Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza
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- Create Date：2021-06-13 05:51:30
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Ken Forkish
- ISBN：160774273X
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Summary
From Portland's most acclaimed and beloved baker comes this must-have baking guide， featuring recipes for world-class breads and pizzas and a variety of schedules suited for the home baker。
There are few things more satisfying than biting into a freshly made， crispy-on-the-outside， soft-and-supple-on-the-inside slice of perfectly baked bread。 For Portland-based baker Ken Forkish， well-made bread is more than just a pleasure—it is a passion that has led him to create some of the best and most critically lauded breads and pizzas in the country。
In Flour Water Salt Yeast， Forkish translates his obsessively honed craft into scores of recipes for rustic boules and Neapolitan-style pizzas， all suited for the home baker。 Forkish developed and tested all of the recipes in his home oven， and his impeccable formulas and clear instructions result in top-quality artisan breads and pizzas that stand up against those sold in the best bakeries anywhere。
Whether you’re a total beginner or a serious baker， Flour Water Salt Yeast has a recipe that suits your skill level and time constraints: Start with a straight dough and have fresh bread ready by supper time， or explore pre-ferments with a bread that uses biga or poolish。 If you’re ready to take your baking to the next level， follow Forkish’s step-by-step guide to making a levain starter with only flour and water， and be amazed by the delicious complexity of your naturally leavened bread。 Pizza lovers can experiment with a variety of doughs and sauces to create the perfect pie using either a pizza stone or a cast-iron skillet。
Flour Water Salt Yeast is more than just a collection of recipes for amazing bread and pizza—it offers a complete baking education， with a thorough yet accessible explanation of the tools and techniques that set artisan bread apart。 Featuring a tutorial on baker’s percentages， advice for manipulating ingredients ratios to create custom doughs， tips for adapting bread baking schedules to fit your day-to-day life， and an entire chapter that demystifies the levain-making process， Flour Water Salt Yeast is an indispensable resource for bakers who want to make their daily bread exceptional bread。
There are few things more satisfying than biting into a freshly made， crispy-on-the-outside， soft-and-supple-on-the-inside slice of perfectly baked bread。 For Portland-based baker Ken Forkish， well-made bread is more than just a pleasure—it is a passion that has led him to create some of the best and most critically lauded breads and pizzas in the country。
In Flour Water Salt Yeast， Forkish translates his obsessively honed craft into scores of recipes for rustic boules and Neapolitan-style pizzas， all suited for the home baker。 Forkish developed and tested all of the recipes in his home oven， and his impeccable formulas and clear instructions result in top-quality artisan breads and pizzas that stand up against those sold in the best bakeries anywhere。
Whether you’re a total beginner or a serious baker， Flour Water Salt Yeast has a recipe that suits your skill level and time constraints: Start with a straight dough and have fresh bread ready by supper time， or explore pre-ferments with a bread that uses biga or poolish。 If you’re ready to take your baking to the next level， follow Forkish’s step-by-step guide to making a levain starter with only flour and water， and be amazed by the delicious complexity of your naturally leavened bread。 Pizza lovers can experiment with a variety of doughs and sauces to create the perfect pie using either a pizza stone or a cast-iron skillet。
Flour Water Salt Yeast is more than just a collection of recipes for amazing bread and pizza—it offers a complete baking education， with a thorough yet accessible explanation of the tools and techniques that set artisan bread apart。 Featuring a tutorial on baker’s percentages， advice for manipulating ingredients ratios to create custom doughs， tips for adapting bread baking schedules to fit your day-to-day life， and an entire chapter that demystifies the levain-making process， Flour Water Salt Yeast is an indispensable resource for bakers who want to make their daily bread exceptional bread。
Reviews
Claudia McKenzie
，
Love the Pain de Campagne recipe
Capn Fart
，
Phenomenal。 Really。 You can't far wrong with this。 Phenomenal。 Really。 You can't far wrong with this。 。。。more
Katy
，
This book was really great at introducing me to artisan bread baking。 I've been wanting to get into bread baking since the start of quarantine， but I've most stuck to my traditional pastry and dessert baking， since I was more familiar with those recipes， and it's been hard to find time for a new hobby between classes and work。 However， if this is a new hobby you want to pick up， I'd highly recommend it （and I'd suggest taking the full leap， but I wish to give you an idea of the economic investme This book was really great at introducing me to artisan bread baking。 I've been wanting to get into bread baking since the start of quarantine， but I've most stuck to my traditional pastry and dessert baking， since I was more familiar with those recipes， and it's been hard to find time for a new hobby between classes and work。 However， if this is a new hobby you want to pick up， I'd highly recommend it （and I'd suggest taking the full leap， but I wish to give you an idea of the economic investment it will require beforehand。）The techniques for bread and pizza making are fairly consistent throughout this book， so once you work through a few recipes， you will have mastered the most difficult aspect。 Additionally， the ingredients can be （and often are） as simple as flour， water， salt， and yeast。 This was such a relief because I have another baking book that requires many special ingredients， which often deters me from trying more recipes。I'd also recommend keeping a notebook or spreadsheet of your recipe variables （e。g。 final mix temp， room temp， etc。）， so you can keep track of your progress as the more you bake。 It also may help to have your own experiences written down when you're ready to modify recipes。 I personally enjoy this data-recording and analysis process， but that may just be the Type A or engineer traits in me。My least favorite parts of the books were the essays， so feel free to skip through those sections if you want to get to baking right away。 I'd definitely read through the technique sections， but other than that， you can acquire the rest of the essential information within the recipes themselves without needing to read any other random commentary。If you want to jump into bread-baking， I'd set aside ~$200 （maybe $225-$250 if you want pizza supplies as well）。 These values assume you're starting from scratch， and that you're doing a bit of bargain hunting as well。 For reference， I had all the necessary ingredients already and a few of the supplies， so I ended up spending $140， and I did not purchase any pizza-making supplies。 Overall， all the tools and equipment you need to buy for bread baking can be used for other baking and cooking recipes， with the exception of the Banneton baskets。 Thus， I felt this was an overall good investment， since I already like to bake and cook often。 If you end up bailing on the hobby or taking a break， at least you know the majority of what you spent your money on can still be used for other food prep。* 12 qt and 6 qt tubsThese were really nice for mixing the dough。 Typically， I've used clear bowls， but using a tub with measurements actually allows you to track the expansion of your dough rather than visually guessing。 These tubs can be pricey if you're looking for them on Amazon or surprisingly office supply stores。 I found extremely good deals at WebRestaurantStore。 Note， the tubs and the lids are sold separately。 Also， make sure you buy the same colors （clear tub and clear lid， not clear tub and white lid or they may not fit perfectly）。 This particular retailer will increase the shipping price with each additional item until the max is reached， so if you need any other kitchen supplies， I'd recommend ordering them with this order （I ended up paying $16 for shipping and getting my items after a week。） I also purchased two of the 6 qt tubs， so I'll have a dedicated levain tub， and one available for biga or poolish as need be。12 qt clear tub12 qt clear lid6 qt clear tub6 qt clear lid* 4 qt dutch ovenThis is the recommended size within the book。 Many dutch ovens are sized at 4。5 qt， which I think would be a fine substitute。 I ended up buying a 4 qt Lodge from Walmart。 It was on sale for $38 and arrived within two days。 It works great， has a heat tolerant （to the book's baking temperatures） knob already， and comes in blue or red。4 qt dutch oven* Temperature-reading equipmentIt's suggested you have both an oven thermometer and an instant read thermometer。 I got both from Amazon， and they work well。 I really love the instant read thermometer; it's way better than the cheap thermometer （that doesn't work） that I purchased from Target 4 years ago。Oven thermometerInstant read thermometer* Banneton shaping basketsThese baskets are used to shape the dough during the final proof。 Ideally， you want 9" diameter baskets。 I was able to find a set of two on Amazon， and they work well。 Many Banneton basket sets on Amazon come with various freebies， such as bench scrapers or scoring blades。 If you don't have a bench scraper， they're a useful tool to have。 Personally， I prefer one that has inch measurements， since it's helpful for baking pastries that need dough to be certain dimensions， but that is unnecessary for bread baking。 Additionally， based on how the dough is formed in these recipes， you don't need scoring blades since the loaves will open and release steam on their own， so don't worry about not getting that freebie or having to purchase this tool separately。 Before your first bake， follow the "wash"/prep steps for your Banneton baskets。 If they come with a linen， soak it in cold water overnight; if they're anything like mine， the water will be a pale yellow the next morning， so you may want to do a second soak with clean water。 Then， let the linen air dry （never wash in a washing machine， or it'll likely shrink。） Also， lightly wet the baskets and flour them。 Shake out any excess。 Never wash the baskets with soap; like a cast iron skillet， the baskets "season" with flour and use。9" Banneton basket setBench scraper with inch measurements* ScaleI had already received a digital scale as a gift， but this is the model I have。 I love it using it for other baking or cooking projects。 It's a great tool， and you may be inspired to start switching recipes over from a volumetric basis to a weight basis for better accuracy and repeatability。Kitchen scale* IngredientsYou only need flour， water， sea salt， and yeast to make the most basic form of these recipes。 The author recommends King Arthur brand flour， but I've been using my local grocery store brand， and I'm happy with the results。 I'd recommend buying a block or large package of yeast though （as opposed to the small packets）， as my personal preference and due to my baking frequency。 。。。more
Raz Yessaian
，
Many thank you fist pumps and high fives to Mr。 Forkish （ such a fitting name 。） Learning how to make bread is a new and wonderful chapter in my life。 Thankfully， I have an incredibly great lady who appreciates my bread wether it be a great loaf or a great try！
Sandra
，
my go to bread and pizza making book！
Stephanie
，
Lovely book with some excellent instructions for making artisan bread the Ken Forkish way。 This is not the same as the Tartine way or the Sullivan street way， of course， but Forkish would be the first to admit that。 I don’t always follow his methods and instructions， but I appreciated his theories， his detailed explanations of some things （I find the ‘Troubleshooting” to be especially useful。 The photography is lovely as is his tone。 It’s not THE bread book， but it’s a good one to have。
Kyle Soleil
，
If I ever became a famous baker， you saw it here that I learned from Ken and this book 🙌🤘
Suzanne
，
Lots of science， passion， and great stories。 Read all the introductory chapters on equipment， ingredients and process; you'll feel like you went to bread school and the recipes will be much easier to follow。 Lots of science， passion， and great stories。 Read all the introductory chapters on equipment， ingredients and process; you'll feel like you went to bread school and the recipes will be much easier to follow。 。。。more
Thomas Resing
，
Can't think of the last cookbook I read so many chapters end to end。Really， this is a story about bread， pizza， baking， and business with great instructions and recipes inside。 I had a hard time putting this book down once I started reading it for free on Kindle Unlimited。 Bought a copy， because it's so much easier to follow recipes from a book and the pictures are so much better in print。 Beautiful book。 I even bought a copy for a birthday present for my brother！Highly recommended， if you're in Can't think of the last cookbook I read so many chapters end to end。Really， this is a story about bread， pizza， baking， and business with great instructions and recipes inside。 I had a hard time putting this book down once I started reading it for free on Kindle Unlimited。 Bought a copy， because it's so much easier to follow recipes from a book and the pictures are so much better in print。 Beautiful book。 I even bought a copy for a birthday present for my brother！Highly recommended， if you're interested in learning about how to make really good bread at home。 I've made the best homemade bread I've ever tasted two weeks in row now。 Also made focaccia and pizza and will make some more of both tonight！Warning: this method is not the easiest baking method and I bought a lot of tools to make it happen。 But the results have been better than I could have expected。 。。。more
Alex
，
Fine， I'll get into sourdough。 Fine， I'll get into sourdough。 。。。more
Patrick Sullivan
，
From basics to advanced techniques， this is a book all bread bakers MUST read。
Marianna
，
The bread recipes seem good， but do not serve my current needs。
T。J。 Campagna
，
Ken opened an entirely new world to me， making the seemingly impossible entirely accessible， and a whole lot of fun。 I wish I could shake the man’s hand and thank him personally。 His essays were also a joy to read- I loved all of them。 What a pleasure to read and experiment with！ This will be my go-to guide for years and years to come。
Regina
，
Very technical guide to breadmaking， in case you want to obsess over making bread。 I'm happy with my level of skill， and don't feel the need to delve deeply into these techniques。 I also don't need the responsibility and work of keeping a levain alive。 This is not the book to get if you just want to learn to bake bread。And as some other reviewers mentioned， oh the privilege on display。 Yikes。 Very technical guide to breadmaking， in case you want to obsess over making bread。 I'm happy with my level of skill， and don't feel the need to delve deeply into these techniques。 I also don't need the responsibility and work of keeping a levain alive。 This is not the book to get if you just want to learn to bake bread。And as some other reviewers mentioned， oh the privilege on display。 Yikes。 。。。more
Jessica
，
Everything you want to know （and more） about the very specific details of bread making。
Sarah
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I enjoyed reading this book。 Tried the bacon bread。。。good but note that every bread recipe makes two loaves！ Also， tried the pizza crust recipe and it made so much crust it took us 4 days to finish it all！
Jacqui
，
I thought the book itself was valuable to a new bread baker because it went into detail about all of the steps involved - explaining the “why” behind things。 I didn’t love the author （his story was ok， just a little too “woe is me” for someone who had a lot of advantages going in） and was a little frustrated that he implied his way （high hydration） was the best without explaining other methods so readers could try them。 Then again， describing the entire world of bread would have made the book wa I thought the book itself was valuable to a new bread baker because it went into detail about all of the steps involved - explaining the “why” behind things。 I didn’t love the author （his story was ok， just a little too “woe is me” for someone who had a lot of advantages going in） and was a little frustrated that he implied his way （high hydration） was the best without explaining other methods so readers could try them。 Then again， describing the entire world of bread would have made the book way too long and unapproachable for beginners。 Overall I found that the photos and explanations were useful， particularly when coupled with YouTube videos。 Unfortunately I had to return it to the library before I got the chance to try more than a couple recipes。 I’m skeptical of using bread dough for pizza， but wish I had been able to give it a shot。 。。。more
Avinash Moorthy
，
Ken the Fork knows his bread
Joyce
，
Good reference book！
Ken
，
I’ve baked bread for 40 years。。。 and I learned SO MUCH from this book。 But not just for experienced bakers。。。 this is good for beginners too。
Patrick Terrio
，
such a great book on breadmaking
Z
，
Forkish， who is a self-described “obsessive” when it comes to bread， provides a complete overview of bread-baking in this cookbook。 While I remain very excited to try out his recipes， and appreciate how he builds the cookbook from easy to more difficult recipes， his process is a tad intimidating for me as a home cook。 The temperature ranges he gives， for example， are quite small bands， and the process he describes is， at times， painstakingly detailed and granular。 I get that this is what is need Forkish， who is a self-described “obsessive” when it comes to bread， provides a complete overview of bread-baking in this cookbook。 While I remain very excited to try out his recipes， and appreciate how he builds the cookbook from easy to more difficult recipes， his process is a tad intimidating for me as a home cook。 The temperature ranges he gives， for example， are quite small bands， and the process he describes is， at times， painstakingly detailed and granular。 I get that this is what is needed to make good bread， and know my anxiety may subside once I get my hands in the dough， but at least at the start， it’s intimidating。 I also think he waxed a bit too poetic about himself and his process through the book， which I found not nearly as captivating as his recipes and discussions of the breads， pizza， and focaccia he shares in the book。 。。。more
Ali Mcdonnell
，
Great book
EJ Marotta
，
Awesome book。 The author seems to have a bit of an ego， but what baker/chef doesn't。 No offense to Mr。 Forkish。 It's just how I interpreted the tone of some of the essays。 But the book is superb。 It really breaks down bread baking in a palatable way that is easy to follow， and the recipes are concise。 Awesome book。 The author seems to have a bit of an ego， but what baker/chef doesn't。 No offense to Mr。 Forkish。 It's just how I interpreted the tone of some of the essays。 But the book is superb。 It really breaks down bread baking in a palatable way that is easy to follow， and the recipes are concise。 。。。more
Filipa
，
Consegui fazer duas pizzas bem boas， um pão do caraças e certamente muitos mais petiscos se seguirão。A minha única crítica é que às vezes o livro parece querer agradar a iniciantes e profissionais ao mesmo tempo， principalmente quando aconselha comprar materiais em "distribuidores de acessórios para restauração"。。。 Alguém me pode dizer onde eu encontro esse corredor no supermercado？ :p Consegui fazer duas pizzas bem boas， um pão do caraças e certamente muitos mais petiscos se seguirão。A minha única crítica é que às vezes o livro parece querer agradar a iniciantes e profissionais ao mesmo tempo， principalmente quando aconselha comprar materiais em "distribuidores de acessórios para restauração"。。。 Alguém me pode dizer onde eu encontro esse corredor no supermercado？ :p 。。。more
Ana Marlatt
，
This is a serious book for serious bakers。 I love baking bread but I use the bread machine for the hard work。 Breaking bread is serous and hard work。 Next time you are lucky enough to come in contact with a beautiful loaf of bread - dark and crisp crust; airy interior and fragrant。。。 remember this is someone’s work of art。
Jessica
，
Since I've been delving hard into hobbies （gee， wonder why）， I figured I'd start logging reference books that I've spent significant time with。 Over the past four months， I read this cover-to-cover and have baked everything in the book at least once （with intentional exceptions of a bread that's easier with summer heat and focaccia with anchovies）。 I had hopped on the sourdough bandwagon back in April -- it was something I had wanted to do for some time， but back in the day of going places and d Since I've been delving hard into hobbies （gee， wonder why）， I figured I'd start logging reference books that I've spent significant time with。 Over the past four months， I read this cover-to-cover and have baked everything in the book at least once （with intentional exceptions of a bread that's easier with summer heat and focaccia with anchovies）。 I had hopped on the sourdough bandwagon back in April -- it was something I had wanted to do for some time， but back in the day of going places and doing things it was tough to schedule -- but had varying results with internet advice。 This book was informative， easy-to-follow， and well-adapted from a bakery to a simple home kitchen。 A few changes that would make this perfect: 1） addition of sourdough discard recipes， 2） recipes for how to use old bread （this is briefly discussed）， 3） collapsing of redundant information across recipes （there is a whole section on steps/procedures that spans most recipes already， no need to repeat every time）。 I'll continue baking breads and pizza for quite awhile to come！ 。。。more
Don Gillette
，
This is nothing I haven't read before in a dozen books on artisan bread and pizza from Jim Lahey， Peter Reinhart， or a host of other bakers and to be perfectly honest， I didn't like this guy's delivery， the way he spent half the book patting himself on the back， and the whole "talking down to the reader" thing。 Things like saying "levain" is the French word for "sourdough，" so （not a direct quote） "you can call it sourdough if you want to， but I shall refer to it as a levain for I am the King of This is nothing I haven't read before in a dozen books on artisan bread and pizza from Jim Lahey， Peter Reinhart， or a host of other bakers and to be perfectly honest， I didn't like this guy's delivery， the way he spent half the book patting himself on the back， and the whole "talking down to the reader" thing。 Things like saying "levain" is the French word for "sourdough，" so （not a direct quote） "you can call it sourdough if you want to， but I shall refer to it as a levain for I am the King of Dough and you are merely a fool with a KitchenAid，" turned me off entirely。Actually， the French word for sourdough is sourdough and the English word for levain is "leaven" and it's elitist nonsense like that I didn't care for。 Dude， you mix up flour， water， salt， and yeast and you bake bread。 You're not Jonas Salk whipping up the cure for polio。 。。。more
Miss B
，
I’m not a professional baker， just enjoy a bit of home baking / cooking。 I’ve not made the advanced levain but the other recipes have been the best bread and pizza I’ve made。 I did find I needed to adjust the salt down as I found the taste overpowering with how much was used but apart from that I’ve been super impressed by the crust I’ve been able to get and the soft texture inside。 For those who have left reviews regarding the quantity - I’ve been able to adjust the quantities quite easily to m I’m not a professional baker， just enjoy a bit of home baking / cooking。 I’ve not made the advanced levain but the other recipes have been the best bread and pizza I’ve made。 I did find I needed to adjust the salt down as I found the taste overpowering with how much was used but apart from that I’ve been super impressed by the crust I’ve been able to get and the soft texture inside。 For those who have left reviews regarding the quantity - I’ve been able to adjust the quantities quite easily to make one loaf。 I found taking temperatures of the water and dough super helpful and took the bread to another level！ The only thing I found difficult was finding a dough rising container big enough or one that was circular in the U。K。 - eventually settled for a square container from a catering supplier！ 。。。more
Craig Borders
，