lovesgenoise's Reviews
Cookbook Reviews
The Bread Bible
By Rose Levy Beranbaum
W.W. Norton & Co. - 2003
The Bread Bible covers a wide range of breads, from baking powder-leavened quickbreads to yeasted flatbreads, artisanal loaves and even how to create your own wild yeast starter (and a chapter of sourdough recipes to make with it). Brioche, sweet breads, and croissants are among my favorites in this book.
Photos are limited to several groups of inserts, but there are also plenty of drawings which I've found very helpful (especially the ones depicting shaping techniques).
There is a wealth of science on the process of breadmaking, including chapters on process, ingredients and equipment. But you can also skip those if you're not science-y, and just follow the recipes.
The only thing this book does not have much of is whole wheat recipes (though there are a number that make use of a smaller portion of whole grain flour to boost flavor and texture). So it might not be the perfect book for the baker committed to high whole grain content.