Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor

by Peter Reinhart, Ron Manville (Photographer)

In this follow-up to his award-winning book The Bread Baker’s Apprentice , Peter Reinhart offers groundbreaking methods for baking whole grain breads that taste better than any you’ve ever had.

We know whole grain breads are better for us, but will we actually eat them, much less take time to bake them?

Yes, says beloved baking instructor Peter Reinhart, but only if they are very, very good. So Reinhart, with his decades of experience crafting amazing artisanal breads, has made it his mission to create whole grain breads that are nothing short of incredible.

And because his approach is also simpler and less labor intensive than conventional techniques, you’ll choose to make and eat these breads. His fifty-five recipes for whole grain sandwich, hearth, and specialty breads, plus bagels, crackers, and more, incorporate widely available whole wheat flour as well as other flours and grains such as rye, barley, steel-cut oats, cornmeal, and quinoa. Each is so rich with flavor and satisfying texture that white-flour counterparts pale in comparison.

Written in Reinhart’s famously clear style and accompanied by inspiring photographs, these recipes were perfected with the help of nearly 350 testers. Introductory chapters provide a tutorial, with step-by-step photographs, of the delayed fermentation method that is at the heart of these recipes, as well as a crash course in baking science, discussions of grains other than wheat, and more. Advanced bakers will relish Reinhart’s innovative techniques and exacting scientific explanations, and beginning bakers will rejoice in the ease of baking wholesome breads with such extraordinary flavor.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Reference, Food and Drink, Culinary

320 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2007

About the author

Peter Reinhart is a master baker, educator, and award-winning author, renowned for his deep exploration of bread and pizza. His books, including The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza, and Bread Revolution, have redefined the way people think about baking. With multiple James Beard Awards under his belt, he is considered one of the most influential voices in the world of bread and artisan baking.
A passionate teacher, Peter serves as a Chef on Assignment at Johnson & Wales University, where he shares his expertise with aspiring bakers. He has also worked as a consultant for major food brands, helped develop innovative baking techniques, and even delivered a TED Talk on the transformative power of bread.
His lifelong quest for the perfect pizza led him on a journey across the U.S. and Italy, documented in American Pie, and continues through Pizza Quest, a blog where he explores the art and craft of pizza-making.
Peter’s work goes beyond recipes—he delves into the history, science, and philosophy of baking, believing that bread is not just food but a metaphor for transformation and discovery. Whether you’re a home baker, a professional, or just someone who loves a good loaf, his books offer inspiration, technique, and a deep appreciation for the magic of fermentation.

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’ve ever tried to make a whole grain loaf of bread and ended up with a leaden, dense doorstop, this book is for you. Is there too much exposition initially about the different methods he tried over the years and who helped him and blah blah blah? Yes. But once you finally get to the recipes, they WORK. And he has an incredibly diverse collection of whole grain loaves to make. Highly, highly recommended.

[Greta Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite breads are all in there! The recipes are detailed and often takes several days to complete - which is all right. This will be a book that will change the way I make bread - for the better.

[Katie Jacoby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential. All of his cookbooks are superb.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book on whole grain bread baking that I have read. Ever. For more than one reason. He explains his method of delayed fermentation as a way to the best taste and texture for whole grain loaves. But from my studies, it is also the best for nutritional reasons as well. Whole grains should always be soaked for 7 hours or more to activate enzymes and deactivate enzyme inhibitors and phytates present in all seeds - these enzyme inhibitors and phytates, if not deactivated, cause problems in digestion and prevent absorption of minerals and other nutrients. We have for the most part lost the traditional methods of grain preparation in favor of fast, cheap and efficient. Peter Reinhart has written an excellent guide in using delayed fermentation and pre-ferments to produce not only great bread, but superior nutrition and digestibility.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I was to choose a book that taught me more about bread-making than any other, it would have to be this one. It insisted, it seemed to me, to begin with a wild yeast starter which I did, and kept going for over a year. The starter forced me to prepare bread at least once a week over that period and as a result, I became knowledgeable about textures and stages of readiness that over the many previous years of preparing breads I had never really understood, nor mastered.

But I grew fat over that year of eating through all that bread, and I grew tired of the sameness of the flavors--perhaps because I chose the ones that had the flours I could easily use up in coming weeks. But as a school for learning, I would choose this one.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a sneaking suspicion that Peter Reinhart's method is too complex, at least for lazy old me, and I'm sure if I do incorporate his techniques into my baking in the long term that I'll be simplifying and paring them down. But still: some of the best whole-wheat bread I've ever baked has come from the recipes in this book. I recommend it to anyone who really wants to learn more about the potential of whole grains to make a rich, complex artisan loaf.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beginning is a very good and readable introductions to wheat, enzymes, and how bread ferments, develops taste, and rises. I've made the master recipe with a biga twice to good results. It's definitely whole wheat bread that tastes like whole wheat, but my 18 month old scarfs it down happily.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am sorry to have to do this, but I actually expect recipe instructions to work.
I also think a book names "Whole Grain Breads" not to include recipes that add white flour to change the end product.

I have tried a few recipes and while a complex process, most work. Oat Broom Bread make oatmeal. Mushy, Slushy and not very dough like.

A soaker composed of 1 and 1/3 cups flour and 3/4 cup of water -plus 2 tablespoons is slop. The instruction to "form it into a ball" is like telling someone to make car tires out of marshmallows.

The Biga is little better. 1 3/4 cup of flour and 3/4 cup of water is pretty much the same.

There is something seriously wrong...at least in the electronic version

As to the Electronic version. It would be nice to be able to copy, paste and print the recipe while I work, but apparently they are more worried about theft than my ability to have the recipe with me in my Kitchen.

This is an interesting and scientific look at baking, but I would expect the results to be at least as good as any recipe I pull off a food site.

My latest abortion is cooling on the counter in my kitchen as I type. I have thrown this "recipe" out.

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book, but ultimately Reinhart's approach to baking is so different from mine that I don't know how much I'll use from it. He honestly seems to be overthinking it by half when it comes to a standard hearth loaf. I am curious to try some of the other recipes, though, especially for European traditional breads. I do appreciate his scientific approach, if only for the fact that I always learn a lot from reading his books, just more factual knowledge than practical. His attachment to enriched breads is also sort of mysterious to me—maybe he feels like it makes his work more accessible to people who are more used to enriched bread?—because to me part of the benefit of baking with more whole grains is that it's flavorful enough that it needs no enrichment. But maybe I should try making some whole grain brioche before I cast judgment.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aside from actually helping you bake a loaf of edible whole wheat bread, you can mess up a little and the bread still turns out wonderful. A couple of tips: read his chapters on the chemistry of bread baking and take your time on the first few loaves. It seems complicated at first, but it really isn’t.

[Linda Beech · Rating 2 out of 5]

I borrowed this book from the library in my quest to improve my multigrain bread. It turned out to be more like a food science textbook than a cookbook with a very complex three-part mixing technique. It was much more extreme than I was looking for, especially since the author’s focus was mostly on improving the flavor of whole-grain breads, while I was most interested in improving loaf texture and appearance. This book may be helpful to others, but it was too much for me.

[Layne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of the book was filled with great information and the science behind whole wheat bread making. The last half was recipes. I picked out a half dozen to start with and I’m looking forward to the results.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked reading about the history of the author’s invention of the technique. I’ve tried a couple recipes and haven’t noticed a super big difference in sweetness from the method. I learned about some bread chemistry.

[Blanca Madrigal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of reading before getting to the recipes but it helps one understand better the 'personality' of bread. My go to recipes for bread at home.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author's tips & tricks are more interesting to me than his full recipes, as with previous volumes of his I've read. Wanna try the thing with rosemary/potato water soaker.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Specific directions and lots of detail. Made a loaf and it was easy, not because I'm a great bread baker, but because the book is so good.

[Arthur Thomas]

What a taste worthy book. 🤓

[Jaide · Rating 4 out of 5]

My family and I refer to this as “The Bread Bible”. We also now make stolen (German Christmas bread) every Christmas.

[Amy]

Read but not baked from (yet). Will require rereading!

[Dianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have barely scratched the surface after trying two recipes—but those two loaves have been some of the best whole-grain breads I've ever made. Looking forward to getting much use from this book.

[Ccsears · Rating 4 out of 5]

I prefer whole grain breads so this one was excellent; however, not so easy for a beginner.

[Arlene S]

Very detailed, and ( as the titles says) geared almost exclusively toward whole grains. Not for beginners?

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gluten does not actually exist in wheat, buckwheat is not a grain, and wild rice is not a rice. I learned a lot from this book even though I am not using its recipes at this time.

[Eric Mesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reinhart brings his expertise to the topic of whole grain breads. He's been a champion of these healthier breads for a while, but here he bring his latest knowledge to bear to create tastier whole wheat and whole grain bread.

I've made 2 recipes from this book so far - the whole grain naan and the 100% whole wheat sandwich bread. The naan was great. I had no idea that whole grain naan could taste so good. The whole wheat sandwich bread tasted good, but I made some kind of mistake with the shaping and it ended up with a part in the middle of the bread that would easily rip.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to reread this after trying a whole-grain recipe online that was adapted from Peter Reinhart's method. It was not complicated and turned out incredible: the best whole-wheat bread I've ever made. What I found, now that I have many years of bread baking under my belt, is that this method I thought was so complex is actually a very simple combination of pre-doughs--one with yeast, one without--to encourage two different kinds of dough development. Reinhart is just unnecessarily verbose, which is a pity because it turns off beginners. His recommendation to read the first section before attempting any recipes is bad advice. I would recommend trying a recipe and then going back to understand why it works so well. Honestly, there's not a whole lot to screw up with the delayed fermentation method.

*Original review*
This is an incredibly thorough, scientifically researched book with a wealth of valuable information. I do not, however, recommend it as a guide for a first, or even second, attempt at making bread with starter. This man has decades of experience baking bread, and this is his method for making perfect whole-grain breads. I have baked bread with yeast and with starter before, and I was not employed so had lots of time and energy to devote to this--yet I was still overwhelmed by the number of components in his method. I have since given up and fallen back to making simpler breads for the time being.

One thing that could have made the book more user friendly is a timetable to map out how long each recipe will take (e.g. Day 1 2100 Start poolish). Many recipes online have this, and I find it immensely helpful. Overall, though, I can't fault the book for how involved it is, as it never advertises itself as a beginner's book, and I learned a ton about the science of bread from reading the intro. Just be prepared for some planning gymnastics!

[Vernon · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I came across Peter Reinharts's Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor, I just had to try it out. I had already read his Bread Baker's Apprentice book and really enjoyed it. Wow! Does he ever deliver. I love the science of bread that he puts into his books. Not being a chemist, I think the actual chemistry behind all the reactions in the dough is a little beyond me, bit the deconstruction of the bread, the nitty-gritty how it works is what really intrigues me. I am an engineer. I love to take things apart and see what makes them tick. When things are broken, I want to fix them. I have a deep need to see how the puzzle fits together.

Now that I have had the book for 5 months, I can say that almost every recipe I have tried is worth trying again. Right now in the oven are three loaves of whole grain multigrain struan. It is made of 100% whole wheat flour (a house blend of red and white hard wheat), bulgar, millet, quinoa, rolled oats, and polenta. The dough smelled terrific as it was rising and the smells coming from the oven are very distracting as I type this.

[Laura Conrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course, "finished" is a silly term to apply to a cookbook that you liked and intend to continue using. But I have flipped through it all and baked one recipe.

The recipe was not a total success, but it's what I'm eating (with pleasure) for breakfast. It's the all sprouted grain recipe. I'm going to try it again and wait longer for the sprouts to do their thing, and maybe add less water to the dough. It didn't rise as high as I hoped. But for how little sprouts put through a meat grinder look like flour, the result of the recipe is amazingly like bread, and it tastes good, and I think has less effect on my blood sugar. (Certainly less than bread made with refined flour, and maybe less than bread made from unsprouted grains, although I still need to do more research on that.)

In any case, there are lots of other recipes to try here, and the explanations of why you do things and what you can vary are good. The book recommends some fairly complicated variations on the "wait a day instead of kneading for 20 minutes" methods of making bread, and I have high hopes of making some good completely whole grain breads from it.

[Keith]

I've had a lot of success with Reinhart's earlier bread baking book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice. This book is similar, but with an emphasis (as the title suggests) on whole grain breads. It begins with a lengthly explanation of the baking process, including background on Reinhart's innovative techniques for working with whole grain doughs. The recipes seem well organized and easy to follow.

I've only baked one recipe from this book, so far---a "Transitional" Country Hearth Bread. "Transitional" means that it's 50% white flour and 50% whole wheat flour, in contrast to the 100% whole wheat flour loaf that precedes it in the book. It turned out just fine, with a thick, crispy crust and a tasty, soft interior. I'm looking forward to trying other recipes.

In addition to various loafs made with whole wheat, rye, etc, it also includes whole grain variations on many other breads---cinnamon rolls, challah, bagels, foccachia, etc.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up in my quest for a loaf of true whole wheat bread (no white flour at all) that actually rises and tastes like something other than a slightly edible brick of bread. My first experience with the "Beginner's loaf" was a little tentative. It was very tasty, but the second rise did not go well. Never say die, I am soldiering on and have produced a wonderful loaf of crusty outside, soft inside. I want to cheer.

Take the time to read the book before you dash into the baking. This is a very different way, but successful way to achieve a whole grain bread loaf. The process is a two day affair. Easy enough to start the process the night before and finish the second part of the process the next day or refrigerate and finish in up to 3 days. The author gives tips to the side of the recipes that help. I am looking forward to accomplishing great things. By using a good stand mixer, you have only a minimum of kneading. The other amazing part is that this bread stays fresh for a long time.

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow - this man is a true bread master, a finding corroborated by quite a bit of web research (bread aficionados not yet familiar with thefreshloaf.com should check it out). I appreciated the in-depth description of bread chemistry, which while not essential to my own bread-making experience was interesting though not likely something I'll remember.

I don't know how many years it would take me to make all the breads I want to try in this book, but I did find one that has become a staple at our house - the multi-grain struan. WAY too much work, but good enough that I've continued to make a triple batch every month or so. It's scrumptious warm from the oven with gobs of butter and homemade raspberry-rhubarb jam. Or spread with mayo and topped with bacon, avocado, and jack cheese. Yum . . . .

I won't speak as highly of the whole-grain pizza dough. IMHO some things are worth making with white flour.