There's something magical about the aroma of freshly baked bread filling your home, the sound of the crust crackling as you slice into it, and the taste of that perfect balance of crisp exterior and tender interior. For Portland-based baker Ken Forkish, this isn't just food - it's a passion that has earned him recognition as one of America's best bakers. In his New York Times bestselling guide, he shares the secrets behind the breads and pizzas that have made his bakery a destination.
Whether you're a busy parent needing fresh bread for dinner or a dedicated baker exploring fermentation, Forkish provides recipes that work with your life. Want fresh bread by suppertime? His straight dough methods deliver. Have more time to develop complex flavors? Explore biga and poolish pre-ferments. And for the truly ambitious, his step-by-step levain starter guide creates naturally leavened bread with incredible depth of flavor using just flour and water.
What sets this book apart is how Forkish translates professional baking techniques into methods anyone can master. He developed and tested every recipe in his home oven, ensuring you can achieve bakery-quality results without special equipment. Learn baker's percentages to create custom doughs, manipulate ingredient ratios for different textures, and adapt schedules to fit your daily routine. The chapter on levain making alone is worth the price of admission, demystifying the process of creating and maintaining a natural starter.
Bread lovers aren't the only ones who will benefit. Pizza enthusiasts will find a variety of doughs and sauce recipes designed for either pizza stones or cast-iron skillets. Forkish's approach to pizza making shares the same attention to detail and understanding of fermentation that makes his breads so exceptional.
More than just a collection of recipes, Flour Water Salt Yeast offers a complete baking education. It's the guide you'll turn to again and again as your skills develop, helping you transform simple ingredients into extraordinary bread and pizza that will amaze your family and friends.
