Ultimate Bread

by ursula-ferrigno-eric-treuille, Ursula Ferrigno

You don't have to go to San Francisco for sourdough, to Italy for ciabatta, or to Germany for Pumpernickel. All these recipes and many more are found in "Ultimate Bread." Step-by-step sequences and easy-to-follow text takes the mystery out of breadmaking. Baking essentials and basic techniques are included, too. "Ultimate Bread" guarantees the pleasure that making and eating your own bread brings! Features over 100 superb recipes .Photos of all the basic ingredients including fillings and flavorings .Companion volume of "Ultimate Chocolate, Ultimate Cake," and "Ultimate Pasta."

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

168 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Janet]

I have the English version as well as the German version, this is because in Europe the classification of the flour types is different. And this book has good illustrations on the flour types. The naan bread recipe is really good!

[Amy]

This is a great book for anyone who loves to make bread. It starts with basics & tells you everything you need to know. And the pictures are GORGEOUS! I loved it.

[Vanessa]

I got this from my Library and loved that it has so much information on homemade bread I bought my own copy.

[Foxthyme]

I've been making bread for years, I thought. I'd never invested in a bread book that illustrates techniques, so well, before. Now that I have this book, I'm understanding that the end product truly is the staff of life. Bread is alive, it moves, it grows.

I'm through with overflouring breads, which just dries out the poor suckers. Nice sticky, moist, elastic dough for many breads is the ideal.

Some loaves I've been learning with:
-Quick rise corn bread
-Ballymaloe Brown Bread - dense single rise loaf
-South African Seed Bread - nut dense single rise loaf
-Hungarian Potato Bread - gorgeous bread, awesome texture and flavour
-Broa a Portuguese yeast risen corn bread - yummy
-Ciambella Mandorlata: Italian ring-shaped easter bread with nut brittle (not what we know as brittle, but a blend of cinnamon, sugar, toasted almonds, and egg yolk mixed to form a tasty blend, crumbed over the top of the loaf) - reminds me of Finnish Christmas bread, only instead of cardamom you have a subtle lemon flavour

[Mara Shaw]

The photography in the book is Fabulous! Thank you Ursula Ferrigno! Recipes from around the world and photos of every ingredient, piece of equipment, techniques and all of the different finishes on bread -- pre-bake and after baking. The well-written 69 pages of technique and fundamentals are always good to have.

I'd appreciate some mention of how best to use these recipes in a convection oven, but am figuring it out myself. I'm curious why such low oven temps (200C) are used in so many recipes. I eschew bread machines with snobbery akin to the British peerages' view on chavs, so I always wish they weren't mentioned, but the recipes are lovely and the photography is mouthwatering.

[Darcy Asher]

This is my bread bible book. It has lots of pictures, details, and great bread making recipes from across the globe. Awesome Book! I spent 3 hours in Barnes and Noble searching all the available bread books on the shelf, and this book won :)

[Jenny]

This is my favorite bread book. It's got loads of mouth-watering pictures to entice you to cook. Includes a good explanation of different types of flour, gluten, bran, yeast, and when each is appropriate. Love it!

[Cyndi]

Worth a look just for the pictures. Gorgeous pictures. But the actual text, eh. I'm not at all a breadmaker (I read the book for research purposes) but I found two serious errors and one annoying one. Bad enough that I don't trust any of their recipes.

Annoying: No one seems to be copy editing. One recipe called for 6 teaspoons of yeast. Hello? That's 2 tablespoons. Why on earth? A few others as well. Like the single cornbread recipe is made with processed cornmeal and the sourdough section isn't real sourdough (they add commercial yeast).

Serious: The challah recipe has butter in it. No self-respecting challah-maker would ever use dairy (yes, I know many non-Jewish bakeries use it and still call it challah). And the book distinctly said this challah was for use on the Jewish Sabbath, with directions for the specialty loaf made on Rosh Hashanah. There was no mention of butter being a non-traditional addition or of substitutes.

Super serious: There is a section of "low-gluten" and gluten-free flours (no recipes for them, just pretty pictures). Spelt is number one. Spelt is in fact a type of wheat. There is a myth that it is "low-gluten" (it's not, it just has a type of gluten that doesn't activate as much as regular wheat does) and the book claims it's suitable for people with gluten-intolerance. This is the sort of information that injures people. I've actually been in a restaurant that called spelt bread "gluten-free" and then finally admitted to me that it wasn't, it was "low-gluten" (which it is not). Yes, some people who have trouble with regular wheat do fine with spelt, but it's not because of the differences in gluten.

If I were to bake bread, I'd use this book for inspiration but get the actual recipes from better sources.

[Doug]

OMG. I can't even.

I'm new to bread-making. I made some loaves from what I picked up from allrecipes and youtube videos, and this book was recommended to me by a friend.

Wow. It isn't too long to read, and it isn't intimidating. The opening part gives you the basics and the recipes work great. The Victorian Milk bread and the Bagels are family favorites. I'm having so much fun working through this book.

[Sherry]

Beautiful pictures. Sadly, the Sourdough breads call for yeast rather than sourdough starter.

[Elizabeth]

Reminiscent of Time-Life's Breads, "Ultimate Bread" delves into bread-making with yeast.

This is a wonderful beginner book for people wanting to begin baking bread using commercial yeast. There are detailed instructions for mixing by hand, food-processor, stand-mixer, and bread machine. Many of the instructions include well-made photo essays.

There are also a number of decent looking recipes for breads from all over the world: India, France, Italy, British Isles, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and USA. (Oddly, the Gallery of Breads at the beginning of the book omits India and the Subcontinent.)

Unfortunately, the library copy I got is the 2nd American edition (2004) - unfortunate because of the ridiculous notion that Americans are incapable of measuring ingredients by weight. In spite of a brief acknowledgement that the metric system, kitchen scales, and weighing ingredients exist, all of the measurements in the US edition of the book are in cups and spoons!

The following is the only mention of weights or metric system:

MEASURING THE INGREDIENTS
Accuracy is crucial when making bread. measure all the ingredients carefully before you begin. Follow either nonmetric or metric measurements throughout the recipe. These two types of measurement are not interchangeable. For nonmetric, measure by cup, tablespoon or teaspoon. [...] For metric, use a clearly marked scale to weigh dry ingredients. With liquid ingredients, put a measuring cup on a flat surface and bend down so that the measure mark is at eye level. [Basic Techniques | How to Begin, p.40]

The book claims to talk about sourdough, but the very brief recipe for how to create a "sourdough" starter begins with commercial yeast, and the maintenance instructions are scant and misleading.

A traditional sourdough starter is made with a flour and water paste that is left to ferment by wild airborned yeast. [...] Once established, a sourdough starter can be kept indefinitely in the refrigerator. The longer a starter is kept, the better the flavor of the baked bread. If you do not make bread rugularly, it is important to "feed" the starter every two weeks. [...] After using a portion of the starter, replace it with an equal amount of flour and water to keep it active for the next time you make bread. For example, if the recipe calls for 1 cup starter, after removing this amount stir 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water back into the jar.[Basic Techniques | Creating and Feeding a Sourdough Starter, p.43]

I don't know about you, but the last time I checked, 1/2 cup is considerably less than equal to 1 cup....

Still, there are a number of very good looking recipes, including the usual suspects: baguettes, French country bread, ciabatta, pizza, etc. etc.

The following are bookmarked:
» Daktyla, p75 (Greek village bread with cornmeal and sesame seeds)
» Scots Baps, p77
» Ballymaloe Brown Bread, p78
» Broa, p78 (Portuguese corn bread)
» Pain au Noix, p99
» Dark Chocolate Bread, p102
» South African Seed Bread, p102
» Scacciata con l'Uva, p109 (schiacciata with black grapes and wine soaked raisins)
» Parker House Rolls, p120
» Ekmek, p129 (Turkish flat bread)
» Carta da Musica, p130
» Torta al Testo, p133 (Umbrian filled flat bread)
» Pide, p137 (Turkish seeded bread pouch)

+ + + + +

If half stars were allowed, I would give this 3.5 stars, simply because a book entitled "Ultimate Bread" should include recipes for making and maintaining real sourdough, rather than the ersatz version in the book that calls for commercial yeast.

When purchasing the book, make sure to get the UK edition; apparently, it includes metric and volume measures.

Ultimate Bread is published by the Britain's Dorling Kindersley (DK Publishing, 1998) and so the recipes are in both metric and American Standard measurements. [- Fr. Dominic Garramone, The Bread Monk | Breadhead Bookshelf: Ultimate Bread by Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno(http://breadmonk.com/my-bread-blog/br...)]

[DeAnne]

This is a fantastic technique book. I've had to modify a lot of the recipes I've tried, probably to compensate for a radically different climate and flour than Northern Europe...but the techniques are spot on, well illustrated and explained. This is a good companion book for the hobbyist baker.

It is important to note that there are two versions of this book: One is just called Bread by the same authors, published in the 90's; and that version went to press with a significant number of errors in the recipes. If purchasing, make sure you are getting "Ultimate Bread", as the mistakes have been fixed.

[Rose Ann]

6/26/2013 -- Made the Pain Ordinaire, in the English Cottage Loaf shape. OMG was it wonderful! Next: Victorian Milk Bread. I'll keep you posted!

7/15/2013 -- Victorian Milk Bread -- wonderful!

12/17/2013 -- Well, made the stromboli. (ahem) It was not a success. As much as I hate to waste food, I think I will have to throw this away! But I blame myself more than the recipe; I think I mishandled the dough, and then rolled it up too tightly as well. I might try it again and see how it goes.

[Aja Marsh]

pretty good-- i was skeptical at first as a lot of time this publisher's books are too basic and i don't always like the recipes, but seeing as i'm a fairly novice bread baker the simplicity and step-by-step photos here were really helpful as were some of the tips and tricks that have caught me in my last few bread making attempts. i can't quite speak for any of the recipes yet as the first one i've made is mid-rise, but we'll see in a few hours! country oatmeal bread. sounds good! :)

[Faith]

This is the best book ever! The instructions are great and there are LOTS of pictures...which I need. I have tried several of the recipes and so far I have liked all of them. The basic white bread is my favorite white bread recipe I have found so far. I am in the process of trying out the San Francisco Sour Dough...the pretzels were fun!! I highly recommend this book.

[Gregg McNeill]

My Friend Nathan recommended this book to me because it was one that his mother used. It's a great reference and the photography is excellent. I have used the recipes many times. If you're new to home baking, this book is a great first step.

[Zoraidac]

This books has excellent photographs, easy to follow techniques (ex. shaping and folding dough), and a good amount of basic information. Where it falls desperately short is in the recipes. The proportion of flour, to water, to salt, is so off that it would definitely discourage any beginner.

[Erin Greenwood]

I've been renewing this book to the point I feel it is mine. It has good bread recipes.

[Aristi Pratomo]

yumming bread, all in!

[W]

I love this book solely because of the gorgeous pictures of bread. I think I've only made one recipe in it...Parker House Rolls, which I overcooked, but still looked beautiful.

[Melanie Cook]

definitely a wonderful book about bread. and it's not just a recipe book, it really *is* a book about bread.

[Dineen]

Here is the odd bread book. Most bread books have countless recipes with a handful of photos. This one has countless photos and a limited number of recipes.

[Zharina]

superb! i love the way they wrote this book systematically. and even they have problem solving chapter alone!

[Zachary G. Augustine]

A sort of strange book with emphasis on ideas and techniques and diversity with hit or miss recipes. It's basically a glorified picture book or a beginner's informational book on general bread IQ.

[Gretta Fisher-gomez]

Awesome book! Learn the art of bread baking.

[Julie]

My favorite bread recipes EVER. Cheese Hearth Bread, Stuffed Focaccia.....yum.

[Nohreen]

A great addition to a baker's collection of cookbooks.

[Koeeoaddi]

Excellent bread book.