Simply Great Breads: Sweet and Savory Yeasted Treats from Americas Premier Artisan Baker by Lauren Chattman

Simply Great Breads: Sweet and Savory Yeasted Treats from Americas Premier Artisan Baker Reviews

• 
  Dee

  I loved this book! I already have several recipe books for bread and wondered if this would be any different and I was pleased to see quite a few different recipes that I didn't already have.
  
  This wonderful book is by artisan baker Daniel Leader and it starts with standard recipes for breakfast breads from all over the world so for example it had English muffins, French brioche and New York bagels and many more. It then continues with that theme with a collection for both sweet and savoury breads from all around the world for example ciabatta rolls, Navajo fried bread, naan bread, mana'eesh to name but a few. This book is full of pictures of the yeasty treats some from the rolling out and shaping stage and others showing the expected end results. I know that pictures cost extra money to include but for me they are very important and a good cookery book cannot have too many.
  
  I have tried a few of the recipes and have had excellent results and have been pleased with the outcome but can see that mine and the family's waistline is going to expand very quickly especially if we continue to eat those scrummy cider or jam doughnuts - oh boy they are the best ever.
  
  I would definitely recommend this book to everyone.
  
  Arc provided by Taunton Press via Netgalley
• 
  Michelle Hoogterp

  The pictures are amazing, and this is important to me when I decide to actually purchase a cookbook! The recipes are wonderful and while some will be difficult for a beginning bread maker (practice makes perfect!) the instructions shouldn't be daunting in the least. Furthermore, I love that Daniel Leader has added his own commentary and experiences into the cookbook which makes this book so much more than the typical list of recipes and pictures fare. I got to review a copy of this book and now I plan on adding it to my very selective sets of cookbooks!
• 
  Trish

  I wrote my review before I tried the Yeasted Pancakes. Now I'm adding a star for unrivalled excellence: I have NEVER have I tasted anything to rival the creamy lightness of these pancakes. In fact, it is laughable that they are even called pancakes. They should have another name--like crepes have a different name because they have a different texture, these are a different class altogether. Maybe something like a pan-fried doughnut, but far more elegant and without the greasy overtones 'doughnut' implies. It has a melt-in-your-mouth not-too-sweet airy perfection that will take any added fruit, fruit sauce, or drizzle of maple syrup and make your family/guests swoon with pleasure. Best of all, you make the batter the night before and have a coffee before you do anything more strenuous than take the batter out of the frig.
  
  At first I thought this a collection for entertaining. It has a marvelous collection of breakfast breads, rolls, and specialties that one would probably not make every week for oneself, especially if one had a busy schedule, but may want to do as a special treat for family or if a guest were coming. Or perhaps if one had a tea shop, one could offer specials each day. The yeasted tarts and schiacciata, or flatbreads something like focaccia, make me think of brunches, afternoon teas, cool and sweetly delicious white wines, and casually elegant lunches for delighted and delightful friends. But you know what? I really like this collection so much I would probably use it to fill in all week when I run out of something--and to treat myself.
  
  There is also an extraordinary collection of flatbreads here, the secrets of which are revealed. Mana’eesh is a Middle Eastern olive oil-rich bread topped with dried thyme, sesame, and sumac. (This was screamingly good in taste and texture.) But not only are secrets of the bread revealed (e.g., how to make the bread rise--or not since it is intended to be flat--properly), but the secret of the spice mixture, and the cooking of chicken toppings that can adorn it, if one were to be authentic. In addition there are fry breads and donuts, bagels and bialys. The bialys were so much better than store-bought that I shall probably never buy another. I have yet to try to try the bagels, but look forward to it. (I have tried making bagels several times previously from variously sourced-recipes and all have been vaguely disappointing.)
  
  Perhaps what I like most is that many of these breads can be most successfully made by preparing the biga or proofing dough the day before, which has the effect of lessening the work aspect of bread creation on the day of a big event, strengthening the texture, and enhancing the flavor. I prefer to make my breads this way now, since the flavor is so clearly impacted (I’m terribly spoiled) and I detest wasting an entire day to rising, kneading, shaping, etc. It has to fit in the schedule if it is going to be a part of my life.
  
  I think this is a valuable addition to the library of even an occasional bread-maker because the flatbreads are nearly infallible, and this author uses a standing mixer to knead, which can take some of the mystery out of bread-making, but also gives access to many aspiring bakers. However I note the author, in his preface, suggests this is for the "serious baker with holes in their repertoire." I concede that one may take for granted the necessary oven stones and peels, brioche pans and experience of texture and stages of doneness, but this is too good not to share with everyone. Enjoy!
• 
  Jennifer Rinehart

  I like books about baking. For years I'd pick them up, stare greedily at the tasty pics and then sigh, put them back onto the shelf and slump away, my shoulders down and my mouth frowny. My failure to create bread was a source of anxiety and shame. I've made biryani, cherries flambe and eggs benedict with real hollandaise, but my yeast breads always turned out awful.
  
  About once a year I'd pick up a book and give it another try, but it always ended the same, with a dirty kitchen and a lump of floury dough that did not rise and smelled like paste and desperation.
  
  I've since learned the basics. I can make pretzels (thanks Alton), anadama bread and pizza crust (thanks Wolfgang) but I'd gotten into a rut and still had the occasional bread fails. This book, with it's detailed explanations has added several crucial pieces of breadmaking information. For example, bigas.
  
  If you are like me, a dedicated food lurker, you've heard the word biga. But I wasn't sure what it was or why anyone would want to use it in bread. Since I didn't know what biga was, everytime I ran across a recipe that used it, I'd leave it alone. Turns out Biga is like a sourdough starter, except that it takes a fraction of time to make and isn't sour.
  
  I'm planning on using it now, not only in the recipe for Ciabatta from the book, but also in other recipes I've found on Food Gawker and the like.
  
  One of the other great things about this book are the variations in ingredients that follow most every recipe. Camel Monkey Bread becomes Garlic Scallion Monkey Bread and Grape Schiacciata becomes Rosemary Walnut or Cherry Tomato Anise, which is a very good thing because I'm certain to never find fresh champagne grapes here in Washington.
  
  Most of the recipes are ones I've seen before, but it's the easy to follow directions and descriptions that make them noteworthy.
  
  A recipe for Mana'eesh - a Middle Eastern flatbread, sounds like an easy recipe to start out with for the novice bakers and a more complex recipe for bagels is included for the adventurous home cook.
  
  The book loses it's way a little with recipes for jams and too many pages of fried doughs, but it won me over again with a handy list of equivalencies.
  
  I have just two complaints about the book and they are, one, the book is too short and I think it should have at least one basic bread recipe and two, the Navajo fry bread recipe is a fast and loose representation of a culturally important staple of Native American cuisine. But, I guess it's the thought that counts, many people have never tried this delectable treat (totally worth your time and effort, there are a ton of recipes online).
• 
  Shala Kerrigan

  I love baking fresh bread by hand.
  The author, Daniel Leader is as enthused about bread baking as I am, and the introduction is wonderful. He discusses the necessity of using the best ingredients and using recipes that allow the grain you're baking with to take center stage rather than using a lot of fats and flavors that mask the characteristics of the grain you're using. It also explains a bit about the science part of bread making and about artisan doughs.He lists different ingredients and their attributes like cornmeal which is used both as a release and as a nice bit of texture to things like English muffins.
  The recipes are a mix of savory and sweet. They are yeast breads, he suggests using a dough hook in a stand mixer, but they can all be done by hand as well.
  The recipes and the photos are just gorgeous. This is one of the prettiest bread baking books I've ever seen. The recipes are drool worthy and inspiring. All yeasted, even things like pancakes that aren't generally made with yeast. The author also came up with what has to be my favorite crumpet recipe ever.
  The variety of methods and types of yeasted breads is just wonderful, 28 recipes total with extra variations for some of them to increase the range.
  Not a beginning bread baking book, and some of his adaptations are different from the originals, he's a yeast bread enthusiast and that's reflected in these recipes. The recipes are great though, and generally I don't follow bread recipes.
• 
  Judy

  Simply Great Breads by Daniel Leader with Lauren Chattman.
  
  Daniel has a paragraph or so telling about the item. It may be where it was from or its origins. The recipes list several types of measuring such as ounces, grams and teaspoons. Many of the recipes also have pictures along with them that will have your mouth watering.
  
  Recipes such as classic breakfast breads include english muffins, crumpets, brioche & bagels for starters. Many of these items are getting pricey let alone what can compare to homemade and the smell of it filling your home.
  
  Recipes for rolls, biscuits and bread sticks. You can make your Ciabatta bread sandwiches. I hear more and more about grilling pizzas and there is a recipe for a pizza dough that is for grilling. Also other flatbreads using various herbs and spices to entice your taste buds.
  
  If you been looking for the secret ingredient to make a fluffy pancake then you may finally have found it in the yeast section along with recipes for doughnuts and coffee cakes and the ever popular monkey bread. Not only is there a recipe for jelly-filled berlinder (a German type of jelly doughnut) but also three recipes for the jams to put in them.
  
  There are also topping recipes & a marinara dipping sauce.
  
  Book received through NetGalley for review
• 
  Allizabeth Collins

  Description:
  
  Simply Great breads by Daniel Leader is a recipe book filled with beautiful, not to mention flavorful breads that will leave both the reader and baker craving some serious carbs.
  
  Review:
  I received this book from NetGalley (Taunton Press).
  First-off, I must begin by admitting that I am a total bread addict. This summer alone I have experimented with making so many breads that I can't even pick a favorite. Therefore, when I heard that Simply Great Breads was coming out, I just had to get a copy and try out some of the recipes. The photographs of the breads were mouth-watering, I had to stop myself from trying them all out on day one. And, once I started baking, I found the instructions easy to follow and the equivalency tables a great resource for baking. I can honestly say that Daniel Leader knows how to bake some exquisitely delicious breads, however, I wish that there had been more "breads", (loaved), in addition to all the specialty recipes, (Stone Fruit Beignets, Ham and Cheese Crescent rolls, Luxury English Muffins...etc). That said, I did enjoy the delectable recipes and recommend Simply Great Breads to readers and home bakers alike.
  
  Rating: Bounty's Out (3/5)
  
  
• 
  Sara Thompson

  So many bread books are filled with the same recipe repeated over and over with a few alterations. They make the reader feel cheated out of new and exciting recipes. That is not the case with this bread book.
  The variation of recipes is nice, a sampling of bread recipes from pancakes to challah to flatbread to doughnuts to monkey bread. There are great stories with the recipes and cultural explanations as needed. I loved the bounce from sweet to savory but more so I liked the small sections after each recipe that explained different ways you could make the bread.
  I loved the addition of non-bread recipes such as the three jam recipes after the Jelly-filled Berliners (a stuffed doughnut).
  This is definitely one book for my shelves. I can't wait to get elbow deep in flour and try the recipes. I have been wanting to make crumpets and bagels so I know what I am doing this weekend.
• 
  Stacie

  Definately a different kind of bread making book. For bread makers looking for something different from the tradtional, this book offers few nice variations. The begining says baking it easy, which anyone who makes bread knows it can be tedidous reguardless. 136 pages with big color photos. I haven't decided if it's a keeper yet but it's small thin and resourceful enough to hang around for a lot of testing.
  
  English Muffins
  Crumpets
  Brioche w/variations of Fig/Chestnut/Cinnamon-Cardamom
  Chestnut Cinn. Sprials/Cocoa-Marcarp./Ap.cot-Choc. Chip
  Boiceville Bialys
  Bagels
  Parker hOuse Rolls
  Angel Biscuits
  Ham & Cheese Filled Crescent Rolls
  Crisp bread sticks
  Ciabatta Rolls w/variations Bran/Seven Seed
  Navajo Fry Bread w/variation Chili-Dusted
  Whole Wheat Challah w/Apricots or with Green Olives
  
  Plus Flavor Packed flat breads and quick yeast treats.
  
  
• 
  Aimee

  Daniel Leader's Simply Great Breads is a wonderful collection of recipes for people who enjoy making bread at home. This is not a huge book and does not cover everything like some other baking books that I have, but Leader has some recipes that I have not seen before that I am eager to try. There is a secion on ciabatta, which I love, and the recipe for cialbatta rolls sounds wonderful.
  
  I usually use my stand mixer to knead my bread for me but Leader has a how-to guide on how to hand-knead bread that I think I am going to try. There is also a recipe for pancakes with yeast and a recipe for strawberry jam that caught my eye.
  
  Some different ideas and recipes made this bread book worth while for me. I think that any one who enjoys making their own bread will find something that they would like to try in this delightful book.
• 
  Glenajo

  Simply Great Breads is a wonderful authority on some of the lesser-known breads that are generally not cooked in a home. If you have ever made your own bread, you will enjoy Simply Great Breads because your repertoire will compound immediately. Daniel Leader is a professional baker in his own bakery, and in Simply Great Breads, he included recipes he uses in his own home. When I travel, I realize that those of us who do not live in areas where we can easily purchase excellent artisan breads miss this pleasure. Now, if you have the time, you can make your own. Leader includes English muffins, bagels, and yeast pancakes. Even if you have never baked bread before, the recipes are detailed enough that a beginner bread maker will achieve excellent results.
• 
  Naomi

  I became aware of this book when it first came out and put it on my "to be watched" list. When I saw it at the library, I grabbed it. It is now in my Amazon cart. This book is as good as I thought it was. The recipes are unusual mixed in with basic bread recipes. Each has steps broken out for preparation. If prep pictures would have been included, it would have be a 5 star review.