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Product Description
Product Description
Carol Field spent two years traversing Italy to capture the regional specialities and then adapting them through rigorous testing in her own kitchen. When first published in 1985, Field's impeccably written, authentic recipes were a revelation to those used to only stereotypical Italian fare. This latest edition, updated for the new generation of home bakers, has added full-colour photography plus new ingredients and equipment sections, source guides, weights and measurements, and instructions for the natural yeast method. One of the most revered baking books of all time, this landmark work will continue to be a must for every serious baker.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
this books is full of amazing recipes and very inspiring. i don't eat a lot of bread, but when i do, i always bake my own. my next project will be the panettone! shame that there aren't more photos in the book. a lot of the things in here sound unfamiliar to me and it would be nice to get an idea of what the finished result is supposed to look like. on the bright side, it really is PACKED full of recipes. i love it and highly recommend it.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I love Italian breads such as focaccia and ciabatta but always felt that the shop-bought variety probably hardly resembles the authentic stuff. So I bought a copy of Carol Field's Italian Baker and made my own. All I can say is, it was definitely worth it. I always thought ciabatta was a very difficult bread to make because it is so wet, but since I made it using this book I have not bought a ciabatta from a shop for about 3 years and never will!
Carol Field divides her book into the following chapters:
BAKING BASICS (discussion of ingredients, equipment and method)
REGIONAL AND RUSTIC BREADS (includes olive oil bread, saltless tuscan bread, dark tuscan bread, Genzano bread, Merano rye, Sicilian bread, and lots more. My favourites in this chapter are the Como bread with a lovely crispy crust, olive rolls, Terni bread, and the ciabatta.)
MODERN BREADS (includes vegetable and herbs breads, as well as various-grain breads. The tomato bread is awesome as is the cheese bread. Marvellous chapter!)
USING LEFTOVER BREADS (savoury dishes and desserts)
CELEBRATION BREADS (a lovely selection of sweet breads with various additions such as nuts, fruit peel, dried fruit, spices)
ROLLS AND BREADSTICKS
PIZZA AND FOCACCIA
ELEGANT BREADS (sweet and savoury croissants, turnovers, tarts, strudels, appetizers)
TARTS AND PIES
CAKES
COOKIES
I definitely recommend Carol Field's book as it is a massive collection of every recipe you might ever need, for every occasion, whether it is a nice baguette to go with pasta, a rye bread for sandwiches, a pizza for the family, a cake for Christmas, or just quick cookies after work when you don't have much time. I love the variety and wide range of ingredients used, and the breads and cakes all turn out fantastic. You will never want to buy bread or cakes after trying the recipes in Italian Baker. It is American, but fear not, grams are used throughout if you find the cup measures too intimidating!
Carol Field divides her book into the following chapters:
BAKING BASICS (discussion of ingredients, equipment and method)
REGIONAL AND RUSTIC BREADS (includes olive oil bread, saltless tuscan bread, dark tuscan bread, Genzano bread, Merano rye, Sicilian bread, and lots more. My favourites in this chapter are the Como bread with a lovely crispy crust, olive rolls, Terni bread, and the ciabatta.)
MODERN BREADS (includes vegetable and herbs breads, as well as various-grain breads. The tomato bread is awesome as is the cheese bread. Marvellous chapter!)
USING LEFTOVER BREADS (savoury dishes and desserts)
CELEBRATION BREADS (a lovely selection of sweet breads with various additions such as nuts, fruit peel, dried fruit, spices)
ROLLS AND BREADSTICKS
PIZZA AND FOCACCIA
ELEGANT BREADS (sweet and savoury croissants, turnovers, tarts, strudels, appetizers)
TARTS AND PIES
CAKES
COOKIES
I definitely recommend Carol Field's book as it is a massive collection of every recipe you might ever need, for every occasion, whether it is a nice baguette to go with pasta, a rye bread for sandwiches, a pizza for the family, a cake for Christmas, or just quick cookies after work when you don't have much time. I love the variety and wide range of ingredients used, and the breads and cakes all turn out fantastic. You will never want to buy bread or cakes after trying the recipes in Italian Baker. It is American, but fear not, grams are used throughout if you find the cup measures too intimidating!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
13 reviews
44 of 49 people found the following review helpful
"Italian Baker" Falls Short
21 Nov 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Carol Field's new edition of "The Italian Baker" has been released following the first edition published 26 years ago. Some of the same deficiencies hobble use of the book that are carried over from the first version over a quarter-century ago. Field consistently uses too much yeast in most of her bread recipes and, accordingly, most dictated rising times, which vary between 1.25 hours with a couple as much as 3 hours, are too brief. Rustic breads, in particular, need long, cool rising times, often as much as 5 or more hours, with doughs that were assembled with about half to two-thirds less yeast than called for in Field's recipes. The result is confirmed by the breads made according to her directions from the new edition: the breads with short rising times suffer from inadequate flavor and aroma development. Also, Field often recommends additional warmth for doughs that will accelerate their ripening. This also detracts from flavor and aroma. Field knows this because, at points in the new book, she mentions that Italian bakers she is acquainted with use much longer rising times, and some of her recipes for rustic breads do indeed call for long rising times. My own guess is that Field accelerated rising times in many cases because she was doubtful that Americans would tolerate long, slow rising times to produce regional and rustic Italian breads. Field should take note that a well-known lady nearly 50 years ago emphasized the need to use small amounts of yeast, cool water, and long rising times when she documented for the first time how it is possible to make authentic pain ordinaire at home. That lady was Julia Child, and her recipe for "French" bread in the second volume of her famous cookbooks, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," was a revelation to American bakers and set the gold standard for approaching the art of producing really good pain ordinaire.
And there are other problems with the new edition of the "Italian Baker." Field emphasizes the value of a moist oven for the initial oven rise of shaped rustic loaves, but it is mentioned erratically in the recipes -- sometimes it is statd, sometimes the recipes are silent.
She also has an unwarranted negative stance towards natural yeast starters. They are not so demanding as she claims, and, contrary to her argument that a pseudo-natural starter can be made by using a very tiny amount of baker's yeast, the fact is that what results is just a biga or poolish that hit its stride more slowly because of the tiny pinch of baker's yeast to start it. Baker's yeast bigas and poolishes do not smell like natural, wild yeast starters, and bread made with wild yeast starters do not taste like those made with baker's yeast.
Finally, Field seems not to have internalized the dramatic surge in interest and the rapid evolution of home artisanal baking over the last quarter-century. For example, both French and Italian bakers often use autolyse that ultimately can produce superior bread by allowing the initial mixed dough to rest for up to a half-hour, or even more, before kneading the dough and setting it to rise. Autolyse does not exist in Field's repertoire. Similarly, the popularity and proven value in the last decade and more of folding doughs one, two, or even three times during long rising periods to increase gluten development, and the use of the same technique when forming loaves, has apparently had no impact on Field's methods.
As an afterword, there is no bibliography.
And there are other problems with the new edition of the "Italian Baker." Field emphasizes the value of a moist oven for the initial oven rise of shaped rustic loaves, but it is mentioned erratically in the recipes -- sometimes it is statd, sometimes the recipes are silent.
She also has an unwarranted negative stance towards natural yeast starters. They are not so demanding as she claims, and, contrary to her argument that a pseudo-natural starter can be made by using a very tiny amount of baker's yeast, the fact is that what results is just a biga or poolish that hit its stride more slowly because of the tiny pinch of baker's yeast to start it. Baker's yeast bigas and poolishes do not smell like natural, wild yeast starters, and bread made with wild yeast starters do not taste like those made with baker's yeast.
Finally, Field seems not to have internalized the dramatic surge in interest and the rapid evolution of home artisanal baking over the last quarter-century. For example, both French and Italian bakers often use autolyse that ultimately can produce superior bread by allowing the initial mixed dough to rest for up to a half-hour, or even more, before kneading the dough and setting it to rise. Autolyse does not exist in Field's repertoire. Similarly, the popularity and proven value in the last decade and more of folding doughs one, two, or even three times during long rising periods to increase gluten development, and the use of the same technique when forming loaves, has apparently had no impact on Field's methods.
As an afterword, there is no bibliography.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Pictures needed here!
5 Dec 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I usually try to be very open-minded when a cookbook doesn't have as many pics as I'd like. I tell myself that this recipe or that recipe really doesn't need a visual. But this book has such a rich array of new breads (to me anyway) that I wish there were pics to illustrate them as I am at a loss to imagine what they might look like. That deflates the balloon to get one started many times. There is a chapter in back about baked sweets (dolci) which includes biscotti, tarts, etc., then there's a section on lots of pizzas including thick Sicilian style, soups too, but for me this book was all about the breads. I have pages tagged for Olive Oil Bread, Sicilian Bread, Rosemary Bread, Five Grain Bread with walnuts, Raisin Bread, Sweet Corn Bread, Christmas Bread of Lake Como, Venetion Holiday Bread, Christmas Bread of Verona, etc...except for a few of these listed examples, I have no idea what the others should look like. The only way you would delve into an unknown bread is by first reading the title, then the opening blurb, then reading thru the ingredient list and then the step by step instructions. Unless you are a very passionate and motivated cook or baker,you will be put off by this. A picture as they say is worth a thousand words. Here it is so true. A picture can inspire and motivate you in an instant, especially with breads that are not commonplace. When spring approaches, I will delve into the Easter breads.
What I DO like very much in the layout is the way each recipe allows you to use the method of choice. For each recipe, there are three separate clearly labelled areas to find your preferred method of creating your dough: BY HAND, BY MIXER, or BY PROCESSOR. Choose the method most comfortable to you. Then each process step is clearly italicized into sections as well with: FIRST RISE, SHAPING AND SECOND RISE, and finally, BAKING. It allows your eye to find what you're looking for quickly on the page. I also am glad that measurements are listed in cups, ounces, and grams. These recipes use active yeast exclusively, and since I use instant yeast, a formula on p. 22 says to multiply the amt. of active yeast by 0.75-thus, using less instant yeast to active. I found this out after the fact, it helps to read. It didn't hurt the outcome I must say, using equal amts.
UPDATE: The 5-grain w/walnut bread bakes in a 9x4 loaf pan, very good. The Sweet Corn Bread and the Corn Bread from Lombardy I was not impressed with, would not make again. I wanted to make the pannetone but it was more complicated than the recipe in Artisan Bread in 5 mins, due to lack of time the necessity was to go with that one. I have other breads to try after the holidays.
UPDATE Jan 2012: Made the "pane all'uva" (raisin bread), so easy, great dough to handle, wonderful result! Soft, tender, pillowy interior, crispy crust, loaded with raisins, addictive, yum. Interestingly, that recipe was one that DID have a picture and pulled me in...which goes to my point....pictures DO help! The raisin bread and another I just made, the Bread of Puglia, are my faves so far. The Pane di Genzano was good, not a wow. After that raisin bread, I'm afraid I will not find anything as good.
What I DO like very much in the layout is the way each recipe allows you to use the method of choice. For each recipe, there are three separate clearly labelled areas to find your preferred method of creating your dough: BY HAND, BY MIXER, or BY PROCESSOR. Choose the method most comfortable to you. Then each process step is clearly italicized into sections as well with: FIRST RISE, SHAPING AND SECOND RISE, and finally, BAKING. It allows your eye to find what you're looking for quickly on the page. I also am glad that measurements are listed in cups, ounces, and grams. These recipes use active yeast exclusively, and since I use instant yeast, a formula on p. 22 says to multiply the amt. of active yeast by 0.75-thus, using less instant yeast to active. I found this out after the fact, it helps to read. It didn't hurt the outcome I must say, using equal amts.
UPDATE: The 5-grain w/walnut bread bakes in a 9x4 loaf pan, very good. The Sweet Corn Bread and the Corn Bread from Lombardy I was not impressed with, would not make again. I wanted to make the pannetone but it was more complicated than the recipe in Artisan Bread in 5 mins, due to lack of time the necessity was to go with that one. I have other breads to try after the holidays.
UPDATE Jan 2012: Made the "pane all'uva" (raisin bread), so easy, great dough to handle, wonderful result! Soft, tender, pillowy interior, crispy crust, loaded with raisins, addictive, yum. Interestingly, that recipe was one that DID have a picture and pulled me in...which goes to my point....pictures DO help! The raisin bread and another I just made, the Bread of Puglia, are my faves so far. The Pane di Genzano was good, not a wow. After that raisin bread, I'm afraid I will not find anything as good.
14 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Not a good book for Italian bread recipes, but good for sweets
22 Nov 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I must say, I was perplexed at the authors negative attitude toward natural starters. But given the target audience for the book I can understand that bigas made with small amounts of yeast are a good substitute, and it is used throughout most of the bread recipes. What is more troubling, though, is the over yeasting and very short fermentation times. That may be what modern bakers want in a bread recipe, but it has nothing to do with classic Italian bread making. These short fermentation times will yield bland results at best. Unless you have the bread making knowledge to adapt all these recipes to longer room temperature ferments, and even better - using natural starters - you may be disappointed in the final products. I also wish there were more pictures of the final bread shapes.
The sweets and semi-sweet breads look like they may be the redeeming factor in this book. The reference alone is quite nice to have. I look forward to trying out those recipes. But for bread baking, I would suggest looking elsewhere.
The sweets and semi-sweet breads look like they may be the redeeming factor in this book. The reference alone is quite nice to have. I look forward to trying out those recipes. But for bread baking, I would suggest looking elsewhere.
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