Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Being essentially lazy, I seldom write an Amazon review. It feels a lot like homework, and nobody likes homework, right? Still, I occasionally discover a book or a product that so exceeds my expectations that I feel a duty to share my good fortune with my fellow consumers. Chad Robertson's "Tartine Bread" is one of those discoveries. Robertson's book contains an important ingredient that other bread books lack: detail. For example, in her book "The Italian Baker," Carol Field provides recipes for dozens of Italian breads. I have enjoyed the book, but each recipe is more of a rough guide than a detailed road map. She uses instructions such as "Make a big round shape of it [the dough] by just folding and tucking the edges under a bit." She tries to describe the state of dough development using words like "velvety" and "moist." The book contains a few line drawings but no photographs. By contrast, Robertson's book contains detailed instructions together with hundreds of photographs leaving no doubt what the developing dough should look like at each stage of the process. The photographs and Robertson's autobiographical tale make "Tartine Bread" a joy to read. Most important, the bread I've produced following Robertson's instructions has been wonderful: a cracklin' crispy crust, soft chewy crumb, faint aromas of hazelnut and chocolate (I have no idea why), and beautiful colors ranging from creamy white to almost black. I have shared this bread with just two friends so far. Both have now placed orders for the book and for the dutch oven combo that Robertson recommends. I have seen some concern that this book contains too few recipes. My advice: don't worry about it. If this book does nothing more than teach you to bake the "Basic Country Bread," it will be well worth the price. I am unsure about the propriety of criticizing a review written by another Amazon user, but I cannot resist taking E. Hanner to task for his November 10, 2010 misleading critique, "Tartine -- choose another book." Hanner finds fault in Robertson's explanation of baker's percentages, saying: "Robertson ... attempts to de-mystify bakers math so you learn to `think like a baker.' Then his representation of the recipe or formula is in my opinion very non standard and confusing." In fact, Robertson's explanation of the baker's percentage is entirely correct. (See, Harold McGee, "On Food and Cooking" (New York: Scribner, 2004), p. 527 and Michael Ruhlman, "Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking" (New York: Scribner, 2009), p. 5.) Hanner seems unhappy that the components in a baker's percentage add up to more 100%. That, however, is why it's called a "baker's percentage" and not a "mathematician's percentage." Hanner also seems to misunderstand that the flour in the leaven is included in the percentage of leaven rather than the percentage of dough flour. Finally, Hanner expresses concern for our safety, complaining that "[t]he concept of baking in a cast iron combo cooker is in my opinion, an accident waiting to happen." Even the most humble home cook handles hot pans regularly. We're not children, for crying out loud. Hanner claims that his critique is not mean spirited, but it's hard to believe anything else. Robertson has written a wonderful book that succeeds (where other bread books have failed) in providing a detailed, illustrated path to better bread building.