Dad of Divas' Reviews: Book Review - Orwashers Artisan Bread: 100 Years of Techniques and Recipes

Monday, April 14, 2014

Book Review - Orwashers Artisan Bread: 100 Years of Techniques and Recipes

Orwashers Artisan Bread: 100 Years of Techniques and Recipes
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About the Book
Orwasher's Bakery, located in New York’s Upper East Side, is one of last vestiges of the thriving German, Czech and Hungarian immigrant population that lived in the neighborhood at the start of the 20th century. Established in 1916 under the name A. Orwasher Handmade Bread Inc., Orwasher’s was purchased in 2007 by Keith Cohen and is considered one of the top ten bakeries in America.

ARTISAN BREAD by Keith Cohen [Race Point Publishing, April 2014, $30.00 US/$33.00 CAN] features the time-honored techniques used to make Orwasher’s most famous breads – including their new line of wine and beer breads. Inside home bakers will find:


  • The history of Orwasher’s Bakery and the story of how they survived 100-years to become one of the most beloved bakeries in the country
  • Cherished recipes from Orwasher's famous Bakery, adapted specifically to facilitate home baking
  • Techniques for making bread from artisan starters
  • An entire chapter on artisan wine and beer breads with step-by-step instructions for making them at home.


Looking to take the bakery’s offerings up a notch In 2009, Cohen collaborated with Channing Daughters Vineyard in Long Island to create a line of artisan wine breads called Oven Artisans. Using wine grape starters and a baking technique that dates back to Ancient Egypt, the special flavor of these breads is created when natural yeast from fermenting grapes permeates the air and lends itself to the leavening process. Cohen premiered his beer bread in 2010—a chewy, dark-hued creation with a nutty, robust flavor that is created by mixing Sixpoint Craft Ale’s Otis Stout into the dough. These breads are some of the most popular items available at the baker’s counter today alongside the more traditional breads that the shop is known for.

Trading on a century of experience and incorporating newer, “unusual” ingredients to create new flavors and textures, ARTISAN BREAD is the perfect baking companion for foodies and cooking enthusiasts who are eager to re-capture the lost tradition of handmade breads.


My Take on the Book
Keith Cohen is the owner of Orwashers Bakery. He is a professional/master baker.The table of contents gives the reader a history of bread making, information about the starters, levains, begas, recipes for wine and beer breads, troubleshooting and more.

Read the introduction as it will give you knowledge into Keith's insight into baking, his philosophy and purpose.You will wish you could visit his bakery immediately.

The reader is given so many tips and reading about the tools you will need in detail will assist you in making the best bread in your home.

The book is full of photographs which will assist you as you proceed through the steps in preparing your bread . One of my favorites is the Challah bread photographs which show how to braid the bread.

You will be inspired to bake bread. So many choices and the directions are explicit.

Enjoy and buon appetito!


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