The Taste of Bread: A translation of Le Goût du Pain, comment le préserver, comment le retrouver

Probably the best book to read to fully understand bread-making technically. The only thing, in my opinion, is that the translation leaves space to be improved. The book "Bread and Pastry" by Suas is an upgrade to this one (I have read both).

Amazing book which covers baking theory and provides wide variety of recipes. On of the reviews for some reason said that book covers only white flour, which is completely not true. Autor covers variety of flours and for rye bread prefers type 130 rye flour which contains 1.2 - 1.5% of ash content. Book also provides recipes for various rye and potato breads and definitely doesn't lack variety.

This book is for any serious baker and should be required reading on all levels. I took a class with Prof. MacGuire and James Hammelman at King Aurthur and it was an honor to work with both of them. Prof Calvel is gone now, but his passion lives on. If you are a serious baker you should get this. I think I paid $100. but worth it.

Love the product information on production style French bread.

Good for using French flours. I wish it was more geared to home baking than bakery baking.

This was a gift. When asked, the recipient said: "5 is most amazing best book ever." So it's go that going for it. Which is nice.

Great book for professional guidance.

I bought this book because it has a wide reputation as a resource for understanding the subtle and multitudinous nuances of bread making. In that regard the book was not significantly unsatisfactory. There is ample discussion on mixing and over mixing of doughs; extensive discussion of the positive effects of increased fermentation times; and French type 55 flour. However, the positive discussions notwithstanding, there are some more general structural and perspectival issues that seem to be present about which I would like to clue the prospective purchaser of this book, especially if that purchaser is interested in naturally fermented breads and or unorthodox grains or grain combinations. 1. Professor Calvel myopically focuses on specifically white flour. He is not interested in any kind of high extraction flours, whatever their provenance. For him, any whiff of whole meal flour has the flavor of ash. There is no room in his perspective for the possibility of high flavor, freshly milled grains. Because of his obvious negative perspective on the flavor of whole meal flours, Prof. Calvel even goes so far as to say that the nutritional benefits of whole grains might only be beneficial to a constipated person. 2. Prof. Calvel focuses predominantly on the glories of straight dough fermentations of a prolonged bulk fermentation. His comments about naturally fermented breads are usually restricted to saying that naturally fermented breads have odors of vinegar and do not rise as much as alternative formulations. This may be true of some, and indeed many, naturally fermented breads, but it is not a requirement. Many naturally fermented breads taste superb, and rise fantastically. Indeed, they may rise superiorly if the baker maintains the culture well. Not only is there a lack of positive or extensive discussion of natural ferments, but he only has negative comments for them. 3. There is a general lack of discussion of rye breads and the requirements of rye bread baking. I think this lack of discussion is due to Prof. Calvel's predisposition to ignore naturally fermented breads. For example, in some of the rye bread recipes, due to the need for an acidifying agent, the recipe calls for white wine vinegar. This seems to me to be an unnatural step to take, and only in the interest of avoiding a natural preferment. 3. There are multiple segments of the book that left me scratching my head. For example, in the section discussing flour blending at a mill, the author says, "French flours are 'straight process' flours, meaning that the streams are blended back together, yielding an extraction rate of 72% to 78%...Unlike French straight process flours, most flours encountered in the US and Canada are admixtures of only certain flour streams." However, this statement would give an impression that all the flour streams in a French mill are blended in their original proportions, which of course is impossible if the extraction rate is 72% to 78%. Even the name type 55 flour directly means that the flour is blended to produce an ash content of .55%. My issue is that his description of the milling belies the complexity of the milling by making it seem that the French flour is simply the streams of the flourmill remixed together. Another example is Prof. Calvel's diatribe against breads with a floured surface. This is typically done to prevent a paton from sticking to a banneton. He likes neither the look, nor the taste, the crust of a bread. I understand and can appreciate these grievances. However, Prof. Calvel give no suitable alternative for ensuring that a paton of bread does not stick to a banneton. He simply says that the banneton should not be floured. Related to the quality of photos and translation I have a few comments as well. 1. Many of the photos in the book of farms, milling equipment and baking equipment are of American or Canadian versions. For a book that is supposedly about the French version of things, there is a lack of examples of the French versions. 2. The photos in the book are abysmally small. Many are black and white and undersized. Because the photos are undersized and many are without color, the effect of the photos are lost because I cannot discern the detail that I am supposed to see. Lastly, I might add a few more general points: the book has the tone of a eulogy for French breads of the inter war period. These breads were straight doughs of long bulk fermentation. Prof. Calvel's perspective is limited to pure white wheat breads. There is no interest in any alternative grains such as spelt, kamut or einkorn. Personally, if you were looking to learn about bread baking with natural preferments and with any additional grains, I would recommend Jeffrey Hamelman's book Bread: A baker's book of techniques and recipes. His explanations of every facet of bread preparation and baking is more extensive and detailed. His book is significantly cheaper and his perspective is more democratic.

If you want to have a great knowledge and inderstanding of breads, its preparations and key ingredients, read prof. Calvel’s book. It is uncredible!

Perfect

A technical book highly meeting my expectations. The photos could have been in better resolution.

A very technical book which is exactly what I was expecting. An excellent book if you want to really understand the chemistry of bread baking. This is a treasure.

Excellent