"Bread Baker’s Apprentice", "Flour Water Salt Yeast", Or?
Both of the books in the title are currently available on Amazon for less than $20. I have BBA out from the library and really like it, but haven’t been able to check out FWSY. I’d like to buy one book to be my bread baking "bible", and those are the top two candidates. Which one do you prefer, or is there a different book you recommend for a total beginner.
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I've got them both and prefer FWSY. However, it's been several years since I read BBA.
I do think FWSY is a little easier to read and understand, and I like the recipes. -
I’ve got both and strongly prefer FWSY.Comment
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I mean, it's $20. Buy both!
I have both, read FSWY more. Both are good but I don't think just one book can be your bible. For example, Forkish is excellent in explaining things, but his starter recipes are silly for a home baker - he has you use 500g of flour... which is enough to make an entire loaf. The method is fine... but the quantities are wasteful and ridiculous for a home baker doing a loaf or two a week and maybe some pizza.
If pushed, I'd get Forkish, because I think he explains the WHY of things quite well and has recipes for straight yeast doughs, doughs using various preferments, levain (sourdough) and some pizza doughs. BBA is a classic too and worth having but FSWY is one where you can't go wrong.
PS: If you get into baking, I think you'll build a small library just out of interest (though perhaps that's me) but one piece of initial advice... don't overcomplicate this. It's something that takes time and practice to truly master, but bread is simple stuff and you can make a perfectly good loaf pretty easily.
Aside from the Forkish book, I highly recommend https://www.theperfectloaf.com as a great sourdough resource. Almost unique among online bread sites, Maurizio not only explains things very clearly but has good pictures to illustrate what things should look like as he does the explanation.
Forkish, btw, has videos on Youtube that show thing pretty well too https://www.youtube.com/user/KensArtisanLast edited by rickgregory; July 16, 2022, 09:48 PM.Comment
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Thanks. I’m sure I’ll end up with more than one, but I try not to get carried away on the front end. I have been reading on www.theperfectloaf.com , and really like it.
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FSWY is heavily sourdough, while most of BBA is not. So, depends upon which types of breads you are planning on making. I think you will find that you will eventually end up with more than one book if you get into it.Comment
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Both very different books. I would go with bread bakers apprentice, it’s a more comprehensive book that you can learn from, while having some easy recipes to follow (I have never baked a single one of his recipes).That’s just me, I started with FWSY, if you are looking for the easiest way to make a loaf without doing some research get FWSY, you really can not go wrong following his steps, but, I have also seen his recipes not perform, due to variables, Bakers apprentice will give you more on how to look at variables and better understanding of bakers math. Baker to baker standpoint, Peter Reinhart (sp?) is far an away a better baker, jmo.Comment
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I think that both are good. That said, FWSY is gonna be much easier to pick up and start making bread. I'm using it now while I learn and will probably take a deeper dive once I feel like my brain can handle more info.Comment
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I’m not familiar with the Forkish book but I’m a huge disciple of Peter Reinhart. Truth be told, I’m a fan because I met him in person and have a signed copy of BBA. I’ve also taken his online Artisan Bread Baking course here.
My personal favorite seasonal bread recipe for stollen is in BBA.Comment
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So, this is kind of a blind review, as I have never once opened one of his books, but, I have read some of his philosophies for life, bread, culture, etc. But Chad Robertson of Tartine just came out with a new book, and I’m trying really hard not to buy it after learning his philosophies on life and our relationship with it, & how he shows that in bread. And for Pizza that person is Chris Bianco. These people are fermentation Buddhists.Last edited by Richard Chrz; July 17, 2022, 10:30 AM.Comment
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The Tartine books are excellent but would not be my first book. If you get FSWY, ignore his starter methods and use The Perfect Loaf version which works fine. I did and while my attempt was made easier by having a proofer, summer would be a great time to do a starter due to the warmth.Comment
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Another vote for FWSY here. I have made many of the recipes in that book, and they were all excellent.Comment
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This book?Originally posted by Richard Chrz View Post
It's actually pretty approachable but like Forkish, his method of creating a starter is incredibly wasteful.
The recipes are interesting but it's kind of bread + bread using recipes:
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rickgregory that is it. That is his new book, and that is the first one I would get. It is his newest work.
This is the stuff that has me trusting him. this is a very similar approach I take to about everything.
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Yeah the recipes are interesting. I don't like the waste of the starter amounts, but that's a quibble once you know about the issue. I think you'd like the book and it's a useful 2d 3rd, 4th book for bakers but it's not the one I'd start with for new bakers.
What I like do about it is that it covers things that books like FSWY and other books focused mostly on bread do not cover - vegan bread, gluten free bread, flatbreads of various types and a fermented pasta dough. Plus the other recipes -
I just like to read people’s philosophies. It helps me understand their process. I have not baked someone else’s bread recipe for a few years now.
I absolutely believe if someone wants to bake a few loaves really easily, I would go FWSY.Last edited by Richard Chrz; July 17, 2022, 04:12 PM.
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I'd offer a different point of view here: BBA has many recipes for everything from bagels to cornbread, anadama bread to English muffins, challah to focaccia, pumpernickel to panetone, stollen to...you get the point. It's much more versatile than FWSY.
FWIW. By the way, I LOVE the BBA bagel recipe.
Edited to add and emphasize: FWSY is pretty much a book about "artisan" loaves and I think there's a lot more to breads than just today's current artisan loaves, as much as I love 'em. I think one could get a lot of "the basics" of what FWSY covers from the Perfect Loaf or even the early portion of "How To Make Sourdough" from AR. I'll note that while the originator (Breadhead) of "How To Make Sourdough" could no doubt bake circles around me, he did mess up some on "the science". Stuff like "acidic" acid (um, acetic acid) and thinking most of the sourdough flavor comes from the wild yeast as opposed to the bacteria. He also claimed that it would take a couple of weeks to establish a starter--I can consistently get a starter going in about four days. Point being, follow his techniques (as demonstrated in the "Chef Jacob" videos) and ignore some of the "science". OK, start throwing bricks at me. I'll duck! ;«)
Disclaimer: I own both FWSY and BBA and I love them both. Also, Forkish's "Elements of Pizza" book runs circles around Reinhart's pizza book IMHO.Last edited by Willy; July 17, 2022, 05:03 PM.Comment
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