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Bouchon Bakery was published in 2012 and is presented as Thomas Keller's baking book, but the craft is, for all practical purposes, Sébastien Rouxel's. He was the executive pastry chef for Keller's entire restaurant group, and it is his work that underpins the recipes.
The book is known for its precision. Everything is given in grams, the breads use baker's percentages, and the recipes are written as they would be in a professional kitchen, with timings, temperatures and resting stages that cannot be shortened. There are no shortcuts, and that is the whole point. With a good set of scales and plenty of patience, you can reach a level that an ordinary baking book simply will not take you to.
The contents span biscuits, scones, brioche, viennoiserie, bread, tarts, cakes and confectionery. Then there is the chapter nobody expects from Keller: American mass-produced baked goods recreated from scratch. Oreo, Ho Ho and Nutter Butter, treated with exactly the same seriousness as a macaron. It is unexpectedly playful in a book that is otherwise rigorous.
It sits somewhere between home baking and professional pâtisserie. For a professional it works as practical working material, while for an ambitious home baker it represents a step up that is genuinely achievable, which is unusual for books written at this level.
Format: Hardback
Number of pages: 399
Language: English
First published: 2012
