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A Passion for Bread: Lessons from a Master Baker
In this charming and practical cookbook, Master Baker Lionel Vatinet shares his knowledge and passion for baking irresistible bread.
A Passion for Bread brings a Master Baker's encyclopedic knowledge of bread, passed on from a long line of French artisan bakers, to the American home, with detailed instructions and dozens of step-by-step photographs. It covers everyday loaves like baguettes, ciabatta, and whole grain breads, as well as loaves for special occasions, including Beaujolais Bread, Jalapev±o Cheddar Bread, and Lionel Vatinet's celebrated sourdough boule. A chapter of delectable soup and sandwich recipes will inspire you to create the perfect accompaniments. The book offers a detailed introduction to bread baking, 65 recipes, and 350 full-color photographs.
A Passion for Bread brings a Master Baker's encyclopedic knowledge of bread, passed on from a long line of French artisan bakers, to the American home, with detailed instructions and dozens of step-by-step photographs. It covers everyday loaves like baguettes, ciabatta, and whole grain breads, as well as loaves for special occasions, including Beaujolais Bread, Jalapev±o Cheddar Bread, and Lionel Vatinet's celebrated sourdough boule. A chapter of delectable soup and sandwich recipes will inspire you to create the perfect accompaniments. The book offers a detailed introduction to bread baking, 65 recipes, and 350 full-color photographs.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 15, 2014
I think this year is going to be a great year for books because this is my second 10/5 stars.
This book was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!
The book was laid out that even the novice baker could use it, yet advanced enough that even myself, who has been baking bread for over 30 years learned new tips and recipes for breads I had never heard of. Needless to say, this book is in my Amazon cart.
This book was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!
The book was laid out that even the novice baker could use it, yet advanced enough that even myself, who has been baking bread for over 30 years learned new tips and recipes for breads I had never heard of. Needless to say, this book is in my Amazon cart.
August 6, 2013
Good, step by step photos make this a very useful cookbook. I find Vatinet a bit fussy (throughout the book he reiterates that he kneads using the 'ok' method) but following his directions produces very, very yummy bread.
December 7, 2013
Amazing book for the home baker with beautiful step-by-step photos for each recipe.
April 22, 2014
Fabulous photos of the entire recipe process! Extensive directions that seem point on and complete.
Gorgeous breads.
Have not baked from it yet.
Gorgeous breads.
Have not baked from it yet.
July 10, 2017
It's not often that I feel compelled to read every word of an introduction to a cookbook and rarely that I continue to read, and re-read, the "ingredients" and "equipment" sections. But Lionel Vatinet's passion for making bread is infectious and I didn't want to miss seeing anything he had to offer.
And how generous he is too!
Even though there are no secrets, it's not always easy to find something specific. One of the first recipes noted in the book is Vatinet's signature bread, La Farm bread, that calls for "liquid levain". I looked in the index to see that it directs the reader to page 20:
How frustrating! Moving on to page 24 (and 25) to be enlightened, the following appears:
Note that the first instance of actual measurements do not appear until the end of page 25! And those are for how much of the starter to discard. I read and re-read pages 24-27 several times, trying to find how much flour and water Vatinet suggests using for the first days of creating his natural starter. After several re-reads, muttering "no secrets, eh?" to myself, I was about to give up; I inadvertently turned the page before closing the book. There at last, on page 29 - a considerable distance from page 20! - was the detailed chart entitled "LIQUID LEVAIN (Natural Sourdough or Natural Starter) Schedule".
These instructions call for using approximately 1 cup (~125g) flour per day for at least 10 days and much discarding. That's a lot of flour (expensive!) to be discarding.
But put the natural starter instructions aside and focus on the rest of the bounteous offerings. There are several recipes calling for commercial yeast rather than natural sourdough or a liquid levain, included pages and pages of detailed, illustrated and clear instructions on how to mix, proof, shape, and bake bread.
I particularly like that he suggests a hands-on approach:
Then throughout the book, he continues to stress his hands-on approach:
Most of the items in Vatinet's well explained list of "equipment for fine bread making" are unsurprising and make good sense. The only new ones (for me) were his suggestions to have a bench brush, saying "the bristles should be very soft and pliable. It is one of my recommended tools" and a dough log, "an essential tool to keep track of water and final dough temperatures as well as time required in baking steps".
Vatinet underscores that until the dough is being mixed, the salt and yeast should not touch. He also mentions in several places that it's very easy to forget the salt.
Many bread books emphasize the need to allow baked bread to cool completely before cutting into it. But Vatinet goes one step further:
As well as all the wonderfully clear instructions and Vatinet's "7 Steps to making great bread", the book contains bread recipes galore: Classic French Breads, Ciabatta and Focaccia Breads, Sourdough Breads and Whole-grain Breads.
Then to top it all off, Vatinet's generosity continues with several recipes for what to make with bread - specifically to use up left-over bread, introducing the subject with the following:
I suddenly want to have plenty of left-over bread just so we can try his Tomato-Basil Bisque, Pumpkin Soup with Goat Cheese Cream, Soupe à l'Oignon, Croque Madame, Boeuf Champignon, Oven-Baked Grilled Cheese Sandwich, etc. etc.
While Vatinet is sure of his subject, he is also clearly open and always ready to learn. After quoting Joseph Joubert's "Pensées, essais, maximes" (Tome Deuxième, p. 17): "Enseigner, c'est apprendre deux fois" [To teach is to learn twice]", he writes:
So. Do you suddenly neeeeeeed another bread book for your shelves?
Yes, indeed. This is a Five Star Book....
*****
Other favourite passages:
And how generous he is too!
As for me, I have no secrets. My goal as a baker has been to demystify baking for professional and home bakers [...] so everyone can enjoy high-quality, handcrafted breads.
+ + +
How is it that four very simple ingredients - flour, yeast, salt, and water - come together to make extraordinary bread? [...] [I]t does not occur in a vacuum. No matter the quality of your ingredients, you have to adapt to the weather. You shouldn't wait for the perfect day to make bread, but you do need to be aware of the elements because they can create magic - or mischief - in your dough.
(p.12, 15)
Even though there are no secrets, it's not always easy to find something specific. One of the first recipes noted in the book is Vatinet's signature bread, La Farm bread, that calls for "liquid levain". I looked in the index to see that it directs the reader to page 20:
You will find my method of making a liquid levain on page 24.
(p.20)
How frustrating! Moving on to page 24 (and 25) to be enlightened, the following appears:
Making and maintaining a natural sourdough starter is quite simple, but it does require some attention, because it must by fed and watered regularly, rather like having a pet. It is also important that it be kept in a warm environment, preferably one about 75°F to 80°F. If you follow these directions, you will have an active, viable, and flavor-producing starter that will live forever. [...]
Begin the starter with organic whole-wheat or rye flour and then switch to unbleached, unbromated white bread flour on the fourth day. [...] Once the natural sourdough has finished developing, cover it and let it stand in a warm (75°F to 80°F), draft-free spot until the starter has increased substantially in volume, about 24 hours. Thereafter, you must feed it daily with water and unbleached, unbromated flour. Before each feeding, stir the starter with a wooden spoon. Once stirred, remove and discard all but 2.5 ounces/70 grams (1/4 cup ) of the mix. [...] Then add the flour and 85°F water as directed in the chart.
(p.24-26)
Note that the first instance of actual measurements do not appear until the end of page 25! And those are for how much of the starter to discard. I read and re-read pages 24-27 several times, trying to find how much flour and water Vatinet suggests using for the first days of creating his natural starter. After several re-reads, muttering "no secrets, eh?" to myself, I was about to give up; I inadvertently turned the page before closing the book. There at last, on page 29 - a considerable distance from page 20! - was the detailed chart entitled "LIQUID LEVAIN (Natural Sourdough or Natural Starter) Schedule".
These instructions call for using approximately 1 cup (~125g) flour per day for at least 10 days and much discarding. That's a lot of flour (expensive!) to be discarding.
But put the natural starter instructions aside and focus on the rest of the bounteous offerings. There are several recipes calling for commercial yeast rather than natural sourdough or a liquid levain, included pages and pages of detailed, illustrated and clear instructions on how to mix, proof, shape, and bake bread.
I particularly like that he suggests a hands-on approach:
The best tools for bread making are the ones you always have with you - your hands. Your hands are your memory. They provide the first sense you'll use to understand the dough. Later you will use other senses, but your hands are the starting point. Other kitchen tools will support you, but your hands impart your spirit into the dough.
(p.31)
Then throughout the book, he continues to stress his hands-on approach:
KNEADING BY HAND: This is the way to really learn how dough feels, and it is something I strongly suggest that all home bakers practice. When you work with your hands, you can almost memorize the feel of the dough and learn exactly how it comes together. I often say that "your fingers are your memory".
Unlike most bakers, I use my fingers and thumbs rather than my palms to knead bread dough. With this technique your fingers learn to "recognize" thoroughly kneaded dough and sufficiently developed gluten so that you can achieve the desired consistency and texture. I believe that when you knead using the palms of your hands, you tear and shred the dough as you fold and push it away from you.
(p.47)
Most of the items in Vatinet's well explained list of "equipment for fine bread making" are unsurprising and make good sense. The only new ones (for me) were his suggestions to have a bench brush, saying "the bristles should be very soft and pliable. It is one of my recommended tools" and a dough log, "an essential tool to keep track of water and final dough temperatures as well as time required in baking steps".
Vatinet underscores that until the dough is being mixed, the salt and yeast should not touch. He also mentions in several places that it's very easy to forget the salt.
Always taste the dough to be sure salt has been added.
+ + +
In baking we have a saying: If an experienced baker tells you that he never forgets the salt, don't trust him!
(p.45, 71)
Many bread books emphasize the need to allow baked bread to cool completely before cutting into it. But Vatinet goes one step further:
And, please, don't eat your bread warm. While I respect that some cultures love a warm loaf of bread, to get the optimum flavor profile, it should be enjoyed at room temperature, so the complexities or flavors that identify a fine artisanal bread can be experienced.
(p.70)
As well as all the wonderfully clear instructions and Vatinet's "7 Steps to making great bread", the book contains bread recipes galore: Classic French Breads, Ciabatta and Focaccia Breads, Sourdough Breads and Whole-grain Breads.
Then to top it all off, Vatinet's generosity continues with several recipes for what to make with bread - specifically to use up left-over bread, introducing the subject with the following:
Bread should never be wasted. It touches every corner of the world, all ages, all economic levels, all stages of life. Even the smallest piece of bread can be saved for later use.
+ + +
In centuries past, and particularly during wartime, you could be thrown in jail for wasting bread. In France, history has taught us never, ever to waste - we use even the stalest of bread in some way.
(p.63, 261)
I suddenly want to have plenty of left-over bread just so we can try his Tomato-Basil Bisque, Pumpkin Soup with Goat Cheese Cream, Soupe à l'Oignon, Croque Madame, Boeuf Champignon, Oven-Baked Grilled Cheese Sandwich, etc. etc.
While Vatinet is sure of his subject, he is also clearly open and always ready to learn. After quoting Joseph Joubert's "Pensées, essais, maximes" (Tome Deuxième, p. 17): "Enseigner, c'est apprendre deux fois" [To teach is to learn twice]", he writes:
I learn as much from my students as I give to them - if not more. [...] I believe that a good teacher inspires confidence, but also learns a great deal by watching students at work. I often see a student doing something that I've never seen done before and when it works I incorporate it into my techniques.
(p.43)
So. Do you suddenly neeeeeeed another bread book for your shelves?
Yes, indeed. This is a Five Star Book....
*****
Other favourite passages:
The temperature of the water controls the final dough temperature; it should be between 82°F and 84°F when mixing by hand and between 65°F and 70°F when using a heavy-duty stand mixer.
(p.44)
* Your finger is the only tool you need to determine whether bread is ready to bake.
[...] You should keep a close eye on the dough, since it will be unusable if it is overproofed.
To determine whether the dough is ready to be baked, remove the plastic wrap and gently make a small indentation in the center of the dough with your fingertip. If the indentation slowly and evenly disappears, the bread is ready to bake.
If the indentation quickly pops back up, the bread is not yet ready to bake. [...] If, on the other hand, the indentation causes the entire shape to completely deflate, the dough is overproofed. This means that it has been allowed to rest for too long. It is now unusable and would yield an unpleasant texture and flavor if baked.
(p.62,63)
HOTEL PANS: I don't need hotel pans (also known as steam-table pans) in the bakery, but at home I use a 20+3/4-by-12+3/4-by-4-inch pan to cover longer breads such as baguettes during baking, because it is long enough to fit over an almost standard-size loave. I cover the corners, or any other open areas, with aluminum foil to create a stronger seal.
(p.35)
One of the least expensive and most effective methods of achieving a crisp crust on your artisanal bread is by using a stainless-steel mixing bowl (about 12 inches in diameter and 5 inches deep) as the insulator. [...]
Quickly but carefully slide the shaped dough from the peel to the hot baking stone and cover with the stainless-steel mixing bowl. Immediately close the oven door. Bake for 10 minutes; then, lift hte edge of the bowl with the tip of a sharp knife and use oven mitts to carefully remove the hot bowl. Continue to bake until the bread is deep golden brown.
(p.64, 66)
It is in the final fermentation period (the "proofing" or "second rise") that the final crumb (the interior texture) of the baked bread is set. Following my instructions, you will find that is is only a matter of time and patience that will produce the best results.
Another expression familiar to most bread bakers, novice or Master, is to place the dough in a "warm, draft-free spot." 'What exactly does warm and draft-free mean, and why is it important? "Warm" is a comfortable temperature between 75°F and80F. If there is more than a slight breeze moving through your kitchen, it will impact the proper fermentation of the dough by creating a thin skin on the exterior, which will then slow down the process. An open window or door or even an air-conditioning vent can have this effect. the preferred spot would be a closed oven; however, if it has a pilot light, it coud then be too hot for the dough to rise properly. Generally any enclosed space in your kitchen - a closet, a pantry, a cupboard - will serve as a warm, draft-free spot.
The final shaping of the dough is an important stage [...] If not shaped correctly, the final fermentation will not occur properly and the dough will deflate when you move it to the baking surface. [...]
Scoring gives the dough a directed path for gases to expand during baking and serves as the baker's identifying or signature mark for a specific type of bread. Scoring is done [...] just prior to putting the bread in the oven [...] in a series of single, quick slashes, barely marking the dough. A baker will say, "Cut through the skin of the dough, but don't create a trench."
(p.41, 42)
[T]he summation of centuries of baking knowledge comes down to this: The essence of great bread baking is in proper fermentation. I have spent my career teaching professionals and home bakers this simple lesson. There are two periods of fermentation: the first "bulk" fermentation develops the flavor, and the second and final "proofing" stage develops the volume.
(p.39)
March 20, 2017
Fantastic book. Plenty of step-by-step pictures. Almost as good as actually eating at La Farm Bakery
October 24, 2014
If Lionel Vatinet ever tasted American grocery store bread, one can only imagine his eyes frozen in disbelief and the speed with which he spat out the bread-like substance. Then we can imagine him, still muttering in disbelief, as he sat down to write the first draft of this book. Vatinet’s superb offering, A Passion for Bread: Lessons from a Master Baker: 7 Steps to Making Perfect Loaves, puts bakery-quality French bread within the grasp of every person.
Vatinet is a Maître Boulanger (Master Baker) born and educated in France, and was founding instructor of the San Francisco Baking Institute. Though Vatinet’s seven-year education with the Les Compagnons du Duvoir guild is obvious when you taste his bread – Saveur magazine named his La Farm Bakery to its top 20 list of U.S. bakeries in 2012 – it is his teaching skills that set this book apart. Beautifully foolproof, the ciabatta is an excellent recipe for beginners to start with; this bread requires no shaping. Once a beginner moves on to the recipes that involve shaping – classic French breads, sourdoughs, and whole-grain breads – there will be no problem, because Vatinet has already solved the problems of proper hydration and consistency for us. With its mouth-watering color photographs, gorgeous layout, and down-to-earth narrative, this book would make a perfect gift.
Respect for bread shines through in this work – for the quality of its ingredients, for its center place in family tradition, and for the centuries of knowledge that Vatinet gratefully received from his teachers. Even the crumbs are respected at La Farm, which Vatinet co-owns with his wife Missy in Cary, North Carolina. There, even the smallest piece of bread is never wasted.
Good bread is fragrant, elemental, satisfying. Now, thanks to A Passion for Bread, it is something we all can enjoy.
Vatinet is a Maître Boulanger (Master Baker) born and educated in France, and was founding instructor of the San Francisco Baking Institute. Though Vatinet’s seven-year education with the Les Compagnons du Duvoir guild is obvious when you taste his bread – Saveur magazine named his La Farm Bakery to its top 20 list of U.S. bakeries in 2012 – it is his teaching skills that set this book apart. Beautifully foolproof, the ciabatta is an excellent recipe for beginners to start with; this bread requires no shaping. Once a beginner moves on to the recipes that involve shaping – classic French breads, sourdoughs, and whole-grain breads – there will be no problem, because Vatinet has already solved the problems of proper hydration and consistency for us. With its mouth-watering color photographs, gorgeous layout, and down-to-earth narrative, this book would make a perfect gift.
Respect for bread shines through in this work – for the quality of its ingredients, for its center place in family tradition, and for the centuries of knowledge that Vatinet gratefully received from his teachers. Even the crumbs are respected at La Farm, which Vatinet co-owns with his wife Missy in Cary, North Carolina. There, even the smallest piece of bread is never wasted.
Good bread is fragrant, elemental, satisfying. Now, thanks to A Passion for Bread, it is something we all can enjoy.
August 16, 2013
The photographs of the beautiful loaves of bread really enhance this book and its recipes, and I can't wait to dive in and try a few of them. The chef has even included a few additional recipes, like soup and sandwiches that made my mouth water.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews