Friday 56 and The Bread Baker's Apprentice (do I smell freshly baked bread?)

Freshly baked bread can be horribly addictive. And this book is for absolute die-hard bread lovers.

I guess bread baking now seems violent! But this "violence" results in some fantastic bread! The hubby swears by this book - we have borrowed it many times at the library (pages sticking together with dough bits!), made copies of several special pages, made and enjoyed many loaves of bread, and decided we need this book!

I got really lucky and won the September Giveaway ($25 Amazon gift certificate, baby!) over at The Readerbuzz (thank you so much Deb!). What a no-brainer, right? I needed to buy The Bread Baker's Apprentice!

Here's a quick synopsis:

A bread baker, like any true artisan or craftsman, must have the power to control outcomes," says Peter Reinhart, author of The Bread Baker's Apprentice. "Mastery comes with practice." As in many arts, you must know and understand the rules before you can break them. Reinhart encourages you to learn the science of bread making, but to never forget that vision and experimentation, not formulas, make transcendent loaves. 

The Bread Baker's Apprentice is broken into three sections. The first is an amusing tale of Reinhart's visit to France and his discovery of pain à l'ancienne, a cold-fermented baguette. The second section comprises a tutorial of bread-making basics and Reinhart's "Twelve Stages of Bread." And finally, the recipes: Ciabatta, Pane Siciliano, Potato Rosemary Bread, New York Deli Rye, Kaiser Rolls, and Brioche, to name a few. All recipes include bread profiles and ingredient percentages. Reimagined for modern bakers, these mouthwatering classic recipes are bound to inspire. --Dana Van Nest

Don't forget to join in Friday 56, and share your latest read! Rules are so easy you can do this while I munch on some bread :)

• Grab a book, any book. 
• Turn to page 56. 
•  Find any sentence that grabs you. 
•  Post it. 
•  Add your (url) post in Freda's Voice Linky.

Hoping you all have a wonderful weekend!