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Bread Revolution: World-Class Baking with Sprouted and Whole Grains, Heirloom Flours, and Fresh Techniques
Renowned baking instructor, and author of The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, Peter Reinhart explores the cutting-edge developments in bread baking, with fifty recipes and formulas that use sprouted flours, whole and ancient grains, nut and seed flours, alternative flours (such as teff and grape skin), and allergy-friendly and gluten-free approaches. A new generation of bakers and millers are developing innovative flours and baking techniques that are designed to extract the grain’s full flavor potential—what Reinhart calls “the baker’s mission.” In this lushly photographed primer, Reinhart draws inspiration from these groundbreaking methods to create master recipes and formulas any home baker can follow, including Sprouted Sandwich Rye Bread, Gluten-Free Many-Seed Toasting Bread, and Sprouted Wheat Croissants. In many instances, such as with sprouted flours, preferments aren’t necessary because so much of the flavor development occurs during the sprouting phase. For grains that benefit from soakers, bigas, and sourdough starters, Reinhart provides the precise guidance that has made him such a trusted expert in the field. Advanced bakers will relish Reinhart’s inventive techniques and exacting scientific explanations, while beginning bakers will rejoice in his demystification of ingredients and methods—and all will come away thrilled by bread’s new frontier.*Correction to the Sprouted Whole Wheat Bread recipe on page 63: The volume measure of water should be 1 ¾ cups plus 1 tablespoon, not 3 ¼ cups.
521 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 21, 2014
201 people are currently reading
337 people want to read
About the author
Peter Reinhart
23 books100 followersPeter 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
March 14, 2019
“The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight... [Bread making is] one of those almost hypnotic businesses, like a dance from some ancient ceremony. It leaves you filled with one of the world's sweetest smells... there is no chiropractic treatment, no Yoga exercise, no hour of meditation in a music-throbbing chapel. That will leave you emptier of bad thoughts than this homely ceremony of making bread.”
― M.F.K. Fisher, The Art of Eating
Bread Revolution: World-Class Baking with Sprouted and Whole Grains, Heirloom Flours, and Fresh Techniques Hardcover – by Peter Reinhart (2014) Ten Speed Press.
When I started baking bread in the 90’s (as a complete amateur, with no training or real instruction) I sort of had to feel my way in the dark. While there were some good cookbooks, none of them focused on technique. I loved to buy artisan breads when I could, and when I could find a good whole wheat bread, it was always a revelation. Baking my own bread with whole grains turned out to be a horse of a different color. One loaf, I am sure my family remembers, was one we were all sorely tempted to shellac and repurpose as a door stop. Determined to sample the fruits of my labor, I chewed mightily on the stodge and forced myself to down something that was more like a building material than a foodstuff.
Over time and with some instruction I learned to make better whole wheat bread. I always wondered about upping the content of whole wheat bran in other recipes but was gun shy to do so for fear of making another brick O’ wheat.
And who has not over time had the obligatory “Whole Wheat pizza crust” that sucked? The Whole Wheat Chocolate Cake that was leaden brick and totally not worth it. I can name a number of examples -but we have all been there and it makes us easily grimace with a painful memory of wrongheaded thinking and good intentions. (I once made whole wheat cinnamon rolls over 30 years ago that are still eliciting a giggle among friends in conversation.)
I was gobsmacked to see Bread Revolution, and a bit dubious. As time has passed much of what Reinhart wrote in this book (and we must remember that this was fairly new stuff as much as it’s passé now.) In this work Reinhart introduced ways to create breads that had a larger amount of wheat bran and were still light and tasty. Ultimately this became the key to creating better artisan breads like Rye bread that did not sit your stomach like a shot putt, but was actually light and full of air bubbles.
The book Bread Revolution has its place in cookbook history, it is about very much more than a cookbook but about the science of bread, the innovation of the techniques used in the book, and a whole new science of baking bread. I see this work as the precursor to many of the bread books we see now and ultimately many of the cookbooks that we see today.
Bread Revolution is unique in its scientific approach, introducing at the time of it’s Printing terms like “Bacterial fermentation” (Often seen in bread baking books today) Fermentation, float test, Leven, Levain, Malting and other words that I’ve come to see often in many bread book. Bread Revolution was also new in its use of new types of flour (Sprouted Wheat Flour) and the technique of sprouting grain to make a different type of bread.
The biggest shock of this book and ultimately what I was looking for was the knowledge that we can bake more flavorfully with whole grains and new kinds of flours if we adapt different cooking methods and techniques and use them often.
With the use of sprouted and artisanal flours, and various types of grains grown for flavor and nutrition we can create something that is better than much of what has preceded us at this time and has become more common. (I see this in ACME Bread, Tartine and many other bakeries who imbue their breads with much more than simple white bread flour.)
There are of course many good articles on baking typical breads, and forming doughs that can be used as baguettes, boules and even bagels. Then we get to the sourdough chapter and I was impressed that there were some very good solid examples of how to make wheat sourdough with long passages on how to make the starter, and there was not just one solid example but several.
There is a very nice chapter on sprouted wheat breads, I don’t believe that this is for me, but it’s something that you might want to peruse if this is something that interests you. It’s very different, and I welcome that it was included. While I don’t see myself using it, it’s very interesting and good info.
There are chapters on using Sprouted Wheat Flour and how and what it is. If you have cooked with Sprouted Wheat flour like I have, this is very much needed. It’s unique and not to be used liberally like regular flour. Having an authority on this to use for baking was to me essential and makes this a very important book.
The remainder of the book goes through the various wheat flour items such as Pizza Dough, Cinnamon Rolls, and Pretzels etc. All are excellent and will provide you with the impetus to use them and not have the “Healthy but crappy” Products of the 70’s and 80’s.
There is also at the end a brief glimpse at Gluten free baking. While this may seem incongruous it just highlights to me how much Reinhart takes the topic and wants to pass on what he knows.
For my money Bread Revolution is a must have of any bakers Library. If you are serious about baking bread like I am, I think you will treasure this book and will come to see much of the technique that is being used part of your repertoire. I also believe that this is the forerunner of what I’ve started seeing in bakeshops and in other cookbooks. Buy it, you won’t be disappointed.
Don’t be frightened, you can and will create great breads and baked good for your family that are slightly more healthy than a lot of the crap being sold in grocery stores. You will have some fun baking and your family will still be encouraged in eating something that they suspect may have some health to it. (At the very least more fiber.)
PETER REINHART is a world famous author, baking instructor and faculty member at Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte, North Carolina. Reinhart was one of the cofounders of Brother Juniper’s Bakery in Santa Rosa, California. Reinhart has written several books on bread baking, including Crust and Crumb, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice and Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads. (Not to mention the “Brother Junipers Bread Book” a marvelous work that is one of my all-time favorite books.
Peter Reinhardt’s blog can be found at https://peterreinhart.typepad.com/
To purchase Bread Revolution on Amazon, go to https://www.amazon.com/Bread-Revoluti...
― M.F.K. Fisher, The Art of Eating
Bread Revolution: World-Class Baking with Sprouted and Whole Grains, Heirloom Flours, and Fresh Techniques Hardcover – by Peter Reinhart (2014) Ten Speed Press.
When I started baking bread in the 90’s (as a complete amateur, with no training or real instruction) I sort of had to feel my way in the dark. While there were some good cookbooks, none of them focused on technique. I loved to buy artisan breads when I could, and when I could find a good whole wheat bread, it was always a revelation. Baking my own bread with whole grains turned out to be a horse of a different color. One loaf, I am sure my family remembers, was one we were all sorely tempted to shellac and repurpose as a door stop. Determined to sample the fruits of my labor, I chewed mightily on the stodge and forced myself to down something that was more like a building material than a foodstuff.
Over time and with some instruction I learned to make better whole wheat bread. I always wondered about upping the content of whole wheat bran in other recipes but was gun shy to do so for fear of making another brick O’ wheat.
And who has not over time had the obligatory “Whole Wheat pizza crust” that sucked? The Whole Wheat Chocolate Cake that was leaden brick and totally not worth it. I can name a number of examples -but we have all been there and it makes us easily grimace with a painful memory of wrongheaded thinking and good intentions. (I once made whole wheat cinnamon rolls over 30 years ago that are still eliciting a giggle among friends in conversation.)
I was gobsmacked to see Bread Revolution, and a bit dubious. As time has passed much of what Reinhart wrote in this book (and we must remember that this was fairly new stuff as much as it’s passé now.) In this work Reinhart introduced ways to create breads that had a larger amount of wheat bran and were still light and tasty. Ultimately this became the key to creating better artisan breads like Rye bread that did not sit your stomach like a shot putt, but was actually light and full of air bubbles.
The book Bread Revolution has its place in cookbook history, it is about very much more than a cookbook but about the science of bread, the innovation of the techniques used in the book, and a whole new science of baking bread. I see this work as the precursor to many of the bread books we see now and ultimately many of the cookbooks that we see today.
Bread Revolution is unique in its scientific approach, introducing at the time of it’s Printing terms like “Bacterial fermentation” (Often seen in bread baking books today) Fermentation, float test, Leven, Levain, Malting and other words that I’ve come to see often in many bread book. Bread Revolution was also new in its use of new types of flour (Sprouted Wheat Flour) and the technique of sprouting grain to make a different type of bread.
The biggest shock of this book and ultimately what I was looking for was the knowledge that we can bake more flavorfully with whole grains and new kinds of flours if we adapt different cooking methods and techniques and use them often.
With the use of sprouted and artisanal flours, and various types of grains grown for flavor and nutrition we can create something that is better than much of what has preceded us at this time and has become more common. (I see this in ACME Bread, Tartine and many other bakeries who imbue their breads with much more than simple white bread flour.)
There are of course many good articles on baking typical breads, and forming doughs that can be used as baguettes, boules and even bagels. Then we get to the sourdough chapter and I was impressed that there were some very good solid examples of how to make wheat sourdough with long passages on how to make the starter, and there was not just one solid example but several.
There is a very nice chapter on sprouted wheat breads, I don’t believe that this is for me, but it’s something that you might want to peruse if this is something that interests you. It’s very different, and I welcome that it was included. While I don’t see myself using it, it’s very interesting and good info.
There are chapters on using Sprouted Wheat Flour and how and what it is. If you have cooked with Sprouted Wheat flour like I have, this is very much needed. It’s unique and not to be used liberally like regular flour. Having an authority on this to use for baking was to me essential and makes this a very important book.
The remainder of the book goes through the various wheat flour items such as Pizza Dough, Cinnamon Rolls, and Pretzels etc. All are excellent and will provide you with the impetus to use them and not have the “Healthy but crappy” Products of the 70’s and 80’s.
There is also at the end a brief glimpse at Gluten free baking. While this may seem incongruous it just highlights to me how much Reinhart takes the topic and wants to pass on what he knows.
For my money Bread Revolution is a must have of any bakers Library. If you are serious about baking bread like I am, I think you will treasure this book and will come to see much of the technique that is being used part of your repertoire. I also believe that this is the forerunner of what I’ve started seeing in bakeshops and in other cookbooks. Buy it, you won’t be disappointed.
Don’t be frightened, you can and will create great breads and baked good for your family that are slightly more healthy than a lot of the crap being sold in grocery stores. You will have some fun baking and your family will still be encouraged in eating something that they suspect may have some health to it. (At the very least more fiber.)
PETER REINHART is a world famous author, baking instructor and faculty member at Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte, North Carolina. Reinhart was one of the cofounders of Brother Juniper’s Bakery in Santa Rosa, California. Reinhart has written several books on bread baking, including Crust and Crumb, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice and Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads. (Not to mention the “Brother Junipers Bread Book” a marvelous work that is one of my all-time favorite books.
Peter Reinhardt’s blog can be found at https://peterreinhart.typepad.com/
To purchase Bread Revolution on Amazon, go to https://www.amazon.com/Bread-Revoluti...
May 13, 2022
I bake all of by bread with sprouted grain since being inspired by Nourishing Traditions. I have had NO luck with any of their recipes though. Thankfully, I found this book and use it all the time. The muffins are so so so good. I have tried the sandwich bread 3 or 4 times and each time found myself with a soup of bread. THANKFULLY I found a blog that had the correction : 3 1/4 cups water to 1 3/4 cups. Whew.
April 20, 2015
I love bread! I was thrilled to receive a review copy of a book that took me on the journey of the bread revolution. It was fascinating to read. I had never given any of this a thought. The question was asked the author, “Is Bread Dead?” It seemed that way when the Atkin and South Beach diets were all the rage. The author said the bread industry took a big hit but exciting things came about. He says, “There are a lot of theories about diet, wheat, grains, and carbohydrates floating around, and not surprisingly, they all seem plausible. And like it or not, bread is getting the blame for a lot of ills.”
I was relieved to read this from a professional bread makers’ perspective. All these different theories are mind boggling to me; this author is a renounced baker, author and instructor, who has always been on the forefront of the bread movement. In this book he explores “….cutting edge developments in bread baking. He has 50 recipes and formulas that use sprouted flours, whole and ancient grains, nuts, and seed flours. He’s also the author of many books one of which is The Joy of Gluten Free and Sugar Free baking.”
This author answers the question, Is Bread Dead? He says, “There is an opportunity here. It’s time to focus on whole grain breads and make them as good as the Artisan loaves. This is the future….Now we are in the middle of the gluten-free movement.” Bread baking and flours are taking another morphing development. The author goes on to say, “The frontier at hand is sprouted grain flour …”” He explains how this flour came about; the process in which it is created and its benefits. It was very interesting.
I had never heard of sprouted flour before. I found it at Sprouts grocery store. I bought a 5 pound bag of whole wheat sprouted flour; it cost $10.00. I made the Sprouted Wheat Pancakes and Banana Quick Bread. My family really liked both. I was pleasantly surprised by the taste and the fact the flour was light. When I’ve used whole wheat flour in the past I had to mix in another flour to lighten up the dish. It had a really good taste and I didn’t feel like it was weighing heavy in my stomach. My family felt the same way.
I liked reading the section that had answers to 25 most asked questions about making bread; they ranged from “what’s the best way to scoop flour so that a cup is likely to match the listed weight?” To “Can sprouted, gluten-free flours made from grains be substituted for nut and seed flours in these recipes?”
This author goes through tools needed to make the breads in this book and a glossary of words uses in the book. He says, “I’ve listed important terms in the glossary because these terms have a number of definitions’ or have been used in other books in different ways, the following definitions clarify how the terms are used in the book.” I found this helpful.
I loved the color photos of the bread through the whole book but what I especially enjoyed were the step by step photos they had of techniques and methods he was explaining to readers about working with dough and starters.
This book expects that you’ve worked with dough before but it’s not so advanced the average person couldn’t read the book, look at the pictures and get up to speed. (It will take practice but it’s doable) If you are a bread lover like me you will enjoy reading about bread and making it!
I received a free copy of this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to give a positive review, and if you read my blog, you know I'm a tell-it-like it is kind of girl. I mean what I say and say what I mean, that holds true for my review.
Nora St Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins www.bookfun.org
The Book Club Network Blog www.psalm516.blogspot.com
Book Fun Magazine www.bookfunmagazine.com
I was relieved to read this from a professional bread makers’ perspective. All these different theories are mind boggling to me; this author is a renounced baker, author and instructor, who has always been on the forefront of the bread movement. In this book he explores “….cutting edge developments in bread baking. He has 50 recipes and formulas that use sprouted flours, whole and ancient grains, nuts, and seed flours. He’s also the author of many books one of which is The Joy of Gluten Free and Sugar Free baking.”
This author answers the question, Is Bread Dead? He says, “There is an opportunity here. It’s time to focus on whole grain breads and make them as good as the Artisan loaves. This is the future….Now we are in the middle of the gluten-free movement.” Bread baking and flours are taking another morphing development. The author goes on to say, “The frontier at hand is sprouted grain flour …”” He explains how this flour came about; the process in which it is created and its benefits. It was very interesting.
I had never heard of sprouted flour before. I found it at Sprouts grocery store. I bought a 5 pound bag of whole wheat sprouted flour; it cost $10.00. I made the Sprouted Wheat Pancakes and Banana Quick Bread. My family really liked both. I was pleasantly surprised by the taste and the fact the flour was light. When I’ve used whole wheat flour in the past I had to mix in another flour to lighten up the dish. It had a really good taste and I didn’t feel like it was weighing heavy in my stomach. My family felt the same way.
I liked reading the section that had answers to 25 most asked questions about making bread; they ranged from “what’s the best way to scoop flour so that a cup is likely to match the listed weight?” To “Can sprouted, gluten-free flours made from grains be substituted for nut and seed flours in these recipes?”
This author goes through tools needed to make the breads in this book and a glossary of words uses in the book. He says, “I’ve listed important terms in the glossary because these terms have a number of definitions’ or have been used in other books in different ways, the following definitions clarify how the terms are used in the book.” I found this helpful.
I loved the color photos of the bread through the whole book but what I especially enjoyed were the step by step photos they had of techniques and methods he was explaining to readers about working with dough and starters.
This book expects that you’ve worked with dough before but it’s not so advanced the average person couldn’t read the book, look at the pictures and get up to speed. (It will take practice but it’s doable) If you are a bread lover like me you will enjoy reading about bread and making it!
I received a free copy of this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to give a positive review, and if you read my blog, you know I'm a tell-it-like it is kind of girl. I mean what I say and say what I mean, that holds true for my review.
Nora St Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins www.bookfun.org
The Book Club Network Blog www.psalm516.blogspot.com
Book Fun Magazine www.bookfunmagazine.com
August 30, 2014
It's been awhile since I've been blown away by the innovation in a cookbook so this one really stands out. Reinhart writes so engagingly without any overly bright tones or jarring notes that it is enjoyable to read him talking about the most mundane aspects of bread making. His answers to common questions (sprinkled throughout the book) are always a combination of "yes and here's why" or "no and here's why" which means you end up with a basic understanding of what he's explaining.
But really what is impressive is the array of bread items he has engineered to work with sprouted and whole grain flours. You'll find recipes for french baguettes and ciabatta as well as croissants, cookies, bagels with sprouted grains. Since the latest food crazes do emphasize these kinds of flours, it is amazing that Reinhart has been able to adapt such a range of items that I'd otherwise not believe possible. (Honestly, I'm still marveling over the sprouted grain croissants.)
What prevents me from giving this a full 5 stars here is mainly how difficult it is procure these specialty flours outside of major metropolitan centers. If his predictions come true however, this will no longer be a problem and then this book is visionary. My other issue is how long Reinhart's techniques take which with the additional steps of sprouting grains prevent his recipes from being integrated into my personal life.
But really what is impressive is the array of bread items he has engineered to work with sprouted and whole grain flours. You'll find recipes for french baguettes and ciabatta as well as croissants, cookies, bagels with sprouted grains. Since the latest food crazes do emphasize these kinds of flours, it is amazing that Reinhart has been able to adapt such a range of items that I'd otherwise not believe possible. (Honestly, I'm still marveling over the sprouted grain croissants.)
What prevents me from giving this a full 5 stars here is mainly how difficult it is procure these specialty flours outside of major metropolitan centers. If his predictions come true however, this will no longer be a problem and then this book is visionary. My other issue is how long Reinhart's techniques take which with the additional steps of sprouting grains prevent his recipes from being integrated into my personal life.
November 25, 2014
I love Peter Reinhart and really enjoyed reading this book and learning about the next frontier of bread in sprouted flours (and living near Virginia wine country, grape skin and grape seed flours). I was very excited to bake with these new flours and ran right out to get some sprouted flour (from Shiloh Farms). I consider myself an advanced home bread baker and make weekly batches of wild leaven/sourdough bread. I've baked from previous Reinhart books, Ken Forkish, Hammelman, Chad Robertson's Tartine (my current favorites have been coming from Tartine Breads and Tartine 3) and others but am disappointed in my experiments with this book as of now. I tried both the pancakes and the 100% ww sandwich load and both were flops. It might be my batch of flour but it's the only kind I can find (and the expiration date was far in the future). When I can get my hands on some other sprouted flour I will resume my experiments but for now I have to give a lukewarm rating because I can't recommend this based on my current experience.
May 22, 2015
We love bread in our house. All types of bread. So when I was offered this for review, I thought, why not? But, I was mildly disappointed with this one.
It seemed as if the chef/writer wrote this one specifically for people with money. Most of the items you needed to bake bread with you had to special order. The flour needed for the recipes, you can't find at your local supermarket. I had to look them up online and purchase them online.
The introduction to this book was very detailed and informative as was the tutorial. However, if you are not a seasoned baker, I would not recommend this book. I'm just starting out on making breads and this one made my head spin with the information overload. I think the next book that he writes, he needs to make sure that the ingredients are something you can find in almost any supermarket without having to special order them.
It seemed as if the chef/writer wrote this one specifically for people with money. Most of the items you needed to bake bread with you had to special order. The flour needed for the recipes, you can't find at your local supermarket. I had to look them up online and purchase them online.
The introduction to this book was very detailed and informative as was the tutorial. However, if you are not a seasoned baker, I would not recommend this book. I'm just starting out on making breads and this one made my head spin with the information overload. I think the next book that he writes, he needs to make sure that the ingredients are something you can find in almost any supermarket without having to special order them.
October 30, 2014
I was so excited when this book arrived in the mail from blogging for books but was not as thrilled while examining it. I'm not the best baker thus I really like books that are step by step and have a lot of pictures. While Bread Revolution had several pictures all the wording really bogged me down and made me think as a novice baker this book was too intimating. I did like the alternate version of every bread with ways to make a classic bread a just a little different.
March 24, 2018
This is a bread book for the master bread maker. I am a bread buff, but this book was well beyond my level of dedication. I have my favourite sourdough recipe, I guess I'm good.
December 25, 2023
This book was great but way beyond my experience and skill level. for hardcore bread bakers, not novices!
Read
August 6, 2023I was trying to catch up on what Peter Reinhart has been doing since he published his book on whole-grain breads. The whole grain breads in that book I found to be quite good, but the 80-page introduction to the technique was more than a bit overproofed, if you know what I mean.
I get the feeling like Peter Reinhart has accidental scorn for people outside of his baking community of bread-class demonstrations and industry events, and maybe isn't as plugged into smaller and online communities as much. You could pose a lot of the assertions and open-ended ideas into a Reddit thread and probably quickly get a lot of well-researched explanations and personal testimonials from people who have already "gone there" on any idea in this book, but Reinhart has a tendency to make it seem like he's Captain Kirk boldly going where no baker has gone before. It's not so.
The topic of this book is sprouted-grain breads. Those have existed for a long, long time. What seems to be new is the emerging supply of what amounts to diastatic malt powder, but made with wheat instead of barley, making that ingredient more available to more people.
I don't think I'd go so far as to call that a revolution on its own.
What Reinhart means by the revolution, I think, is that turn toward sprouted-grain breads could retrieve bread from the slander it's facing at the hands of gluten-free evangelists and keto dieters (known colloquially as 'dingbats.')
But the part of the book that justifies this point of view is woefully underbaked. I think it would behoove anyone who purports to write a book about bread and health to come up with an informed point of view through which to run the fantastic claims that those trying to sell a product can dream up. For example, a product called ProBioteen, which is basically spent brewery-grain flour, is said to be rich in prebiotics because it has been "fermented." But making the beer wort is a pre-fermentation step, unless you're considering the malting process as fermentation. And if you are, then ProBioteen has no more of a claim to "fermented" status than does a non-ProBioteen loaf which is fermented with normal baker's yeast or sourdough.
Gluten-free is apparently a market force, as painful as that is for me to admit, but I can't excuse a bunch of ad hoc theorizing over why separating bran from a 2nd run through the mill to make it finer before recombining it with the rest of the flour somehow produces a nutritionally-inferior whole wheat flour than does "whole-milling," and somehow explains why some "gluten-sensitive" people claim to experience no or fewer symptoms from "whole-milled" bread. Even if I grant that "gluten sensitivity" is a problem outside of celiac disease, I think I'm still on safe ground when I posit that a lot of people with "gluten sensitivities" do not actually have biological troubles eating gluten, and that perhaps a touchy digestion or an active imagination has caused them to associate any troubles with gluten in a bias-reinforcing way.
To the extent that gluten actually is a problem, then the real revolution would presumably be not to sprout the bread, which does nothing to the protein content, but to return to breads with lower protein levels. The high protein contents of modern-day flours are a relatively recent event due to excessive fertilizing and advanced plant breeding knowledge. In the past a 10% wheat flour would have been considered sufficient for bread-making, but modern flours claim 14% protein. That protein is mostly gluten, presumably.
Nevertheless, I personally am interested in sprouted-wheat bread, being recently convinced of the idea that humans evolved eating ripe plant seeds and tender plant matter. But since I already have a Reinhart book on bread-making and the main difference in this one is simply that the recipes use the new sprouted wheat flours or sprouted wheat pulp, I don't think I need to own this one in addition to the other one.
I get the feeling like Peter Reinhart has accidental scorn for people outside of his baking community of bread-class demonstrations and industry events, and maybe isn't as plugged into smaller and online communities as much. You could pose a lot of the assertions and open-ended ideas into a Reddit thread and probably quickly get a lot of well-researched explanations and personal testimonials from people who have already "gone there" on any idea in this book, but Reinhart has a tendency to make it seem like he's Captain Kirk boldly going where no baker has gone before. It's not so.
The topic of this book is sprouted-grain breads. Those have existed for a long, long time. What seems to be new is the emerging supply of what amounts to diastatic malt powder, but made with wheat instead of barley, making that ingredient more available to more people.
I don't think I'd go so far as to call that a revolution on its own.
What Reinhart means by the revolution, I think, is that turn toward sprouted-grain breads could retrieve bread from the slander it's facing at the hands of gluten-free evangelists and keto dieters (known colloquially as 'dingbats.')
But the part of the book that justifies this point of view is woefully underbaked. I think it would behoove anyone who purports to write a book about bread and health to come up with an informed point of view through which to run the fantastic claims that those trying to sell a product can dream up. For example, a product called ProBioteen, which is basically spent brewery-grain flour, is said to be rich in prebiotics because it has been "fermented." But making the beer wort is a pre-fermentation step, unless you're considering the malting process as fermentation. And if you are, then ProBioteen has no more of a claim to "fermented" status than does a non-ProBioteen loaf which is fermented with normal baker's yeast or sourdough.
Gluten-free is apparently a market force, as painful as that is for me to admit, but I can't excuse a bunch of ad hoc theorizing over why separating bran from a 2nd run through the mill to make it finer before recombining it with the rest of the flour somehow produces a nutritionally-inferior whole wheat flour than does "whole-milling," and somehow explains why some "gluten-sensitive" people claim to experience no or fewer symptoms from "whole-milled" bread. Even if I grant that "gluten sensitivity" is a problem outside of celiac disease, I think I'm still on safe ground when I posit that a lot of people with "gluten sensitivities" do not actually have biological troubles eating gluten, and that perhaps a touchy digestion or an active imagination has caused them to associate any troubles with gluten in a bias-reinforcing way.
To the extent that gluten actually is a problem, then the real revolution would presumably be not to sprout the bread, which does nothing to the protein content, but to return to breads with lower protein levels. The high protein contents of modern-day flours are a relatively recent event due to excessive fertilizing and advanced plant breeding knowledge. In the past a 10% wheat flour would have been considered sufficient for bread-making, but modern flours claim 14% protein. That protein is mostly gluten, presumably.
Nevertheless, I personally am interested in sprouted-wheat bread, being recently convinced of the idea that humans evolved eating ripe plant seeds and tender plant matter. But since I already have a Reinhart book on bread-making and the main difference in this one is simply that the recipes use the new sprouted wheat flours or sprouted wheat pulp, I don't think I need to own this one in addition to the other one.
June 8, 2019
I made the Sprouted Wheat Quick Bread, followed instructions exactly (including weighing ingredients), following the "variation" instructions to modify to almond poppyseed. The end product was unappealing, with a coarse mouth feel, and went into the garbage after all family members rejected it. WHOMP WHOMP. This was one of the simpler recipes in the book, so while I would never eliminate the possibility of user error, it seems unlikely IMHO. I may try one further recipe - the Sprouted Whole Wheat Bread, because I have a $12 bag of sprouted flour that's not going to use itself - but I don't have a lot of confidence it's going to yield earth shattering results. My gold standard is Ken Forkish's Flour, Water, Salt Yeast, which yielded orgasmically delicious bread, recipe after recipe, with a remarkable tolerance for various missteps.
This should go w/o saying, but my rating is indicative of my experience with the book, and based on my expectations and needs. If you're a world class baker ready for a new challenge, or a food geek wanting to stay on the cutting edge, this may be just what you are looking for. I get the impression this was a bit of a vanity project on Reinhart's part, pushing the envelope of materials and methods. I'm just looking for delicious, consistent and easy, so this isn't a tome that will be granted a place in my cookbook pantheon.
This should go w/o saying, but my rating is indicative of my experience with the book, and based on my expectations and needs. If you're a world class baker ready for a new challenge, or a food geek wanting to stay on the cutting edge, this may be just what you are looking for. I get the impression this was a bit of a vanity project on Reinhart's part, pushing the envelope of materials and methods. I'm just looking for delicious, consistent and easy, so this isn't a tome that will be granted a place in my cookbook pantheon.
June 7, 2021
I really like this book except for one thing - the book starts out with the usual information you would expect in a bread book and then goes on to techniques to know and follow for the bread recipes. Then in Chapter 5, there is a recipe for french bread with instructions; however, the instructions do not point you back to the beginning information concerning folding and flipping so I wasn't sure if I was supposed to follow those instructions but I think I was. Now, it may just be me and my reluctance to read the book cover to cover before I got started but this was just one thing that did not seem clear and really - after making one batch of bread from the recipe in Chapter 5, is still not clear.
But the next time I try the recipe, I am going to add those instructions because I do think it will make a difference.
Other than that, and I am still reading, it is a very good book and very insightful.
But the next time I try the recipe, I am going to add those instructions because I do think it will make a difference.
Other than that, and I am still reading, it is a very good book and very insightful.
May 20, 2018
Great Book
I always am looking for we information to become a better baker and this book was cutting edge and did not disappoint. A lot to digest here.
I always am looking for we information to become a better baker and this book was cutting edge and did not disappoint. A lot to digest here.
May 13, 2019
A very good book for the advanced baker. Most recipes require specialty sprouted flours, and /or sprouting your own grains.
May 23, 2020
Excellent advanced primer into the art of bread baking that includes sprouted grains.
October 27, 2014
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
The Bread Revolution is a difficult book to review simply because it is definitely something intended for the very serious cook/chef (which I am not). You'll need to have a good cooking/culinary background and be willing to spend a lot of money and time to find the ingredients/materials/tools and then make the distinct breads. For some, it is a labor of love. For others, it is a profession. But for the casual hobbyist, this book could be very daunting.Contents: A large chunk of the recipes are for sprouted flours. Then there are sections on whole grains/whole milling and 'new bread frontiers' including grape skin flour and probiotein lean bread. Recipes include: sprouted whole wheat muffins, whole wheat currant pretzels, high extraction pain au levain, grape skin flour crackers, sprouted wheat croissants, and many more. There are quite a few recipes with many different types of bread items - from bagels to crackers to muffins. There is a very academic discussion about grains in the beginning and then resources on where to get the specialty items at the end.
A lot of the book is a discussion about where artisan breads are going and the author's thoughts about the 'gluten free' and Wheat Belly phenomenons. He discusses the health benefits and problems with the various bread products and why the recipes in this book are different.
Those looking to really understand grains will find this book very informative. The author treats bread making as a never ending educational endeavor of continuous improvement and reinvention. And as fascinated by the whole world of breadmaking as he is, it may not necessarily translate to the readers as a similar fascination.
So yes, the book is very well done, very informative, and presents bread in a way that I've never seen broached. But was I inspired to try any of the recipes in here? Unfortunately, no. A lot of this went over my head. Also problematic was the digital version had very small type that was nearly impossible for me to read, even on my computer. I would suggest the hard copy for those interested in purchasing Bread Revolution.
Reviewed from an ARC.
June 25, 2018
Last autumn about this time, I took a class about creating sourdough starters. During the break, we were welcomed to snack on some freshly made sourdough bread with cheeses and chutneys. Strewn not-in-the-least-bit-strategically around the serving (dining room) table were all of Peter Reinhart’s books. We were all distracted from the sourdough (not an easy task) in our excitement over the recipes and photographs in the books. The couple teaching the class apparently felt that no one else in the bread world compared; we were to be shown only the best.
In that class, several very dedicated bread bakers seemed rather annoyed when they asked the instructors very specifically detailed questions about how to add whole grains to their bread but still achieve the crumb and lift of an all white sourdough… and didn’t receive the answers they were looking for (remember, this was a basic-skills sourdough starter class).
Well, the fanatics will be thrilled with the new Reinhart book. It is dedicated to baking with whole grains, sprouted wheats, and even has a few gluten free recipes.
He even includes a few simple recipes like pancakes, quick breads, and biscuits to introduce the baker to the benefits and taste of sprouted flours; recipes for which one doesn't need to have a starter or mother dough.
But never fear... the traditional Reinhart is here, with dozens of pages of set up material, answering any question that anyone could ever conceive of about the process, and teaching the detailed and careful process of starting and nourishing a starter.
I haven't yet made anything from this book. I always feel like this kind of baking is equal to dedicating oneself to a life-long craft. I, perhaps, shouldn't look at it that way, as many bakers would prefer that potential bakers not be intimidated or overwhelmed by the process in front of them, but in the world of bakers like Peter Reinhart, his intention is clearly to establish a solid foundation for baking bread; one which may take time, dedication, and potentially years of experimentation and knowledge to understand the craft well enough to create incredible loafs.
In that class, several very dedicated bread bakers seemed rather annoyed when they asked the instructors very specifically detailed questions about how to add whole grains to their bread but still achieve the crumb and lift of an all white sourdough… and didn’t receive the answers they were looking for (remember, this was a basic-skills sourdough starter class).
Well, the fanatics will be thrilled with the new Reinhart book. It is dedicated to baking with whole grains, sprouted wheats, and even has a few gluten free recipes.
He even includes a few simple recipes like pancakes, quick breads, and biscuits to introduce the baker to the benefits and taste of sprouted flours; recipes for which one doesn't need to have a starter or mother dough.
But never fear... the traditional Reinhart is here, with dozens of pages of set up material, answering any question that anyone could ever conceive of about the process, and teaching the detailed and careful process of starting and nourishing a starter.
I haven't yet made anything from this book. I always feel like this kind of baking is equal to dedicating oneself to a life-long craft. I, perhaps, shouldn't look at it that way, as many bakers would prefer that potential bakers not be intimidated or overwhelmed by the process in front of them, but in the world of bakers like Peter Reinhart, his intention is clearly to establish a solid foundation for baking bread; one which may take time, dedication, and potentially years of experimentation and knowledge to understand the craft well enough to create incredible loafs.
May 30, 2014
I liked the introduction and learning about new flours. These flours have properties that make them better than standard wheat flours (more protein, gluten free, etc.) however it comes at a cost. Due to the expense and difficulty of getting the ingredients, I have not made any of the breads yet, so this is more a review of the first, educational part, although there's more information sprinkled in with the recipes.
I received a review copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. The review copy as shown in my kindle was AWFUL. If you buy a kindle copy I strongly recommend you open it immediately (so you can return it for a refund if you have the same experience)and see if it's formatted better than my review copy which was useless, the recipes are out of whack, parts of the text were too pale to read, others were bold, words had capital letters sprinkled anywhere. Just terrible, terrible reading. You could not click to go to a recipe and there were no location numbers so you could jump that way. I also have an old Sony, which I didn't try it on, but the PC program for it was formatted perfectly. However the font was tiny and as far as I can tell, there's no way in the PC program to enlarge it.
So, if you are interested in a book using different types of flours and have the money or dietary needs to do so, I would recommend going to a bookstore and getting a paper version. I don't think ebooks are the best format for cookbooks at this time.
I received a review copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. The review copy as shown in my kindle was AWFUL. If you buy a kindle copy I strongly recommend you open it immediately (so you can return it for a refund if you have the same experience)and see if it's formatted better than my review copy which was useless, the recipes are out of whack, parts of the text were too pale to read, others were bold, words had capital letters sprinkled anywhere. Just terrible, terrible reading. You could not click to go to a recipe and there were no location numbers so you could jump that way. I also have an old Sony, which I didn't try it on, but the PC program for it was formatted perfectly. However the font was tiny and as far as I can tell, there's no way in the PC program to enlarge it.
So, if you are interested in a book using different types of flours and have the money or dietary needs to do so, I would recommend going to a bookstore and getting a paper version. I don't think ebooks are the best format for cookbooks at this time.
August 25, 2016
I love reading Peter Reinhart write about bread. He has such enthusiasm for his subject that is completely contagious. I have never finished a book of his without starting a loaf of break within half an hour (using his techniques, of course!).
This book is unlike any other bread book I have read because it focuses on the newest types of flour - mainly sprouted and whole grain fours. With sprouted flours, the grain is sprouted by soaking for a few days, then either dried and made into a flour or pulped and made into flour-less bread. The sprouting process makes the flour healthier by doing magic stuff like releasing extra enzymes and nutrients and, as explored by Reinhart, can be used to make healthy, delicious bread.
Reinhart describes the exploration of bread-making using this type of flour as a new frontier for the bread industry. The way he writes about the bread does make it seem (as the title says) like there is a bread revolution coming. Unfortunately, there is limited availability of this type of flour where I live so I wasn't able to try any of the recipes myself but I will definitely keep an eye out for it because some of these recipes looked really delicious. Importantly - and one of the reasons I like Reinhart's writing - they all seemed doable. Plus, I learned a lot of stuff. Did you know there's a flour that can be made from the waste produced by making wine? I totally want to eat bread made from shiraz grapes!
This book is unlike any other bread book I have read because it focuses on the newest types of flour - mainly sprouted and whole grain fours. With sprouted flours, the grain is sprouted by soaking for a few days, then either dried and made into a flour or pulped and made into flour-less bread. The sprouting process makes the flour healthier by doing magic stuff like releasing extra enzymes and nutrients and, as explored by Reinhart, can be used to make healthy, delicious bread.
Reinhart describes the exploration of bread-making using this type of flour as a new frontier for the bread industry. The way he writes about the bread does make it seem (as the title says) like there is a bread revolution coming. Unfortunately, there is limited availability of this type of flour where I live so I wasn't able to try any of the recipes myself but I will definitely keep an eye out for it because some of these recipes looked really delicious. Importantly - and one of the reasons I like Reinhart's writing - they all seemed doable. Plus, I learned a lot of stuff. Did you know there's a flour that can be made from the waste produced by making wine? I totally want to eat bread made from shiraz grapes!
July 14, 2014
I received access to this title via NetGalley, but my review and opinions are wholly my own. Reinhart definitely knows his stuff and has several other bread books published which is obvious in this book. This book is entirely about baking bread with sprouted flours. If that is what you are interested in then I highly recommend this book. If you are looking to just make breads or learn a few new techniques this is not for you. This book covers the history of sprouted flours and how the author got into the topic and then goes on to cover all types of breads using such flours. If you are determined to take on this new bread frontier this will get you there. Also the recipes in here are measured in grams/weight not measuring cups.
January 19, 2020
I'd attempted sprouted wheat bread previously that turned out pretty badly. After getting some tips from this book, I made a couple loaves that were pretty dang good! I still didn't measure anything or follow a recipe per se, but some guidance was really helpful.
My own tip- if you don't have a meat grinder or proper food processor, blend multiple small batches so you don't have to add too much liquid.
My own tip- if you don't have a meat grinder or proper food processor, blend multiple small batches so you don't have to add too much liquid.
August 24, 2015
Each consequetive breadbook of P.R. gives me a bit more intuitive bread making, more techniques, more ideas to use my sourdough starter, and more knowledge of the whole process. Being that there are certain types of recipes I will always go back to making, his recipes give me variety to create them. (I.e./ the struan)
August 26, 2015
A solid book with good recipes but certainly not "revolutionary".
August 9, 2015
Very technical!!! As I'm still baking with all purpose flour, I'm not ready for this esoteric tome.
April 7, 2016
My fault, didn't realize this was all about alternative flours. I bake bread regularly, but these recipes were too complicated and those I tried didn't produce a superior product.
May 3, 2016
This book is too advanced for me, but it was still interesting to read.
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