Modernist Bread at Home is an indispensable cookbook for anyone who is passionate about making homemade bread. Created by the same team behind the award-winning Modernist Bread, this new cookbook is thoughtfully tailored to the specific needs of home bakers so that you can get great results in your kitchen, regardless of how much time or experience you have.
After years of rigorous independent research and hundreds of experiments, the Modernist Cuisine team has now distilled all that wisdom down into a comprehensive, 420-page single volume that proves bread-making can be attainable and convenient, even during the workweek. You’ll discover innovative yet practical techniques, time-saving tips, helpful scientific insights, and adaptable recipes that make delicious homemade bread possible.
The first half of Modernist Bread at Home guides you through the bread-making process, from start (fermentation) to finish (cooling and serving) and everything in between. You’ll discover essential gear, tips for working bread into your weekly schedule, how to make and care for a starter, ways to optimize your home oven, practical techniques that will help you master the bread-making process, and much more.
Recipes spanning the world of bread can be found in the second part of the book, starting with traditional French lean breads. From there you’ll learn how to make beautiful loaves with a depth of flavor beyond what you find in the store: rustic sourdoughs, lighter-than-air sandwich breads, decadent brioches, and beautifully textured ryes, as well as challah, focaccia, bagels, bao, unbelievable gluten-free loaves, and more
New Discoveries and Techniques
A time-saving sourdough. A way to rescue overproofed dough. An aha moment that transformed our ryes. Modernist Bread at Home is the culmination of over four years of nonstop research, photography, experiments, writing, and baking. These are just some of the new insights and techniques that will surprise and delight you—and help you make better bread.
Time-Saving Techniques
- How to Rescue Overproofed Dough
- Second-Chance Levain
- Pressure-Caramelized Inclusions
- How to Optimize Your Home Oven
- Our Starch Slurry for Bagel Toppings
- Easy high-hydration doughs
- Challah braiding made easy with fruit juice
Innovative Recipes
- Sablée Brioche
- 100% High-Ryes
- Two-Step Sandwich Bread
- Second-Chance Sourdough
- Gluten-Free Brioche
- Compleat Wheat
- Sourfaux
Helpful Illustrated Guides
- How to Read the Recipes
- Where to Start with the Recipes
- Essential Gear
- How to Make a Bread Schedule
- Scoring Patterns
- Troubleshooting Common Problems
- The Science of Cold Proofing
About the Authors:
Nathan Myhrvold is founder of The Cooking Lab and lead author of Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking, Modernist Cuisine at Home, The Photography of Modernist Cuisine, and the forthcoming book Modernist Bread: The Art and Science. He routinely pushes the boundaries of culinary science as a chef, scientist, photographer, and writer. He has had a passion for food and photography since he was a boy. At a young age, he consumed cooking books and invested in new cameras and lenses-even while doing postdoctoral cosmology work with Stephen Hawking. While working as the chief technology officer of Microsoft, he took a leave of absence to earn his culinary diploma from École de Cuisine La Varenne in France. Nathan retired from Microsoft in 1999 to found Intellectual Ventures and pursue several interests, including his lifelong interest in photography, cooking, and food science. Inspired by the void in literature about culinary science and the cutting-edge techniques used in the world's best restaurants, Myhrvold assembled the Modernist Cuisine team to share the art and science of cooking with others.
Francisco Migoya leads the Modernist Cuisine culinary team as head chef. Together with Nathan Myhrvold, he directs culinary research and the development of new techniques and recipes for the team's next book Modernist Bread: The Art and Science, on-sale Spring 2017. An innovative pastry chef, his most recent book, The Elements of Dessert (John Wiley & Sons, 2012), won a 2014 International Association of Culinary Professional Cookbook Award in the Professional Kitchens category. He has been recognized as a top U.S. pastry chef and chocolatier, with accolades that include the Medal of Master Artisan Pastry Chef (2013) from Gremi de Pastisseria de Barcelona. Migoya owned Hudson Chocolates in New York and worked at both The French Laundry and Bouchon Bakery as an executive pastry chef. Prior to joining the Modernist Cuisine team, Migoya was a professor at The Culinary Institute of America, where his areas of instruction included bread, viennoiserie, pastry, and culinary science.
