Tartine
Pastry chef Prueitt and master baker Robertson of San Francisco's acclaimed Tartine Bakery share not only their recipes, but also the secrets and expertise that transform a delicious homemade treat into a great one. Along with the sweets, cakes, and confections come savory treats--there's a little something here for breakfast, lunch, tea, supper, hors d'oeuvre--and, of course, a whole lot for dessert! Practical advice comes in the form of handy Kitchen Notes. These "hows" and "whys" convey the authors' know-how, whether it's the key to the creamiest quiche (you'll be surprised), the most efficient way to core an apple, or tips for ensuring a flaky crust.--From publisher description.
Stats for nerds
3recommend
5mentions
5people
2018–2026years
60% recommend40% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- Tartine by Chad Robertson was THE book for me. It took me from so-so sourdough bread, to amazing and consistent one that constantly gets praise and is a pleasure every time.
- FWSY is a great introduction to bread baking, but I think it's important to move beyond it pretty quickly. I find it quite joyless.
As an example, there's a recipe that calls for 3/16th teaspoons of yeast. Why didn't he just write 1/4 tsp? There is no way that 1/16ths of a teaspoon make any sort of difference given all the other factors at play. This kind of faux precision abounds in the book and can make the activity pretty stressful.
It's a great introduction to bread baking, but once you get the hang of things you realize the precision he requires in his recipes is simply not called for. You can bake great bread in less time, or more time, or with cooler water, or warmer water of whatever--and have more fun doing it. (Also, his sourdough recipe is criminally wasteful).
To anyone trying to get into bread: Definitely use FWSY to get a better "feel" for dough, but as soon as you do I suggest you leave it behind. Have fun. Tartine is a great second book.
- All of this information (including part #1) is missing a key element: temperature. Temperature should be considered to be an "ingredient" when making sourdough bread. It's not as simple as "do X on day Y, and you'll have sourdough". You may end up with tart/acidic dough...but not proper sourdough.
For a great introduction to making sourdough, I recommend reading the book, Tartine, by Chad Robertson, and browsing Maurizio Leo's amazing sourdough blog: https://www.theperfectloaf.com/
- > I've long thought that every restaurant/bakery/etc could publish their full internal cookbooks and not see a drop in sales.
Absolutely. Chad Robertson of Tartine bakery has written books detailing how to make their breads and pastries. Still lines out the door.
- Scale indeed matters but you can use this to your advantage another way. I use the Lodge Cast Iron Combo Cooker that Robertson recommended in Tartine. The confined space means you need very water to create an appropriate amount of steam. I have found the water coming off the dough as it bakes to be sufficient, but a very small amount of ice can always be tossed in just before covering. The cooker is enclosed so you don't loose steam if you have a gas oven like mine that vents and makes conventional steaming more or less futile. And of course, that mass of cast iron all around the dough pounds radiant heat into the dough like a boss.
I ordered the combo cooker and a cast iron pizza pan from Amazon. This ridiculously heavy parcel shipped free. Life is grand.
