Bread baking is the next big thing in modernist cuisine

If you’ve been following news about modernist cuisine in the past year, you will notice a lot of talk about the art and science of bread baking. Actually, the Modernist Cuisine team have announced that their next books will be devoted to bread baking. Bread, while ubiquitous, has become an afterthought in our everyday meals. So part of Modernist’s focus is to re-evoke that love for bread.

In our eyes, it’s a wonderful choice. This seemingly simple staple made with mainly flour, water, salt, and yeast can be transformed in many different ways because of the science when combining these ingredients. Bread is so steeped in tradition yet has plenty of areas for new discoveries. Plus, we can really see bread baking at home taking off these past few years. According to Best Bread Machines there has been a significant rise in bread machine ownership driven by new trends such as gluten-free diets. So the Modernist Cuisine books couldn’t come at a better time.

They are calling upon bread bakers to help with the book. If you have some expertise to contribute you should be contacting them by email: breadcontributions at modernistcuisine dot com. Based on their announcement, it will be a multi-volume release that will include the origins and evolution of bread and honoring of great bakers that have made an influence in the world of bread. The more useful portions of the book will include a comprehensive, scientific-based discussion of ingredients, food safety, techniques, equipment, and of course, modernist approaches to bread. We’re excited to see if we can add some of these techniques to our menu offerings. The books are not only aimed at restaurants but also home and hobby bakers too.

This will be great for better understanding bread. Because bread is such a staple, the books will sure open up some discussion on what we think we know about bread. It seems like people have lost a connection to bread or stopped making their own because of the conveniences in buying it at the store. Baking at home can be a hassle one can live without. However if the books can reveal new techniques or a stronger understanding of bread, we think it can change people’s perception of it. Besides, if you look closely at the top 10 bread makers you will see that they’re very capable machines that make it a breeze to make bread at home. So with a little more knowledge and skill, buying bread might be a thing of the past!

So far they have enlisted the help of Francisco Migoya and Peter Reinhart. Both chefs have considerable experience in pastry, bread baking, and have written many books. To give you a little bit of background on Modernist Cuisine, in the past, they have published Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking (2011) and Modernist Cuisine at Home (2012), and The Photography of Modernist Cuisine (2013) which we have enjoyed every much. They are based in Bellevue, Washington.