The Best Bread Ever: Great Homemade Bread Using Your Food Processor

by Charles Van Over

Book Overview

When Charlie van Over makes his bread, he breaks all the rules of classic bread baking.??He doesn't proof the yeast.??He uses cold water instead of warm.??He mixes the dough in a food processor for... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0767900324
• ISBN13: 9780767900324
• Release Date: November 1997
• Publisher: Broadway Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 7.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

the modern way of making bread at home

Three reasons to get this book:- Technique- Information- RecipesTECHNIQUE Technique is what got me: I've been baking breads at home for years. It's fun, the results are pleasing and well-received by friends and guests. But making bread at home has always been time consuming for me because of the lack of a professional mixer. This point is worth discussing here: If you want to knead bread without working hard and without making a mess, you need a professional mixer. Some home mixers or even hand mixers come with dough hooks, but don't be deceived: Very few home mixers are powerful enough to knead bread dough, and those that are are very expensive. There is no ordinary garden veriety cheap mixer that can knead bread dough. Period. Trust me on this one, and you won't burn your mixer's motor and burn your money as well. So you either knead dough by hand, which is time consuming and hard work, or you get this [rather inexpensive] book and learn the technique of using your ordinary food processor to do the job. Food processors work differently from mixers, and even a cheap food processor is powerful enough to knead bread dough using the technique described in the book. I should know -- I bought my food processor over 8 years ago for about US$40 in a supermaket... It's old and it's so weak that a fresh carrot could make it stick and halt. But I've been making batches and batches of great bread dough with it and so far it's been great. If you are careful with the water and learn to add it gradually, you can actually eliminate measurements: You keep adding water gradually until the ball of dough is formed. If you go over a bit, just add a spoon of flour to try out the batch. It's quick, it's painless, and you can have perfect bread dough in under 1 minute (!). I think that no professional home or restaurant-class mixer can do that.Once you get the hang of using a food processor to knead dough perfectly in under a minute, you will be more willing to experiment with bread making at home. It just won't be that big of a chore anymore.INFORMATION The Best Bread Ever is not just a bunch of recipes for making bread. It will teach you all you need to know about the process of bread making: What fours to use, how much salt, what temperature is best, how to proof your bread, etc. There is no guesswork, there is no "feel" that takes forever to develop. Just read the introductory chapter and you'll know everything you need.RECIPES The Best Bread Ever is filled with recipes. Most are great. I found some of the Middle Eastern recipes a bit off, but that's a minor point. From baguettes to Brioche to Pizza, the book is filled with great recipes and great ideas you can follow and/or improvise on.But the bulk of my enthusiasm is reserved for the dough making technique. It's simply ingenious. I cannot over-emphasise the difference it will make in your bread making experience: Take the hardest, nastiest, messiest part of making bread and tame it completely, into a trivial pr

Best Bread Ever...this side of the Atlantic

Anyone who has traveled or lived in Europe for any length of time despairs upon returning to the States with its paucity of true high-quality food which Europeans take for granted. High on the list of longed-for foodstuffs is great bread. Even the so-called "french" bakeries have learned that they can define down their efforts (and increase their profits) for the American palate and still command upwards of $3.00 for a bland baguette or flavorless focaccia. Thanks to Charlie Van Over, at least for high-quality, low-cost bread, we need despair no longer! His method absolutely takes the guesswork out of breadmaking and you will not believe the beautiful, utterly delicious breads which you will produce with so little effort! The aroma that will fill your house as this incredible bread bakes is worth the price of the book alone. I recommend getting a starter going immediately as this is the key ingredient in a truly flavorful french-style baguette. The starter also can be used to improve the flavor of nearly any bread you bake. And as other bakers have recommended, let time be your ally. I make the dough in the evening (takes about 10 minutes from start to finish), do the first rise, then put it in the refrigerator for up to three days, baking at my convenience. Time does equal taste, as Mr. Van Over says, but it is "free time" in which the Method works, not you!

Forget About Buying Bread----Just Bake It!

Since last December when we started using Charles van Over'sThe Best Bread Ever, my family has not bought any bread---we just bakeit. Mr. van Over's techniques achieve the dual imperatives of producing addictively delicious breads that can be made as a matter of routine in our busy schedules. In this age where quality frequently is subordinated to our need for efficiency, Mr. van Over has given us what I had assumed was impossible---the best bread for the least effort. And make no mistake, this is not bread machine quality bread; this is top level artisan quality bread with flavors and textures that cause your palate to crave a product from the book with each meal. And, with a little planning and use of your freezer, you can satisfy that craving. Indeed, as strange as it may sound, some of these breads actually seem to improve with a little freezer time! Our favorite breads so far are: the baguettes (we go through 6-7 per week), the Classic Pullman Loaf (we use it for kid school lunch bread everyday, presliced and frozen as Mr. van Over suggests), the Bagels (wow! the school teachers have demanded the recipe), the Multigrain Sandwich Loaf (I modified the recipe by adding more whole wheat and love it as toast for breakfast), Seeded Deli Rye Bread (fabulous with Virginia ham and swiss cheese), the Peasant Wheat Loaf and the Pizzas (for maximum enjoyment, be sure to follow Mr. van Over's directions and retard the dough for at least 4 hours---longer is better). Buy this book and work bread making into your routine---its good for your soul and your taste buds will be grateful.

Try it...you'll love it!

If you've never baked a loaf of bread or if you are an avid baker, this is the book for you. Charlie Van Over's "The Best Bread Book Ever" will teach you a bread baking technique that will add pleasure and taste to all your efforts. The use of a food processor as a kneading tool is not new, but his specific method is. Based on long years of experience, Van Over has developed such a precise process, you can only succeed. You will get bread that is more tasty, dough that is friendly to work with, and raves from your eating audience. I have tried numbers of baguette recipes, including the one I learned at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, and his outstrips them all. The pizza dough is perfect (better than just best!); because he provides instructions from start to finish, you can serve up a pizza that will make you pause before ever ordering out again. The book includes a wide range of recipes, including a lovely feta and herb focaccia, a rich, delicious brioche with variations, and several sourdough breads. (Unlike some intimidating starter recipes, his is both simple and effective.) Happily, your own favorites are adaptable to his technique. Importantly, his writing style gives you the eerie and pleasant feeling that he is right by your side as you measure the ingredients, pulse the food processor, shape the dough, and slide it onto the baking stone. Bake and eat...you'll have a great time with Charlie!