"Modernist Bread" review: The 650 francs bread baking book
10.6.2020
Translation: machine translated
The parcel weighs 25 kilograms. It contains five books and a recipe overview. "Modernist Bread" is the most expensive bread baking book of all time and worth every franc.
In fact, "Modernist Bread" is much more than "just" a bread baking book. It is a history book, biology book, coffee table book and recipe collection in five volumes. Only two of the five books are recipes. 1,200 baking recipes, which are also conveniently summarised in a ring binder. Because nobody wants to stand in the kitchen with a 5-kilogram Welzer. This shows just how much attention to detail has gone into "Modernist Bread".
From head technician to head chef
The book was written by Nathan Myhrvold. The former Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft is filthy rich. Instead of enjoying his fortune in retirement, Myhrvold has founded a new company. "The Cooking Lab" employs over 20 employees and publishes cookery books. The first collection, "Modernist Cuisine", focussed on molecular cuisine. "Modernist Bread" is now dedicated exclusively to the topic of dough and baking in all its facets.
The volumes are divided into "History and Basics", "Ingredients", "Technology and Equipment" and two volumes with recipes. The fact that Myhrvold comes from the tech industry is evident in the structure of the books. It is teeming with cross-references to all the other volumes, as if they were hyperlinks. You can look this up, but you don't have to. It's the same with the recipes. There are dozens of recipes for baguettes, for example, ranging from simple to highly complex. Basic terms such as "poolish" or "autolysis" may be confusing at first, but you can find a multi-page treatise on all the terms in the big books. If you don't want to open them, everything is briefly explained in the recipe.
Almost everything for almost everyone
Would you like to find out more about the chemical composition of dough and how it interacts with yeast? You can read about it here. Do you want to know how to recognise that the dough has risen too much and how you can save it? You'll find that in the book too, but you hardly need it because the recipes are described so precisely that you won't fail. The history of bread? You can save the 200 pages for a rainy Sunday, all beautifully illustrated.
The photographs in these books alone are a masterpiece. In fact, Myhrvold has opened four galleries in the USA displaying the images from "Modernist Cuisine" and "Modernist Bread". So you can actually put a volume on the side table with your other photo books to show off. Guests won't realise that it's not a coffee table book at all.
And finally, you'll find every type of bread you need to know among the 1,200 recipes. Whether it's Baslerbrot, Bavarian Brezn', Indian naan or Japanese shokupan - "Modernist Bread". Often even in multiple variations.
Yes, "Modernist Bread" is obscenely expensive. But the price is completely justified. I've never owned such a comprehensive, beautifully designed and usable set of cookery books.
Myhrvold and his team are already working on the next book. "Modernist Pizza" is due to be published soon. I'm already starting to save up. <p
Simon Balissat
Teamleader Editorial
Simon.Balissat@digitecgalaxus.chWhen I flew the family nest over 15 years ago, I suddenly had to cook for myself. But it wasn’t long until this necessity became a virtue. Today, rattling those pots and pans is a fundamental part of my life. I’m a true foodie and devour everything from junk food to star-awarded cuisine. Literally. I eat way too fast.
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