Flour Power
The Practice and Pursuit of Baking Sourdough Bread
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- $20.99
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- $20.99
Publisher Description
“Tara’s a natural teacher, and this book reads as if she’s at the bench next to you, patiently articulating the core concepts and techniques of bread-making, as well as the joys and rhythms of the craft.”—Claire Saffitz, bestselling author of Dessert Person, from the foreword
80 easy-to-follow recipes and loads of know-how, troubleshooting guidance, and bread science intel for baking your best naturally leavened loaves—from sourdough whisperer Tara Jensen
IACP AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF THE WASHINGTON POST’S TEN BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR
Yes, you can make crusty, tender, bakery-quality sourdough bread—even if you’ve never baked before! Especially when you have a teacher like Tara Jensen (who taught both dessert guru Claire Saffitz and Southern-cooking evangelist Sean Brock) by your side. Tara’s friendly approach to technique and inspired flavors in more than eighty recipes for sourdough, rye, and whole grain bread will enrich both beginners and advanced bakers as they learn about the craft.
With Tara’s guidance and supportive voice, she shares important lessons that cover all the technical bases—from learning about flour to exploring wild yeast fermentation and developing your (doughy) intuition. From there, Tara dives deep into the worlds of sourdough, rye, and desem, showing the true diversity of bread through recipes like Miche, Chocolate Beer Bread, and Mountain Rye. There’s even an extra credit chapter on making extra-flavorful Overnight Waffles, Cheesy Cheddar Crackers, and Sourdough Chocolate-Chip Cookies. With Tara by your side, artisanal bread at home is totally achievable . . . and fun!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Think of grain as fresh produce,"urges baker Jensen in this thorough and thoroughly delightful guide to baking sourdough, rye, and whole grain loaves. Developing and maintaining a worthy sourdough starter can be a chore, but Jensen (A Baker's Year) guides readers through percentages and seasonal conditions with patience and good cheer. The novel way each recipe is introduced—method for refreshing the starter, yield and pan size, dough temperature, and skill level—is a small revelation in itself, beginning with the half whole wheat, half white flour loaf she dubs workweek bread and working up to a stunning cardamom bun bread. Even seasoned home bread makers will be surprised by a Flemish-style starter called desem (pronounced "DAY-zum"), which starts with a ball of moistened whole wheat flour buried in a container of dry flour and results in intensely "wheaty-tasting" pitas, stuffed parathas, and cinnamon-raisin loaves. Perhaps the most enriching information she imparts is the breadth of options for using those inevitable amounts of sourdough discard left over from refreshing a sourdough starter, among them coffee cake, pie and tart doughs, and sorghum graham crackers. With a fresh perspective and assured hand, Jensen offers no shortage of excellent ways to tackle the art of good bread making at home.
