Peter Reinhart's Weblog

Class Added in Reno

Hi Again,

   It's official, we'll be adding a class in Reno on March 6th at Nothing To It Culinary Center. Contact them for details. This will be my first class in Reno ever, and the first time I've been there in over 12 years, when I went there to check out the 1997 World Chili Championship (that was mighty fun!).

    Other classes and dates are listed below in an earlier post. I'll put up a comprehensive list when I get back from Chapel Hill where this Saturday's class at A Southern Season is sold out. Thank you all for your support! More soon....

    Sincerely,

    Peter

First Bookplates Going Out Monday

Hi Everyone,

    The zipcode screw up I made didn't seem to stop the mail from arriving, so I'm sending out the first batch of bookplates tomorrow (Monday). Even the ones with the wrong zip still arrived. Thank you all for sending in for them and for including the self-addressed, stamped envelopes. I have over 200 requests already, so you can see how the costs can add up. My hand is cramped from signing the bookplates all weekend, but I'm just about caught up.  For those who still plan to request one, please see the previous two posts.

    Meanwhile, editing is still going on and we're getting closer to creating a website about the pizza show. But still a lot of work ahead so it won't happen immediately. I'll keep you posted.

    Hope to see some of you this weekend at A Southern Season in Chapel Hill, and at the ICE in NYC on Nov. 15th. These will be the first two demo classes based on the book. The hands on class last week at Johnson & Wales (JWU) went really well.

There are still a few seats left for the "Artisan Breads Everyday" book launch dinner at Pie Town on Nov. 7th. If interested, call Pie Town at (704) 379-7555 for details.

    More news when we get back from Chapel Hill....

    May Your Bread Always Rise!

    Peter

Zipcode Correction

My Oooops.

   Thanks to one of our alert readers, Canan K., it appears as though I screwed up the zipcode in the previous post. For those wanting signed bookplates, the correct address should be:

Peter Reinhart

PO Box 79157

Charlotte, NC 28271   <I had written a 9 instead of an 8>

    Please refer to the previous post for related details. So sorry--if you already sent it to the other zipcode it may take longer to find me or it may get returned to you. Please give me it an extra week or so; it should sort itself out and the book won't be released for about 2 more weeks.

   Thanks for your patience!

   Sincerely,

   Peter

Sorry it's taken so long

Hi Everyone,

   Thank you to all who have written to me at recipetesters@yahoo.com  with questions and the like, and so sorry I've been away from this blog for so long. I'll try to do better, but things haven't settled down enough yet for me to get back here as often as I'd like. However, here are a few updates:

--First, I've been getting a lot of requests to be considered for recipe testing. Unfortunately, I don't have any book projects going right now but, if and when I do, I will announce it here and put out a call for testers. I can't, however, keep a backlist for that so please don't assume that if you asked to be put on a list that you are on a list--I don't keep a request list at this point. Maybe someday, but I hate keeping people hanging on, especially . So each project will get announced and then we'll create a list specific to that. Thanks for your understanding.

--The new book is coming out on Oct. 28th. I was excited to see that on Amazon it is already listed as the 4th best selling bread book, and it hasn't even come out yet--pretty neat!! That mean a lot of you have placed pre-orders, so thank you to all who have done so. I've mentioned signed copies in past posts but would like to try something different this time around, just to expedite things and to save you money. If you send me a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Peter Reinhart, PO Box 79157, Charlotte, NC 29271, I will send you a signed bookplate to paste into your book. This way you can buy the book from your favorite bookseller at a better price than I can offer you and still get it signed. In your note, please say who you would like the bookplate(s) to be signed to.

--For those in the Charlotte area, we will be having a "Dinner with Peter" event on Saturday, Nov. 7 at Pie Town. I will give a short reading from the new book, we will have books available (Borders will be handling the sales), and we can hang out for the evening. Call Pie Town at (704) 379-7555 for price, time, and other details.

--We are in the editing phase of our pizza show--the first cut looked great but now we're in the second round of fine tuning-- and hope to have announcements soon about a website where you can get a sneak preview of some of the segments. Very exciting but still a work in progress. Check back here from time to time and I'll post the details as soon as we're ready to launch. I'm loving what I've seen so far....

--Am working on some June classes in the Cleveland and Western Reserve area and should have those dates when I post next time.

--On Sunday, Nov. 15th I'll be at ICE in Manhattan--don't know if there are any seats left but call them if you're interested in attending: (212) 847-0796  or www.iceculinary.com

--Upcoming classes in Texas at a number of Central Markets: January 27 in Houston; 28th Austin; 29th San Antonio; 30th Fort Worth; Feb. 1 Dallas, and Feb. 2 Southlake. Call the cooking school at the store nearest you for details or check out the Central Market website.

--Other classes: February 23, at Sur la Table Newport Beach, CA; Feb. 24 Sur la Table LA Farmers Market; Feb. 26 and 27, Let's Get Cookin', Westlake Village; March 2 and 3, Ramekins, Sonoma; March 4, Draegers, San Mateo.  There will be one additional class offered in a different city and state on March 6th, but I can't announce it yet (hint, it will be in either Reno or Salt Lake City--still to be determined). Classes also in Kirkland, WA on April 17 at Sur la Table, and in Portland, OR on April 19, also at Sur la Table.

--There will be more classes in a city near you at some point during the coming year--I will keep you posted via this blog and, hopefully, via our new pizza website when it launches.

More to come soon. Till then, may your bread always rise!!

   Peter

--

Back from California

Hi Everyone,

    The filming for the television pilot of our new pizza series went really well. I had a chance to interview Nancy Silverton, of Pizzeria Mozza (also the founder of LaBrea Breads) along with her Executive Pizzaiolo, Matt Molina; Russ Parsons of the LA Times and Kristine Kidd of Bon Appetite Magazine, as well as the bakers at LaBrea Bakery; some wonderful people at the Cass House in Cayucos, on the Central Coast (their small town is brimming with other artisans who we also filmed--wonderful smoked fish and a little cookie shop specializing in brown butter cookies!); and in San Francisco we spent a whole day at Tony's Pizza Napoletana with Tony Gemignani, world champion for Traditional Neapolitan Margherita pizza as well as many times world champion for acrobatic dough tossing; also, Craig Stoll and his head pizzaiolo Anthony at Pizzeria Delfina; and the folks at Berkeley's famous Cheese Board, where people line up around the block for slices everyday. We also filmed some great footage at Tartine, the James Beard Award winning patisserie next door to Pizzeria Delfina, and had astounding ice cream and other treats at Bi-Rite Market and Bi-Rite Creamery (all four of these places are located on the same block--we got a lot of footage on 18th Street!). We also filmed out in tomato country where the vines were full of ripe plum tomatoes ready to be harvested, and filmed all sorts of other great food finds (oysters, fish tacos, sourdough bread at Fisherman's Wharf--the same passion we found in our pizzaiolos existed in equal measure among other food artisans in their own realms). The footage is being edited as I write and I'll keep you posted as it develops. Thank you all for your kind letters and interest in this project. All I can say for now is that the filming exceeded our expectations and we're very excited about the prospects for this series. And, needless to say, it was one of the most fun things I've ever done, especially working with a great crew of producers, camera and sound men, and production assistants.

    Other great news: my editor from Ten Speed Press met us at The Cheese Board and handed me the first, off the press copy of "Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Everyday."  I am so pleased with how it turned out. The layout, art design, photos, and overall feel of the book is everything we'd hoped for. I think all of you who contributed to the testing will be pleased with the fruits of your efforts. The official release date is October 28th, so I won't have copies till then, but will announce here on the blog, in October, how to send for signed copies. This is a big season for bread books as Jim Lahey (the creator of what is referred to as the NY Times No Knead Bread recipe), Ciril Hitz, Michael Kalanty, and Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois all have important books coming out (I wrote the intros for both Michael's and Ciril's books so can vouch for their excellence--haven't seen Jim's or Jeff and Zoe's yet but I'm sure they will be great). This means a treasure trove of options for home bakers, and maybe a dilemma too, but I feel ours will be one of the must-haves and am really proud of what we all accomplished together. We even got some great endorsements from Mario Batali and Nancy Baggett (author of the excellent, "Kneadlessly SImple"), among others.

    Many of you have probably already seen the Washington Post article about "The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge." (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/01/AR2009090100832.html?sid=ST2009090102947) . I'm still waiting for Jason Alexander to call and will let you know if he does (you'll understand after you read the whole story). What a great boon to have so many people involved in this challange, and thanks again to Nicole of www.pinchmysalt.com for starting the wave. If you haven't checked her site yet, I'm really impressed with not only the breads but also the photos, many of them step-by-step. A great tutorial for all of us as a by-product of the wonderful fellowship created by those who stepped up to the "challenge." I'm overwhelmed and awed by it all--starting to kvell, sorry....

    Many have asked how to track down classes at Johnson & Wales here in Charlotte. The only way to sign up is through the website: www.jwu.edu/charlotte/  and then navigate to Continuing and Adult Education and then click on Chefs Choice.  Also, don't forget Oct. 31st at A Southern Season in Chapel Hill for a class based on the new book (yes, we will make Chocolate Babka!). Check their website for details. Am getting close to nailing down a teaching tour for a few cities and will let you know once it's finalized, hopefully by the next posting here in a week or two. 

    The students started arriving yesterday for the new year at JWU; classes begin Tuesday. We're all excited here about the coming year and I can't wait to start baking with them. Meanwhile, Pie Town celebrates it's first anniversary this month and I'm very proud of the work our team is doing there. We keep tweaking the pizzas, pushing them to try to squeeze every bit of potential out of that dough, and our pizzaiolos are really dialed in. I think we're right up there with the best of the best now and would love your feedback if you get a chance to eat there (www.dineatpietown.com for details).  The best e-mail to write to me is at recipetesters@yahoo.com .

    More soon.

    May Your Bread Always Rise!

    Peter

Hope and Glory

Hi, I'm finally back,

     It's been a crazy summer with all sorts of unexpected twists and turns but here's the good news: I'm headed to LA and SF to shoot a pilot for a possible TV series based on my pizza book. I can't give out any details till I get back, which won't be for a couple of weeks, but it's very exciting and will include a number of pizza luminaries and some interesting features. We're looking at it not only as a television series but also as a web series, with most of the instructional material in the "webisodes." So, there's lots of hope and, if it gets to the next stage, some possible glory. We'll know soon and I'll post all the details here.

     We had a wonderful focaccia class at A Southern Season last weekend in Chapel Hill. It was the first time I've done a class totally on focaccia and, I have to say, the results were very exciting. I'm beginning to line up a couple of teaching tours to promote the new book, but may also do some more of these focaccia classes because they're so much fun. I'll post the dates as soon as they're firmed up, but we're working on Texas and California now (and Salt Lake City too), with some east coast dates and the Cleveland area also possible. Most of these will be in the spring and summer of next year but, as we are increasingly learning each year as time accelerates and gobbles up space, it will be here before we know it.

     A couple of upcoming dates for this year: Sept. 26 (pizza) and Oct. 17 (recipes from the new book, "Artisan Breads Everyday")  at Johnson & Wales (JWU for short)  here in Charlotte. I'll be repeating the pizza class at JWU on Jan. 16.  Also, we'll be doing the "Artisan Breads Everyday" class at A Southern Season on October 31st (Halloween) for anyone in the Research Triangle area (we had one fellow who flew all the way in from Mexico for the last class at A Southern Season, so it's certainly not limited to the locals--in fact it's a beautiful place to visit). That's all I have on the books for 2009, as school begins in a few weeks and I have classes to teach at JWU, but next year I plan to go to as many places as possible to demonstrate the new techiniques that many of you helped to create. If you know of any cooking schools that might want to have me, please let them know how to reach me at recipetesters@yahoo.com It would be better to have them contact me rather than have you send me the name of the school, as I'd prefer to limit this communication only to places that really want me to come and understand the costs of bringing in "travel teachers."  I do get a lot of requests to come in for book signings and such, but the most effective trips are the ones where I can teach a class. As soon as I have firm dates I will post them here.

    Just heard from my publisher that the official publication date for the book has been pushed back to the end of October, so, for those who have been patiently waiting, it will be a few weeks longer but still in plenty of time for the holidays.

       As you can see, lots of new things coming. Check back from time to time for updates--I'm not a tweeter and my Facebook skills are still non existent (my apologies if you're waiting for me to "accept" you as a friend--I'm still totally lost there but hope to get help when the students return and can show me how it works; till then, please know I'm not rejecting you--just lost in the weeds). Many of my summer plans to come up to speed and update this blog with photos and links, and do videos at Pie Town have been waylaid by these new opportunities but, eventually, it will all come together. I appreciate your patience with me and your continued support. Will post again when I return from California.

      More soon....

      Peter 

    

Facebook Rookie

Hi Everyone,

    Please bear with me, as I am now a member of that growing cult called Facebook and I don't have a clue how to use it. I followed some links and ended up enrolling nearly all my recipe testers with friend requests and many have written back with acceptances and personal notes but I'm clueless as to how to respond back (seems as if there's some kind of delay when you try to follow up). Anyway, please know that if you accepted me as a friend then I did receive your acceptance even if I didn't write back (I got about 200 responses today!). So, I will continue to do most of my outgoing communication via this blog and if you need to write me to probably best to send me an e-mail at bestbreads@gmail.com  or at recipetesters@yahoo.com  At least I know how to respond to e-mails. Eventually I'll learn how to "drive" this Facebook vehicle but for now I'm just a total duffer.

     Speaking of driving new vehicles, I'm starting to get pretty good at driving my new Forno Bravo "PrimaVera" wood-fired oven. I'll try to post a photo of me in front of it as soon as I figure out how to post photos here (still a duffere on the blog too) but I foresee many years of fun baking ahead. Yesterday I baked focaccia and crispy roast chicken (I had pre-roasted in the house oven at 350 degrees, then crisped the skin in about 3 minutes in the PrimaVera--awesome!) , and have had also had great success with, of course, pizza and all sorts of vegetables, including corn on the cob baked in the husks after soaking them in water. If you want to see what the oven looks like (it's cute as the dickens, like an igloo), go to the Forno Bravo site at www.fornobravo.com  I heard that they're selling pretty well and the best part, for someone like me with limited carpentry and masonry skills, they come ready to use--as long as you can find 4 strong people to lift in into the frame.  More on this in future postings.

    Anyway, just wanted to get this Facebook thing out in the open. I plan on getting someone younger and hipper to show me the ropes and, before you know it, I'll be like a wily veteran on the thing. So much to learn -- it's hard to keep up as time speeds up to consume space....

     In the meantime, may your bread always rise!

    Peter

We're Back!

Hi Everyone,

     Susan and I are back from a short vacation and I just returned a few days ago from leading a bread baking retreat at the Mandala Center in DesMoines, New Mexico. It was a wonderful experience, with 14 fellow pilgrims in search of the connection between and bread and spirit. The center is located on a bluff facing an ancient volcano (dormant, we think), and certainly is We had thoughtful conversations and discussions, made all sorts of tasty breads, and even had a concert from a few of our attendees. On the way back to the Albuquerque airport I stopped for an overnight visit with one of our recipe testers (Linda R.) and her family, and was treated to a spectacular lightning show and torrential rains--very exciting!

    Now that the book has gone to press I am beginning to work on setting up a teaching tour for the fall and winter. It will be limited at first because of my fall teaching schedule at Johnson & Wales, but I think it will pick up steam in January and beyond. Please check back here from time to time for updates, as I'll post the schedule as it comes into focus. The only thing on the schedule at this time is a focaccia class at A Southern Season in Chapel Hill on August 8th. If you live in the area, I hope you'll be able to come.

       We just shot a series of 2 minute demos for Johnson & Wales that will air soon on our local Time Warner Cable News channel. Don't know if it will get picked up in other cities but, maybe, they'll eventually show up on YouTube. I did a few demos from the new book, including sweet dough variations, crackers, focaccia, and biscuits. We also started a series of pizza classes at Pie Town last Saturday and had 14 people crammed into our tiny kitchen. Everyone got to make a couple of pizzas in out Woodstone oven. Lots of fun for all of us (and good eating, too). The next one will be in late August. I'll post the date here as soon as it's confirmed.

    Other news as it comes in. Till then, may your bread always rise!

    Peter

The Book Has Left the Building

Hi Everyone,

    The book has gone to press--summer begins!!!

    Susan and I are going to take a week off for R&R so I won't be answering e-mails for awhile and will jump back into this blog in about two weeks. Meanwhile, here's a link to a fun blog by a baker named MC, who has been on a quest for the perfect loaf. She also lists lots of other bread blogs in case you're looking to broaden your network. Enjoy!  http://www.farine-mc.com/2009/05/100-whole-wheat-mash-bread.html.

    I'm excited that after a year of hard work and over 4,000 e-mails from recipe testers, we have come up with a wonderful book that I hope you will all enjoy. It will be out in the fall and, of course, I'll keep you updated as we get closer to publication.

    May Your Bread Always Rise!

    Peter

The Finish Line, At Last!

Hi Again,  

        Sorry for the gap between postings. The past two weeks have been spent in proof reading and working out the baker's percentage formulas for the book. This took longer than I expected and I was totally wiped out by the end, but the good news is that the finished manuscript arrived yesterday for one final stage of proof reading and then, on Friday, we go to press!  The book should be out by October, but I'll hopefully have copies sooner. My hope is to be able to send out signed copies at a discounted cost to any recipe testers that want one, so check the blog in September for the information when I have it. In the meanwhile, I'll keep posting through the summer with other news, updates, and thoughts.

    One of the hot buzzes of this week has been the Alan Richman article in GQ on his top 25 pizza places, in which he briefly quotes me (we had a long conversation but by the time we had it the article was pretty much written and we tended to agree on almost everything so my input simply confirmed what he had already written). Alan, who is one of my favorite food writers, has the kind of food passion that we all love as well as a great ability to write about it. I learned of a few new pizzerias from the article that I now have to go visit, and while my top 25 would differ slightly from his, there are quite a number of places he cites that would also be on my list. There are many links to get you to the article but this one will also get you a 4 minute video with Alan on the Today Show: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/30872147/

    On the weekend on June 12th I will be leading a 2 1/2 day bread retreat at the Mandala Center in New Mexico. If you happen to have the weekend free and want to join in, please contact them at www.mandalacenter.org  for details.

    Will post again next week as soon as I hear from Ten Speed Press that we've gone to press. I'm excited that we're almost there and I want to thank all of the recipe testers again and also everyone who has been so supportive during this long, gruelling process.

    Sincerely,

    Peter

Ooops, here's the correct link

This is the "I'm stunned but thrilled" link I was referring to in the previous post--sorry about the duplication of the NPR link.

http://pinchmysalt.com/the-bba-challenge/

P.

Check This Out

Hi Again,

     Just a quickie here--check out this blog. I'm stunned (but thrilled)!

http://www.wpr.org/hereonearth/podcast/hereonearth090424k.mp3

Also, as promised, here's the link to the NPR show that we did on pizza on WPR in Madison, Wisconsin . Enjoy! http://www.wpr.org/hereonearth/podcast/hereonearth090424k.mp3
    P.

PS  Still wrapping up the book; will give a longer recap when it's put to bed.

Still Playing Catch Up

Hi Everyone,

   This week has been great, as I was able to get most of the corrections in to my editor at Ten Speed as well as finish my final teaching cycle at Johnson & Wales for the year--even sent in the grades yesterday. So next week I should be able to comb through the last of the responses from all the testers and make the final tweaks. Still have to work up a few sidebars and photo captions, as well as calculate all the bakers percentages and write the acknowledgements page--this could take days considering all the people I need to thank-- and then we'll have one final read-through of the final pages (I think this used to be called the galleys though now we just call it the final pages), but we're so close to the end I can almost taste it.

    Just received a link to a fun blog from Patricia Kline, who came to my talk in SF last month. Check it out:

http://ringalings.blogspot.com/2009/04/preacher-teacher-and-seeker-peter.html  

    Also, I was a guest today on Wisconsin Public Radio's show, Here on Earth, along with Chris Bianco (Pizzeria Bianco) and Brian Spangler (Apizza Scholls)--a fun hour all about pizza. You should be able to access a podcast via their archives in a few days at www.wpr.org  If you heard it, let me know at recipetesters@yahoo.com

    Okay, back to work (actually, I'm going to sleep). Will be judging a biscuit contest early on Saturday morning at the Matthews Farmers Market--who knows, may discover yet another new recipe!!

     More next week!

     Peter

Quick Update

Hi Everyone,

      Okay, this is crunch week for me and the manuscript, which is in the corrections stage now. I have to get all the corrections and modifications back to the editor by the end of the week, so please don't worry if I haven't written back to acknowledge getting your recent results. I do have them and am looking through them at every spare minute, but cannot reply yet. Hopefully, by next week the pressure will be off and I will be able to send you back a note. So far, so good and I'll have a more complete update sometime this weekend.

     Thanks for your patience and support!

    Peter

Testing Period Has Ended

Hi Everyone,

       Well, it had to end sometime. I just received the edited manuscript back from my editor and I have to focus on making all the final corrections and tweaks. I will not be able to send out any more recipes as of now. Those who are still working on them, yes, please do send me your results. There is still time to incorporate your feedback, as the corrections will take me a number of days. Otherwise, feel free to continue playing with them and share with each other on the Gallery and the Forum. I will rejoin that conversation when I finish the final corrections.

    Your support and feedback has been unbelievably helpful--thanks so much!!  Please keep checking this blog for progress reports, updates and news, and more stories of my search for the perfect pizza and extraordinary breads. For now, I'm off to make the final tweaks but will continue to read your response forms right up to the last second. We're coming down the homestretch.....

      Best wishes and a happy, hopeful Passover and Easter to all.

      Sincerely,

      Peter