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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 re

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.

heelix 7y ago
You get goofy measurements like that when someone takes the time to measure what a dash of this, a pinch of that, and a tad of something else into a non-eyeballed, quantifiable amounts. And yes, some times you have to be exact, sometimes... not so much. Cooking is organic chemistry. :P
- zb 7y ago
  You also get them when someone who is baking commercial quantities of bread in a batch has to scale their recipe down for a home baker who can't physically bake, let alone eat, that much. Bread recipes are designed to scale up and down, so at some point having 25% more of some ingredient could definitely make a difference.
- MegaDeKay 7y ago
  No, you get goofy measurements like these converting weights / baker's percentages to volume. Yeasts are one thing, but salt is much worse. You can get roughly twice as much salt per volume in table salt vs. common kosher salts. I have a jeweler's / drug dealer scale that can weigh small amounts very accurately. If I scale a loaf up or down, I have complete confidence in a repeatable result. Baking is not like other types of cooking where you can adjust as you go.
  - mikepurvis 7y ago
    Some baking isn't— I follow the recipe closely when it's time to make a cake or cookies, but bread is super flexible (same for rolls, buns, pizza crusts etc). As long as I get half a tablespoon of coarse salt and a 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups of water per loaf, everything else works itself out based on feel. May not be as repeatable as if I was in a bakery and needed to deliver identical loaves every time, but I've been cranking out delicious bread for my family for a decade and never had an issue just adding flour under it feels right.
- m0zg 7y ago
  And also when converting from metric, for example.
dceddia 7y ago
Having used that book and gotten some great bread out of it, and then "messed up" the recipes a few times and had the bread still turn out great, I agree. I don't think the precision is as important as it implies. I think the oddly precise teaspoon measurements are a side effect of converting from weights, though. Early on he recommends measuring ingredients by weight, and I vaguely remember him saying that the volume measurements were really just a backup if you absolutely couldn't use a scale.
fluffy87 7y ago
Do you have a link to the Tartine book? There are dozens of book by that name on amazon.
- joshvm 7y ago
  Tartine Bread, ISBN: 0811870413 There are a few in the series, but get the first one. https://www.amazon.com/Tartine-Bread-Chad-Robertson/dp/0811870413 https://www.amazon.com/Tartine-Bread-Chad-Robertson/dp/08118... (not an affiliate link)
joshvm 7y ago
Tartine is a great book that will make you hate every almost perfect loaf that you bake. It's well written and well photographed, though it can be difficult to follow at times. Although Chad goes to an effort to explain how the recipe can adapt to any schedule, it's still a huge amount of effort - you start on Friday night and don't get a loaf until Sunday. It's also very difficult the first time you work with such high hydration doughs, and I would suggest watching: Chad on Bon Apetit - to see how he actually does it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4dyWZZVeWI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4dyWZZVeWI Sourdough on It's Alive, good fun and educational: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oidnwPIeqsI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oidnwPIeqsI I also have the River Cottage Handbook on Bread which I strongly recommend for practical recipes. Also buy a crock pot or a combo cooker. By far the simplest way to get amazing looking bread.

heelix 7y ago

You get goofy measurements like that when someone takes the time to measure what a dash of this, a pinch of that, and a tad of something else into a non-eyeballed, quantifiable amounts. And yes, some times you have to be exact, sometimes... not so much. Cooking is organic chemistry. :P

zb 7y ago
You also get them when someone who is baking commercial quantities of bread in a batch has to scale their recipe down for a home baker who can't physically bake, let alone eat, that much. Bread recipes are designed to scale up and down, so at some point having 25% more of some ingredient could definitely make a difference.
MegaDeKay 7y ago
No, you get goofy measurements like these converting weights / baker's percentages to volume. Yeasts are one thing, but salt is much worse. You can get roughly twice as much salt per volume in table salt vs. common kosher salts. I have a jeweler's / drug dealer scale that can weigh small amounts very accurately. If I scale a loaf up or down, I have complete confidence in a repeatable result. Baking is not like other types of cooking where you can adjust as you go.
- mikepurvis 7y ago
  Some baking isn't— I follow the recipe closely when it's time to make a cake or cookies, but bread is super flexible (same for rolls, buns, pizza crusts etc). As long as I get half a tablespoon of coarse salt and a 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups of water per loaf, everything else works itself out based on feel. May not be as repeatable as if I was in a bakery and needed to deliver identical loaves every time, but I've been cranking out delicious bread for my family for a decade and never had an issue just adding flour under it feels right.
m0zg 7y ago
And also when converting from metric, for example.

dceddia 7y ago

Having used that book and gotten some great bread out of it, and then "messed up" the recipes a few times and had the bread still turn out great, I agree. I don't think the precision is as important as it implies. I think the oddly precise teaspoon measurements are a side effect of converting from weights, though. Early on he recommends measuring ingredients by weight, and I vaguely remember him saying that the volume measurements were really just a backup if you absolutely couldn't use a scale.

fluffy87 7y ago

Do you have a link to the Tartine book? There are dozens of book by that name on amazon.

joshvm 7y ago
Tartine Bread, ISBN: 0811870413 There are a few in the series, but get the first one. https://www.amazon.com/Tartine-Bread-Chad-Robertson/dp/0811870413 https://www.amazon.com/Tartine-Bread-Chad-Robertson/dp/08118... (not an affiliate link)

joshvm 7y ago

Tartine is a great book that will make you hate every almost perfect loaf that you bake. It's well written and well photographed, though it can be difficult to follow at times. Although Chad goes to an effort to explain how the recipe can adapt to any schedule, it's still a huge amount of effort - you start on Friday night and don't get a loaf until Sunday. It's also very difficult the first time you work with such high hydration doughs, and I would suggest watching: Chad on Bon Apetit - to see how he actually does it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4dyWZZVeWI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4dyWZZVeWI Sourdough on It's Alive, good fun and educational: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oidnwPIeqsI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oidnwPIeqsI I also have the River Cottage Handbook on Bread which I strongly recommend for practical recipes. Also buy a crock pot or a combo cooker. By far the simplest way to get amazing looking bread.