Andy Rooney, the curmudgeonly “60 Minutes” commentator, recently observed about breadmaking that “chances are, if you need a recipe you really don’t know how to cook.”
That’s one man’s opinion, voiced during a recent taped session on “The Late Show with David Letterman.”
No disrespect intended to Rooney but in this case he may be wrong. Four newly released volumes on bread provide strong arguments and tasty incentives for baking by the book.
True, bread is very simple. Once a baker masters the basic proportions of water to yeast to flour, recipes can be discarded in favor of creative baking. But books often offer more than formulas. A good cookbook marries the art of cooking with its science and proffers the benefit of experience and opinion, biases, wisdom and, it is hoped, a world of new recipes.
Each of the new bread books offers plenty of each. They are ideal for devoted and passionate bakers who eschew fast-rising yeast and automatic bread machines in favor of the long, slow, sensual pleasures of making bread by hand.
To a large extent, all the books focus on breads of other countries. Classic French loaves and rustic Italian country breads that Americans now gobble with gusto get heavy attention in each.
Those who have fallen in love with the breads of Italy often are seduced by a call to make them at home. “The Il Fornaio Baking Book: Sweet and Savory Recipes from the Italian Kitchen,” by Franco Galli (Chronicle Books, $19.95), is an excellent way of rising to the challenge. The book includes several chapters on authentic regional breads, a good primer on classic Neopolitan pizze, a full chapter of excellent uses for stale bread, among them bruschetta, stuffed artichokes and bread pudding with raisins and rum, a bakers’ dozen cookie recipes and a sumptuous selection of dolci-cakes and tortes.
Italian-born Galli is vice president of Il Fornaio America. Il Fornaio-`the baker’ in Italian-is a chain of European bakeries. Galli heads the stateside branch, all the locations of which are in California. In print, he seems engaging and thorough as he weaves history with memory, classic techniques and a good dose of practicality for the home baker.
Under Galli’s tutelage, many of Italy’s rustic breads can be duplicated quite successfully. The slipper-shaped ciabatta, sesame-speckled half-moons of pane Siciliano, the saltless pane Toscano and the dimpled focaccia become the domain of users who accept his guidance.
Those who don’t want to work with yeast doughs can indulge in such simple pleasures as cantucci di prato (almond biscotti), anicini (anise cookies) and baci d’alassio (chocolate kisses) or maybe a torta d’amaretto.
Sepia-toned photographs throughout the book are pretty and often helpful, particularly when they show exactly what the finished bread or cookie should look like. The bonus is that when the steps are followed, the recipes end up looking like the pictures.
In short, “The Il Fornaio Baking Book” is as worthy an addition to many a bakers’ shelves as their next package of yeast.
“The Village Baker: Classic Regional Breads from Europe and America,” by Joe Ortiz (Ten Speed Press, $24.95), also taps into the experiences of a professional baker, here more intently than in Galli’s book. Ortiz and his wife, Gayle, are the proprietors of Gayle’s Bakery in Capitola, Calif.
A 1980 trip abroad, during which they first encountered traditional European country breads, proved a seminal experience for them. Since, their mission has been to re-create these breads on home turf.
Ortiz’s book is dedicated to the bakers’ art and, in the spirit of the books by the famous French breadmaker Lionel Poilane, is an exhaustive theory-and-practice treatise on the art.
This is not necessarily a book for beginning bakers, although novices will do just fine if they plow through the recipes step by step. Be forewarned: The 300-page book offers only about 70 recipes for home bakers.
Charts, graphs, explanatory text, careful how-to’s and profiles of European village bakers fill much of the text. The last third of the book consists of large-scale professional bread formulas that are unnavigable for home bakers.
Those who just want to jump in and bake may find themselves bogged down by excruciating detail. But make no mistake, this is an endlessly fascinating and useful book that will appeal to those for whom the theory of cooking is as important as the practice.
In the forward to “Bread Alone: Bold Fresh Loaves From Your Own Hands,” by Daniel Leader (William Morrow, $25), food writer Patricia Wells tries to capture the metaphorical allure of breadmaking.
“Learning to create a satisfying loaf of homemade bread can be compared to the quest for the secret to a joyful life, an ideal marriage, eternal happiness. The goal may never be totally achieved but the search inevitably equips us with critical lessons in life.”
Leader uses this philosophy to practice his craft. He owns Bread Alone Bakery in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York, not far from Woodstock, where he makes 15 tons of bread in an average week. Such is his devotion to turning out a perfect loaf that he spent $100,000 to import a team of French masons to build and install two brick ovens in his bakery. This single act, he notes, “dramatically changed the entire life of the bakery.”
The chapters are divided by broad classes of breads. There are chapters devoted solely to sourdough breads, sourdough ryes, baguettes, pain au levain, breads inspired by classic French and Italian country breads and finally, a chapter of bakers’ favorites which includes some simple yeast breads made without a starter.
“Bread: 150 Traditional Recipes From Around the World,” by Gail Duff (Macmillan, $30) offers a panorama of bread in the most glamorous setting. Duff, a British food writer, researched the bread-eating habits of 25 countries and packaged a representative selection of recipes in a beautifully photographed collection.
This is the only book of the lot to offer quintessentially “American” breads such as Johnnycake, spoon bread and corn pone. They are joined by the staff of life of other countries, such as Dutch bruin brood (brown bread), English bara brith (dark raisin bread made with tea), Armenian churek (sesame flatbread), kalakukko (Finnish bread filled with sprats) and mosbolletjies (South African rolls).
The book begins with a fine basic lesson in making yeast breads and good descriptions of how to shape some distinctive twisted, knotted and knobbed country loaves. Despite the exotic names and origins of many of the breads, all are easy and are made largely without the starters prevalent in the previous books.
The book offers no personal meanderings of the author, nor do the recipes offer pages of theory or hand-holding, although there certainly is enough guidance to make fine loaves. Many users may find this to be an asset and will be more than satisfied with the edible rewards their efforts produce.
Here are three recipes, printed as they appear in the books. The first, a rustic round Italian loaf typically found in Tuscany, Umbria and Abruzzi, is from “The Il Fornaio Baking Book.”
PAGNOTTA
(ROUND COUNTRY BREAD)
Makes two 1 1/4 pound loaves
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (105 degrees)
7 cups unbleached bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
2 3/4 cups cool water
3/4 cup biga; recipe follows
Additional flour for work surface
Olive oil for bowl
Medium-grind yellow cornmeal for baker’s peel
In a small bowl dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Set it aside until it is creamy, about 15 minutes.
Measure the flour into a large bowl. Using a sturdy wooden spoon, stir the salt into the flour. Form a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the yeast mixture, the cool water and the biga to the well. Using the spoon, stir all the ingredients until the dough is too resistant to be stirred. They will come together fairly easily.
Now begin kneading the dough in the bowl, keeping one hand clean in order to hold and turn the bowl and using the other hand to work the dough. Vigorously fold the dough from the sides of the bowl toward the center, rotating the bowl as you work. Pick up the dough and slap it back into the bowl several times and keep kneading vigorously. The dough will be slightly sticky but keep working it until it comes away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. This should take about 5 minutes.
At this point turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Clean off any dough stuck to your hands and then knead the dough until it is stretchy, smooth and fairly soft. This will take 15 to 20 minutes of kneading, including some 1 to 2 minute rest periods along the way for the dough to relax slightly-and for you to relax too. Shape the dough into a ball.
Rub a large bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl. Turn the dough so the surface is coated with oil. Cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rise at room temperature until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
Punch the dough down by folding the edges into the center and turning it over so the top is once again smooth. Re-cover the bowl and let the dough rise a second time, about 1 hour.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two equal portions. Working with one portion at a time and trying not to overhandle the dough, fold the edges in toward the center. Work in a circular motion, folding the entire rim of the dough in toward the center several times to form a round ball with a smooth side.
Spread a fairly thick layer of flour on a work surface. Place the ball of dough, rough side down, on the flour. Shape the remaining dough into a second loaf and place it on the surface in the same manner. Cover the loaves with a towel and let rise at room temperature for 40 to 55 minutes. Meanwhile, place a baking stone in an oven and preheat to 425 degrees.
About 40 minutes after the loaves have been rising, test one by pushing your index finger into it and then removing your finger. If the dough springs back gently, it is ready to bake. If the indentation does not move, your dough has risen too much and will not “jump” (rise) in the oven. If the latter is the case, reform the loaves in the same manner and let rise again for 40 to 55 minutes. Dust a baker’s peel with cornmeal. Gently slip your hand under each loaf and turn it over onto the peel so the rough side now faces up. Mist the preheated oven with a spray bottle. With a rhythmic snap of the wrist, slide the loaves onto the baking stone. Mist the oven again and bake the breads for 5 minutes. Mist one more time, reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake until the loaves have a hollow ring when tapped on the bottom, 40 to 50 minutes. When the loaves are done, their tops should have an attractive pattern of white flour, their sides should be deep golden brown and their bottoms should be quite dark. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
BIGA
STARTER DOUGH
Makes about 5 cups
You may either halve this recipe or make a full recipe and freeze the leftover starter in one-quarter or one-half cup portions. Thaw at room temperature before using.
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (105 degrees)
3 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
1 1/4 cups cool water
In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Set it aside until it is creamy, about 15 minutes.
Measure the flour into a large bowl. Using a sturdy wooden spoon, form a well in the center of the flour and add the yeast mixture and the cool water to the well. Using the spoon, stir all the ingredients until sticky and difficult to stir but thoroughly combined. Cover tightly and allow to ferment slowly in the refrigerator for 24 hours before using.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. To use, rinse a measuring cup in cool water, scoop out the amount of starter needed and bring to room temperature.
JULEKAGE
Makes one large or two braided loaves
This Danish Christmas coffeecake is from “Bread: 150 Traditional Recipes From Around the World.”
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon dried
1 1/4 cups warm milk
2 eggs, beaten
Grated rind of 1/2 lemon
6 cardamom seeds, finely crushed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 cups (1 pound) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 ounces candied fruits, chopped
2 ounces slivered almonds
2 ounces golden raisins
1 egg, beaten, for glaze
Place half the milk in a large bowl and sprinkle the yeast over. Leave it 5 minutes for fresh yeast and 15 minutes for dried. Add the remaining milk, eggs, lemon rind, cardamom and cinnamon, the sugar and vanilla extract. Add the salt to the flour and then gradually add them to the milk mixture. Knead the dough in the bowl until it is smooth. With it still in the bowl, knead in the butter, candied fruits, almonds and raisins. Cover the dough and leave it in a warm spot for 1 1/2 hours or until it is doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Knead the dough on a floured work surface. Either form the dough into a ball and place it on a floured baking sheet or divide it in two and form each piece into a braid, again laying the finished loaves on a floured baking sheet. Leave the dough to rise for 20 minutes in a warm place. Brush them with the beaten egg.
Bake the large loaf for 45 minutes or the smaller ones for 35 minutes. They will be well-browned and sound hollow when tapped. Cool them on a wire rack.
