Italian Baker" is to add a small amount o The section on rustic breads is worth the price of the book. One of the best lessons I learned from reading "The Italian Baker" is to add a small amount of whole wheat flour to white flour in order to mimic hand-milled flour.
For loaves that are look to be made with only white flour, this adds just the right trace of nuttiness and a depth of flavour that is missing with just white flour. I wish I had bought the print edition, instead of the Kindle edition, of The Italian Baker because I need to constantly flip sections for more complete instructions when baking from it.
This inconvenience will stop as I become more familiar with Field's methods. I enjoyed reading all of the histories and background information about bread, desserts and ingredients, but I am having problems recreating the doughs as described. My bread dough is never as wet as Field's, but the bread is amazing. Th I wish I had bought the print edition, instead of the Kindle edition, of The Italian Baker because I need to constantly flip sections for more complete instructions when baking from it.
The Italian bread is better than any I have ever purchased from Italian bakeries. The rosemary bread is exquisite and we gobbled it up with our black bean chili. I tried using our own wicker baskets for bannetons, as Field suggested and because these bread forms are so expensive , but I never got a pleasant pattern on the crust. I finally found a cheaper source for bannetons and will be using them for the first time this weekend.
Once I am used to the "workflow" for these loaves, the breadmaking will be shorter and less messy than it is now.
Learning all this is loads of fun and, for me, deeply satisfying. I have marked many breads, tarts and pizzas that I want to make. Even some cookies, which I usually find frustrating and tedious. If you bake bread, you need to have this book.
Go order it now. Mar 21, Catherine rated it it was amazing. I am not much more than an amateur home baker but I have been improving my skills during the pandemic.
Lots of baking books have been checked out from the Dallas library. When I ran across the recipe for pugliese bread in this book, I wonder if I would no longer be afraid of making this bread. I have gotten better at working with yeast after I decided I needed to move beyond quick breads banana, pumpkin, squash, zucchini. The first I am not much more than an amateur home baker but I have been improving my skills during the pandemic. The first time I had looked for a recipe on-line for this bread, I felt intimidated.
Once, I saw the recipe in this book, I realized I was ready. Success with the pugliese and a decent ciabatta too.
I have a few more recipes to try. I found a couple of rye bread recipes and cornetti sweet and savory. Happy to have found this book.
Libraries are our friend. Jul 03, Camille rated it it was amazing. I have Carol's latest revised edition of this book. Anyone who loves to bake as much as I do will not only enjoy this book, but pick up some great tips for making Italian style breads and pastries. The introductory sections of the book are inviting and interesting in explaining the process Carol used to collect the recipes in Italy and then test them out.
Her descriptions of ingredients and equivalents is very illuminating. The recipes themselves are calling to me. I'd been searching for a recip I have Carol's latest revised edition of this book. I'd been searching for a recipe for "Saronno" style ameretto cookies for ages and found the perfect recipe in Carol Field's book. They are delicious and taste amazingly authentic. I received the book as a birthday gift and I'm working my way through it one recipe at a time!
Just finished reading through all the aromatic pages of this one. Beautifully written with a lot of original ideas considering it was pubished in but I was specifically looking for doughs made with poolish starters. But, NO. Not a word or mention of it. But, for pain, dolchi, you can't go wrong. Directions are also given for each recipe according to how you will be making it: hand; mixer; or processor.
Not sorry I bought it, I think this will be my 'go to' for many desires. Great book with terrific recipes and and interesting stories in between. There are enough "good" recipes in this book to make the purchase price justifiable. And by "good" I mean a completely subjective selection of recipes I would try. Sep 17, Rand rated it it was amazing.
Jun 24, Chuck Kollars rated it really liked it. In this groundbreaking classic? Carol Field introduces artisanal doughs and techniques used by generations of Italian bakers. Every city and hill town has its own unique baking traditions, and Field spent more than two years traversing Italy to capture the regional and local specialties, adapting them through rigorous testing in her own kitchen.
The Italian Baker is the only comprehensive book, in English or Italian, to cover the entire range of Italian baking, from breadsticks and cornetti to focaccia, tarts, cakes, and pastries.
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