John Levin (great name for a baker, no? ;)) said: << While a good source
of recipes and technique, the Silverton book is oriented more towards
commercial sourdough baking, and her advice on starting new sourdough
starter is a bit eccentric. There are several good books on the subject,
check the King Arthur Flour catalog.>>
Having invested in Nancy Silverton's book and regularly tasted her bread
from La Brea Bakery which is *outrageously* good, IMO (but not having baked
from the book yet), which specific books would you recommend for home
baking, John? I haven't looked lately, but hers is probably among those in
the catalog .. so more specific info would be really welcome to distinguish
the eccentric from the valuable, in your opinion, anyway. I have a chance
to buy a number of bread books I'd like at discount at the moment and ..
well, let's just say I have a propensity for over-collecting (no abm books,
though .. no machine).
To be honest, I'd bake hanging from a trapeze by a nose ring if I could get
the texture and flavor of Silverton's bread. I will definitely go for
trying her wild yeast someday. If it works, I'll be a blithering,
overjoyed idiot for weeks. In fact, watch out if someone solicits you to
be a born-again baker .. that will be me, if it works.
There's also a lot of info about sourdough at:
http://www.countrylife.net/bread/proof.html.
thanks for all the great info,
Katja