Bread Revolution: World-class Baking With Sprouted and Whole Grains, Heirloom Flours, and Fresh Techniques

Renowned baking instructor, and author of The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, Peter Reinhart explores the cutting-edge developments in bread baking, with fifty recipes and formulas that use sprouted flours, whole and ancient grains, nut and seed flours, alternative flours (such as teff and grape skin), and allergy-friendly and gluten-free approaches.

A new generation of bakers and millers are developing innovative flours and baking techniques that are designed to extract the grain’s full flavor potential—what Reinhart calls “the baker’s mission.” In this lushly photographed primer, Reinhart draws inspiration from these groundbreaking methods to create master recipes and formulas any home baker can follow, including Sprouted Sandwich Rye Bread, Gluten-Free Many-Seed Toasting Bread, and Sprouted Wheat Croissants.

In many instances, such as with sprouted flours, preferments aren’t necessary because so much of the flavor development occurs during the sprouting phase. For grains that benefit from soakers, bigas, and sourdough starters, Reinhart provides the precise guidance that has made him such a trusted expert in the field.  

Advanced bakers will relish Reinhart’s inventive techniques and exacting scientific explanations, while beginning bakers will rejoice in his demystification of ingredients and methods—and all will come away thrilled by bread’s new frontier.

*Correction to the Sprouted Whole Wheat Bread recipe on page 63: The volume measure of water should be 1 ¾ cups plus 1 tablespoon, not 3 ¼ cups.

PETER REINHART is a baking instructor and faculty member at Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was the cofounder of Brother Juniper’s Bakery in Santa Rosa, California, and is the author of several books on bread baking, including Crust and Crumb, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice (winner of the 2002 James Beard Cookbook of the Year and IACP Cookbook of the Year), and the 2008 James Beard Award–winning Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads.

Peter is the founder and host of the popular website PizzaQuest.com, where he continues to chronicle his never-ending search for the perfect pizza through videos, essays, and recipes. He also has created two instructional video courses, on artisan bread and on pizza, for Craftsy.com.