Book review: Little Book Of Pasta, Rufus Cavendish
During another browsing session at Waterstones bookshop I came across this small book about pasta. Given that pasta is probably one of the most well know foods in the world (after bread maybe), I decided to buy it and read through it.
Just over half the book is the history of pasta, and that history is presented in a very entertaining way. building up from the pasta (shapes and ingredients), right through to the history of pasta sauces by region. The other half of the book covers recipes and if I’m honest, I have not really gone through the recipes in much detail.
Book review: River Cottage, bread
For me this book was that pivotal book that I needed (and why it’s the first I added here), after reading the River Cottage book on bread came the moment that I truly got a handle on baking. I’d read a few books before, but none of them really put all the pieces together for me.
I read it a few years back now, and I went from making bread that people would pretend to like, to making bread that rivalled what you can buy. The book goes step by step through the process of making bread, first covering the raw ingredients, followed by how to combine the ingredients, kneading and proving then finally moving on the the baking process. Each step is covered in great detail.
Book review: Neil Buttery, Knead to know
While browsing around Waterstones bookshop I came across this book with a catchy title. It goes through the history of baking, along with a little of the science as to why various aspects of baking work the way that they do. I found it a very interesting read.
It covers some of the earliest baking products such as pancakes, and other “baked goods” that didn’t need a particularly complex oven to make well, right through to the “relatively” modern masterpieces that we take for granted today. There are also very interesting chapters on the history of cakes, including where many different cakes I took for granted in my childhood actually originated from. Lastly there’s a chapter on pâtisserie, covering my favourites the pain au raisin and croissant in detail.
