Peter Reinhart's errata and corrections, especially for Whole Grain Breads

[EdgeWiseInAnnArbor]

I asked Peter if there was a single online place that collected errata for his books, and he said he didn't know of one and asked me to post here to see if anyone else was aware of any online. Although later editions will correct things, those with 1st editions may never realize that a particular recipe didn't suit them because of a misprint. However, it's also possible that an error escaped anyone's notice except yours.

If you have any errata or corrections, especially for the Whole Grain Breads book, please post it here (without reproducing the entire recipe).

For instance, in Brother Juniper's Bread Book: Slow Rise as Method and Metaphor, for the recipe called, "The World's Greatest Brownies," it should call for 1 1/4 cups of flour but the first two printings of the book listed 3 1/4 cups of flour.

[giuseppepane]

I'm a newbie so sorry if this response is too late.  I just came across this post, so I'll ask a question that I asked in another section.  I have a 1st edition BJBB and I tried the Cinnamon-Raisin walnut Bread.  For liquids it calls for 1/2 cup buttermilk and 1/2 cup water for a formula that called for 8 cups of flour.  Is that correct or should it be 1 1/2 cups water as similar recipes seem to call for.  I've recently got back into bread baking and while I have all of Peter's books, I keep going back to BJBB because it is what first got me into it.
Thanks.  Joe

[kayjay]

Page 51, first paragraph, lists 283 g for 10-ounce pieces, 53 g for 19-ounce pieces.

[AnnieMacD]

For liquids it calls for 1/2 cup buttermilk and 1/2 cup water for a formula that called for 8 cups of flour.  Is that correct or should it be 1 1/2 cups water as similar recipes seem to call for.   

Guiseppe, I think you are supposed to use the water from soaking the raisins

[burgeoningbaker]

In the Artisan Breads Everyday recipe for basic French Bread I noticed the following:

Remove the dough from the refrigerator about 2 hours before you plan to bake. Gently transfer it to a lightly floured work surface, taking care to degas it as little as possible. For baguettes and batards, divide the cold dough into 10-ounce (283 g) pieces; for 1 pound boules, divide the dough into 19-ounce (53 g) pieces; and for freestanding loaves, use whatever size you prefer.


How is it possible to increase your ounces and yet the grams are way less?

[nolan]

Looks like there's a digit missing, 19 ounces = 538.6 grams.

Having spent 20+ years in the publishing business (my father-in-law was a publisher, my wife, sister-in-law, brother-in-law and mother-in-law have all written or edited books), proofreading the galleys for a book is one of the most mind-numbing tasks in the world, and you never find all the errors! 

[burgeoningbaker]

Having done peer editing back in college and seeing what a joy that was, I can't imagine having to do it for a 300 page book.   Thanks for the correction.  Even weighing out the 10 oz or so for the batards, they seemed pretty small.

[nolan]

I think I read somewhere that in France baguettes by law must be 250 grams in weight (just under 9 ounces) and 60 cm in length (around 23 inches.)  Given that weight loss during baking for a lean dough is about 10%, 10 ounces of dough sounds about right. 

I usually weigh out 10-12 ounces of dough for a baguette, but haven't ever been able to get my baguettes rolled out to 23" in length.  Baking ones that long would be a bit of a challenge.  Though my oven will (just barely) accommodate a 24" wide full sheet pan, it leaves virtually no room for air flow.  I usually bake them on a 3/4 sheet pan that is about 21" wide. 

They make some black baguette pans that look interesting, but I can only find them in a 16" width or a 27" width, and the latter definitely won't fit in my oven.

[burgeoningbaker]

Really?  I didn't know.  I just was going by pictures of Batards (as opposed to baguettes) that I've seen on here and on other sites/in person and they just seem bigger than the 10 oz of dough.  Maybe that is due to the length and the oven spring.  I don't think have the goods for shaping them (rather keeping their shape during proofing).  I tried the towel with wooden spoons but that didn't work so well and I don't think I shaped them correct as the skin wasn't that tight and it spread quite a bit.  I had trouble scoring them, but this is all part of the experience.  I tried instead for boule's and though I didn't really have a proofing bucket the one I tried didn't help with the dough sticking to the well floured towel.

[nolan]

If you can get a copy of the DVDs from the 2nd season of Julia Child's "The French Chef", there's an episode on French Bread, showing Prof. Raymond Calvel (author of 'The Taste of Bread' and an authority cited by Peter many times) rolling out baguettes.  I've probably watched it a dozen times, it still fascinates me every time! 

I now follow a similar technique for rolling out baguettes, but my dough appears to be a lot different than his.  Oh, for a big bag of French #55 flour! 

[burgeoningbaker]

Yes but isn't rolling out a Batard and a baguette slightly different?  Again I think my main issue will be having something to help hold the shape will proofing.  I guess having seen a video sorta like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuwUdxGfFLk

That the loaf would be bigger.

Although this method
http://www.breadcetera.com/?p=82

Doesn't seem to hard to do.

[cellardweller]

This apparently has been referred to Peter already for him to check out. 
Neither error will affect the recipe, it just will stop some head scratching that might keep you from baking, as it did me.

Error in Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads, recipe Sandwich Rye Siegle:

p. 117 grace note (marginal commentary): this should be omitted, it is confusing and incorrect.  Looks like Peter just did a 'copy and paste' from the Sandwich Rye Meteil gracenote, where it makes sense.  I'm pretty sure he just wants you to know that you can use a Rye Motherstarter here too.  But using a Whole Wheat Motherstarter will not turn this seigle recipe into a meteil recipe.  You will either have a 57% rye or a 70% rye, both of which are classified as seigle (i.e. >50%).

p. 116, baker's percentages in the soaker are wrong.  He has the rye flour and whole wheat flour at 50% each.  That can't be because the weights are different.  I thought that the larger of the flours would be 100% (in the soaker, this would be the whole wheat), which should make the rye flour 25%.  But I'm still a newbie at baker's math, so you will have to check my figures.

I've been slowly working my way through the Whole Grain Breads book (among other breads) on my blog and I would appreciate others finding errors before I bake!  That is why I've joined this forum (well, and to meet with other like-minded people with good ideas for loaves).  Here is a direct link to the day I made the Sandwich Rye Seigle: http://exorphinjunkie.blogspot.com/2010/07/reinharts-sandwich-rye-seigle.html



Others have found this recipe a good one.  Check out the thread elsewhere on this forum: http://breadtechnique.com/Forum/index.php?topic=157.0 
Next time I make this it will be with blue cheese.

Have fun!