What do you think?
Rate this book
Artisan Breads: Practical Recipes and Detailed Instructions for Baking the World's Finest Loaves
In this beautifully photographed book, master baker Jan Hedh teaches us the basics for baking delicious artisan breads right in our own ovens. Hedh offers a cookbook full of recipes for all occasions—from daily loaves for sandwiches to delectable sweet breads for special occasions. This cookbook includes master tips on how to bake bread for maximum taste and aroma, the proper way to knead dough, the type of flour to use, and the correct baking time and oven temperature. With his wide breadth of recipes from all over the world—including Italian, French, Swiss, German, Arabic, and of course Swedish breads—this book is a must-have for all those who love to bake.
- GenresCookbooks
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
11 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 14, 2019
English translation: Katarina Sjöwall Trodden
29 September 2019 Sigh. I'm not sure how far into this book I'll manage. The opening instructions are fine. The recipes' ingredients lists are almost incomprehensible.
If I were Jan Hedh, I'd be furious with Skyhorse publishers. They have almost completely ruined what might be a really good cookbook.
And yet, the ingredients lists are all in cups and spoons!!
Do you think Skyhorse owns shares in the companies that manufacture measuring cups and spoons? Is that perhaps why they have made such an idiotic decision? (And. Clearly they haven't even bothered to read what they are translating!)
+++++++
13 October 2019: I did manage to slog my way to the end of the book.
This English/American translation must be quite a disappointment to Hedh. It is confusing. It is not at all clear what kind of yeast is called for in the recipes (I'm guessing it is fresh/cake yeast - but the publisher's insistence at using spoon measures for the yeast makes this particularly unclear). There is only the occasional inclusion of weight measurements - a handful of metric and another handful or two of ounces (imperial?? Who can say?). Along with the slightly eccentric English translation (it turns out that "dinkel" is "spelt"), there are also a number of typos in the e-book.
In the "Background to bakers and bakeries", Hedh goes right back to Egypt. His writing style is a little dull - perhaps because of translation - but the history of what occurred in the 19th century, as well as in the middle of the 20th century in Sweden was particularly interesting:
While there are informative sections on common (and not so common) ingredients for breadmaking, as well as a large section on how to capture wild yeast, including how to dry wild yeast to preserve it, Skyhorse's ridiculous decision to eliminate virtually all the weight measurements makes the book very confusing.
Many of the recipes' instructions begin with "Prepare the dough as for ____, p. __" causing the reader to have to flip back and forth through the book. Also, the yeast measurements have been translated from weight measurements to spoons, without taking into account that the yeast called for is "fresh yeast". I challenge anyone from Skyhorse to measure 3/4 teaspoon of cake yeast!
Ten centilitres of syrup weighs "6 tbsp"??? In what universe are tablespoons a measure of weight? Or are they talking about the spoons themselves? Are these plastic spoons? Or metal spoons?
The amazing part of this is that Hedh's insistence about the need for weighing ingredients appears more than once throughout the book.
I also question the instruction, in the section entitled "Before You Start", to use an electric stand mixer with a dough hook attachment for kneading. Hedh claims: "[Kneading] by hand is hard work and the result is never the same as with a machine since you will never have the stamina to knead it long enough to stretch the gluten properly." I can imagine that this may be true if making several loaves of bread every day, but for making one or two loaves, kneading by hand is not at all difficult, especially if the "stretch and fold / rest / stretch and fold / rest" dough developing methods suggested by more recently written artisanal baking books are used.
However, he does go into quite a lot of detail about dough temperature throughout the book.
(This is why I prefer to mix and knead by hand....)
Near the opening of the book, Hedh writes:
17 cups flour!!! - that's almost 2.5 kilos! No wonder he says to use a stand mixer to knead! (Could a stand mixer even handle that amount??)
There is careful and comprehensive detail about the properties of different flours, how small or large amounts of salt/butter/sugar affect dough, how much and why to "knock back" various doughs, different glazing methods, but then Hedh is almost silent about the technique of scoring:
After taking such care, why is this so brief? (There is virtually no instruction later on in the book on how to score a baguette!)
The braiding ("plaiting" in the book) and knotting techniques - with photos - are not exactly informative either, showing the dough ropes just before shaping, then one or two photos of the very beginning, followed by a final finished shape photo! The folding technique for Wiener Kaisersemmeln (Kaiser rolls) includes the text instruction "Use your right hand to fold the pieces towards the centre, repeat 5 times, finish by pressing a finger into the centre. See below.". The "below" shows just two small photos without including one of the final shape of the Kaiser roll, nor of the baked Kaiser roll!
Klas Andersson's photos of the various other breads and bakers are beautiful though.
I am also fascinated by the notes about scalding.
Too bad about the supposed need for "cling-film". Surely a plate or lid will work just as well. It's not as if the world needs any more plastic to go into landfill. Not to mention that I'm pretty certain the ancient Egyptians didn't use plastic....
However, as informative as it is and as many recipes as there are, this English version is definitely not a book for a first time (or even second or third time) bread baker. Any baker would be much better off getting the original Swedish version: Jan Hedhs stora bok om bröd (Jan Hedh's big book about bread)
Thanks to Skyhorse for making this as confusing as possible!
....Let's see now: 1 cup water = 240 grams; 1 kilo flour = 8 cups; 10 cups flour = 1.25 kilos
The passage should read:
"The amount of water used per kilo of flour is 625-688 grams. In Sweden, we normally base our recipes on 1 kilo of water. In other countries they are often based on 1.25 kilos of flour"
OR
"The amount of water used per 8 cups of flour is 2½-2¾ cups. In Sweden, we normally base our recipes on 4¼ cups of water. In other countries they are often based on 10 cups of flour"
Hmmm, still clear as mud, isn't it?
29 September 2019 Sigh. I'm not sure how far into this book I'll manage. The opening instructions are fine. The recipes' ingredients lists are almost incomprehensible.
If I were Jan Hedh, I'd be furious with Skyhorse publishers. They have almost completely ruined what might be a really good cookbook.
Follow the instructions closely, and always use kitchen scales rather than risk inaccuracy with a decilitre or cup measure.[Preface]
~ ~ ~
Weigh the ingredients on the scales and do not improvise with cup or decilitre measures [Before You Start]
And yet, the ingredients lists are all in cups and spoons!!
Do you think Skyhorse owns shares in the companies that manufacture measuring cups and spoons? Is that perhaps why they have made such an idiotic decision? (And. Clearly they haven't even bothered to read what they are translating!)
The purpose of this book is to show how you can make delicious bread at home using the same methods that we use at Olof Viktors at Glemminge. We make our bread in a wood-fired stone oven, just like the ancient Egyptians. [Introduction: Starters, Proving and Baking]
+++++++
13 October 2019: I did manage to slog my way to the end of the book.
Quality has always been important to me. If you decide to spend time doing something, it has got to be done well or you might as well not do it at all. [preface]
This English/American translation must be quite a disappointment to Hedh. It is confusing. It is not at all clear what kind of yeast is called for in the recipes (I'm guessing it is fresh/cake yeast - but the publisher's insistence at using spoon measures for the yeast makes this particularly unclear). There is only the occasional inclusion of weight measurements - a handful of metric and another handful or two of ounces (imperial?? Who can say?). Along with the slightly eccentric English translation (it turns out that "dinkel" is "spelt"), there are also a number of typos in the e-book.
In the "Background to bakers and bakeries", Hedh goes right back to Egypt. His writing style is a little dull - perhaps because of translation - but the history of what occurred in the 19th century, as well as in the middle of the 20th century in Sweden was particularly interesting:
Modernization of the bakeries started in the 19th century. Mechanical mixers took over the heavy work, and [...] special steam-powered bakeries were built. Most small bakeries closed down after the Second world war, but a few turned into large industries that were forced to produce vast amounts of bread at a low price. The old methods using starters, scalding and long proving times were no longer efficient. [background to bakers and bakeries]
While there are informative sections on common (and not so common) ingredients for breadmaking, as well as a large section on how to capture wild yeast, including how to dry wild yeast to preserve it, Skyhorse's ridiculous decision to eliminate virtually all the weight measurements makes the book very confusing.
Many of the recipes' instructions begin with "Prepare the dough as for ____, p. __" causing the reader to have to flip back and forth through the book. Also, the yeast measurements have been translated from weight measurements to spoons, without taking into account that the yeast called for is "fresh yeast". I challenge anyone from Skyhorse to measure 3/4 teaspoon of cake yeast!
Ten centilitres of syrup weighs 6 tbsp. [Ingredients]
Ten centilitres of syrup weighs "6 tbsp"??? In what universe are tablespoons a measure of weight? Or are they talking about the spoons themselves? Are these plastic spoons? Or metal spoons?
The amazing part of this is that Hedh's insistence about the need for weighing ingredients appears more than once throughout the book.
Follow the instructions closely and always use kitchen scales rather than risk inaccuracy with a decilitre or cup measure. Also remember that flour is a fresh commodity that does not improve with storing. Old, dry flour absorbs more water than fresh [Preface]
~ ~ ~
It is important always to use high-quality ingredients.
• Always use butter, not margarine. I recommend unsalted butter since it is fresher than salted butter
[...]
• Always use good quality digital scales that can be zeroised as you add new ingredients.
• Buy a simple steak thermometer and use it for checking the temperature of the dough and if the bread is ready.
• Weigh the ingredients on the scales and do not improvise with cup or decilitre measures.
• Follow the procedures and times strictly. [Introduction: Before You Start]
I also question the instruction, in the section entitled "Before You Start", to use an electric stand mixer with a dough hook attachment for kneading. Hedh claims: "[Kneading] by hand is hard work and the result is never the same as with a machine since you will never have the stamina to knead it long enough to stretch the gluten properly." I can imagine that this may be true if making several loaves of bread every day, but for making one or two loaves, kneading by hand is not at all difficult, especially if the "stretch and fold / rest / stretch and fold / rest" dough developing methods suggested by more recently written artisanal baking books are used.
However, he does go into quite a lot of detail about dough temperature throughout the book.
The ideal dough temperature is 75-82ºF. Many cookery books recommend that you heat the liquid to 98.6ºF. This is true if you are kneading by hand. It takes between 20 and 30 minutes to work a dough until it becomes very elastic by hand [...] If you are using a kitchen assistant with dough hooks, friction increases the dough's temperature to 75-79ºF during kneading. If you then heat the liquid, the temperature will get too high, the dough will rise too quickly and the flavour will suffer. Never allow the dough to get warmer than 82ºF. [Ingredients]
~ ~ ~
CHECKING THE TEMPERATURE OF THE DOUGH
Do as professional bakers do and measure the temperature scientifically. It only takes a moment:
1. The recipe says 79ºF. Multiply by two, which makes 158ºF.
2. Measure the temperature of the flour. Deduct the flour temperature (68ºF in this case) from the calculated temperature (158ºF). 158 minus 68 is 90ºF.
3. Add the bakery factor, 36ºF for a cold bowl, i.e. 90 plus 36, which makes 126ºF.
For a dough with a temperature of 79ºF, the water has to be 90ºF. [Introduction: Starters, Proving, and Baking]
(This is why I prefer to mix and knead by hand....)
Near the opening of the book, Hedh writes:
Nice breakfast rolls are made by making a loose basic dough containing 17 cups of flour per litre milk, 3 tbsp yeast, 7 tsp salt and 2 tbsp sugar. [Introduction: background to bakers and bakeries]
17 cups flour!!! - that's almost 2.5 kilos! No wonder he says to use a stand mixer to knead! (Could a stand mixer even handle that amount??)
There is careful and comprehensive detail about the properties of different flours, how small or large amounts of salt/butter/sugar affect dough, how much and why to "knock back" various doughs, different glazing methods, but then Hedh is almost silent about the technique of scoring:
Slash the bread with a special knife just before it goes in the oven. If you do it too early, the pattern will disappear. A sharp razor blade works fine too. The breads will open up in different ways depending on how you cut them. Cut deep, long slashes for baguettes to give them a characteristic look.
You slash the bread mainly for technical reasons, i.e. to distribute the tension throughout the gluten network so the bread can rise better in the oven. Some cuts are, however, purely decorative. [Introduction: Starters, Proving, and Baking]
After taking such care, why is this so brief? (There is virtually no instruction later on in the book on how to score a baguette!)
The braiding ("plaiting" in the book) and knotting techniques - with photos - are not exactly informative either, showing the dough ropes just before shaping, then one or two photos of the very beginning, followed by a final finished shape photo! The folding technique for Wiener Kaisersemmeln (Kaiser rolls) includes the text instruction "Use your right hand to fold the pieces towards the centre, repeat 5 times, finish by pressing a finger into the centre. See below.". The "below" shows just two small photos without including one of the final shape of the Kaiser roll, nor of the baked Kaiser roll!
Klas Andersson's photos of the various other breads and bakers are beautiful though.
I am also fascinated by the notes about scalding.
Scalding is another type of starter that improves the quality of the bread.
Normally, the ingredients are 2 cups water that have been brought to the boil and poured over various types of wholemeal flour [...] [covered] with cling-film and [left] overnight. The temperature after mixing should be about 160ºF.
This has the effect of allowing the dough to absorb more water, resulting in a moist and slightly sweet interior.
[...]LOW-TEMPERATURE SCALDING
Do not bring the water to the boil, but take it off the heat just before boiling point. This results in a bread with larger pores and great flavour. [Introduction: Starters, Proving, and Baking)
Too bad about the supposed need for "cling-film". Surely a plate or lid will work just as well. It's not as if the world needs any more plastic to go into landfill. Not to mention that I'm pretty certain the ancient Egyptians didn't use plastic....
However, as informative as it is and as many recipes as there are, this English version is definitely not a book for a first time (or even second or third time) bread baker. Any baker would be much better off getting the original Swedish version: Jan Hedhs stora bok om bröd (Jan Hedh's big book about bread)
Useful to know
• The amount of water used per kilo of flour is 2½-2¾ cups. In Sweden, we normally base our recipes on 4¼ cups of water. In other countries they are often based on 10 cups of flour [Introduction: Starters, Proving, and Baking]
Thanks to Skyhorse for making this as confusing as possible!
....Let's see now: 1 cup water = 240 grams; 1 kilo flour = 8 cups; 10 cups flour = 1.25 kilos
The passage should read:
"The amount of water used per kilo of flour is 625-688 grams. In Sweden, we normally base our recipes on 1 kilo of water. In other countries they are often based on 1.25 kilos of flour"
OR
"The amount of water used per 8 cups of flour is 2½-2¾ cups. In Sweden, we normally base our recipes on 4¼ cups of water. In other countries they are often based on 10 cups of flour"
Hmmm, still clear as mud, isn't it?
Displaying 1 of 1 review