The Perfect Loaf

Informationen zum Autor Maurizio Leo is the creator of the award-winning sourdough website The Perfect Loaf, resident bread baker at Food52 , and a regular contributor to the King Arthur Baking blog. Maurizio has written articles on bread baking for Edible New Mexico , the Bread Baker's Guild of America, and Bread Magazine . He's spent the past decade baking bread in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Klappentext JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER • IACP AWARD WINNER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A dynamic, authoritative sourdough baking bible for those looking to build confidence in the craft with a wide range of foolproof recipes, from pan loaves to pizza to doughnuts, by the beloved blogger and resident bread baker at Food52 Maurizio Leo has given all bread-heads, whether newbies or experienced bakers, the ideal gift.Peter Reinhart, author of The Bread Baker's Apprentice and host of Pizza Quest ONE OF SAVEUR 'S BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR Maurizio Leo's blog The Perfect Loaf is the go-to destination on the internet for beginner sourdough bakers. He now brings his impeccably detailed techniques, foolproof recipes, and generous teaching style to a groundbreaking debut cookbook that delves into the absolute fundamentals of sourdoughplus the tools and confidence to explore beyond. Recipes cover flavorful, crowd-pleasing favorites: Essential freeform loaves: Simple Sourdough, Rosemary & Olive Oil, Extra-Sour Sourdough, Cranberry & Walnut, Demi Baguettes Pan loaves: Everyday Sandwich Bread, Naturally Leavened Brioche, German Whole Rye, Honey Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread Pizza and flatbread: Roman-Style Pan Pizza, Focaccia, Naan, Flour Tortillas, Pita Buns, rolls, and more: Soft Dinner Rolls, Potato Buns, Ciabatta Rolls, English Muffins, Bagels Sweets: Weekend Cinnamon Rolls, Italian Doughnuts, Summer Fruit Sourdough Crostata, Banana Bread, Cinnamon Babka Beginner bakers will have their hands held the entire way, with troubleshooting sections and numerous sidebars answering almost every question they may havelike how to store a sourdough starter long-term, how bakers' percentages actually work, and a visual guide to common bread fails and how to remedy them. Seasoned bakers will relish deep dives into the science behind baking processes and expert information on how to build their baker's intuition and level up by experimenting with hydration, ingredient ratios, freshly milled grains, and specialty flours. Whether you're new to bread baking or a pro, The Perfect Loaf will be your indispensable guide in the kitchen. Leseprobe Introduction It's early morning in my home kitchen and, as usual, I'm at the counter with my red grain mill loaded with wheat berries. I ready the hand-operated gristmill to produce fresh, fragrant flour for today's dough as sunlight streams in through the windows. I smell the aromas of fresh flour and sourdough starter and feel a familiar mix of anticipation and early morning energy. This ritual kicks off a day structured around fermentation, mixes, folds, and shapes. An opportunity to connect my hands with a tangible output, a pathway for creativity and expression. In today's world of notifications and keyboards and screens, the simple act of dunking my hands into a bowl containing only sourdough, salt, flour, and watersquishing and squeezing to combine the elementary ingredientsis utterly satisfying. A primordial contentment. Made from three simple ingredients, bread doesn't need to be complicatedthey certainly didn't have a digital thermometer in ancient Rome. The beauty of baking bread is it's a craft that can be as deep and complicated as you want it to be. It can be as simple as mixing that handful of ingredients in a bowl, letting it ferment, and then baking it when ready. But it can...

Klappentext

**JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER • IACP AWARD WINNER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A dynamic, authoritative sourdough baking bible for those looking to build confidence in the craft with a wide range of foolproof recipes, from pan loaves to pizza to doughnuts, by the beloved blogger and resident bread baker at *Food52

**“Maurizio Leo has given all bread-heads, whether newbies or experienced bakers, the ideal gift.”—Peter Reinhart, author of The Bread Baker’s Apprentice and host of Pizza Quest
**
ONE OF SAVEUR'S BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR

Maurizio Leo’s blog The Perfect Loaf is the go-to destination on the internet for beginner sourdough bakers. He now brings his impeccably detailed techniques, foolproof recipes, and generous teaching style to a groundbreaking debut cookbook that delves into the absolute fundamentals of sourdough—plus the tools and confidence to explore beyond.
 
Recipes cover flavorful, crowd-pleasing favorites:
Essential freeform loaves: Simple Sourdough, Rosemary & Olive Oil, Extra-Sour Sourdough, Cranberry & Walnut, Demi BaguettesPan loaves: Everyday Sandwich Bread, Naturally Leavened Brioche, German Whole Rye, Honey Whole Wheat Sandwich BreadPizza and flatbread: Roman-Style Pan Pizza, Focaccia, Naan, Flour Tortillas, PitaBuns, rolls, and more: Soft Dinner Rolls, Potato Buns, Ciabatta Rolls, English Muffins, BagelsSweets: Weekend Cinnamon Rolls, Italian Doughnuts, Summer Fruit Sourdough Crostata, Banana Bread, Cinnamon Babka  
Beginner bakers will have their hands held the entire way, with troubleshooting sections and numerous sidebars answering almost every question they may have—like how to store a sourdough starter long-term, how bakers’ percentages actually work, and a visual guide to common “bread fails” and how to remedy them. Seasoned bakers will relish deep dives into the science behind baking processes and expert information on how to build their “baker’s intuition” and level up by experimenting with hydration, ingredient ratios, freshly milled grains, and specialty flours. Whether you're new to bread baking or a pro, The Perfect Loaf will be your indispensable guide in the kitchen.

Leseprobe
Introduction

It's early morning in my home kitchen and, as usual, I’m at the counter with my red grain mill loaded with wheat berries. I ready the hand-operated gristmill to produce fresh, fragrant flour for today’s dough as sunlight streams in through the windows. I smell the aromas of fresh flour and sourdough starter and feel a familiar mix of anticipation and early morning energy. This ritual kicks off a day structured around fermentation, mixes, folds, and shapes. An opportunity to connect my hands with a tangible output, a pathway for creativity and expression. In today’s world of notifications and keyboards and screens, the simple act of dunking my hands into a bowl containing only sourdough, salt, flour, and water—squishing and squeezing to combine the elementary ingredients—is utterly satisfying. A primordial contentment.

Made from three simple ingredients, bread doesn’t need to be complicated—they certainly didn’t have a digital thermometer in ancient Rome. The beauty of baking bread is it’s a craft that can be as deep and complicated as you want it to be. It can be as simple as mixing that handful of ingredients in a bowl, letting it ferment, and then baking it when ready. But it can be complex, too: Just talk to any longtime baker about their starter maintenance or levain builds and you’ll likely uncover a topic of great passion and intricacy.

As your baking experience increases, your proficiency and knowledge of every facet of the process grow deeper. Over time, even the seemingly smallest details, like what temperature your starter is kept at in the kitchen, or the angle at which you hold your bench knife to preshape dough, can become exciting areas of focus, opportunities for growth, or a chance to test something new. The entire ac…