Very few recipe books are "essential." When you understand kitchen fundamentals, when you begin to grasp the concept of ingredients by ratio, when you have no fear of exploring new flavors—you can free yourself from the dreaded recipe and have a lot of fun cooking. That’s not to say you can’t learn from someone else’s recipes. A good recipe book will refine your basic techniques, familiarize you with foreign cuisines, and help you develop unique "dish concepts." However, I rarely find myself attached to one book and hauling the bugger around like a trusty sidekick. It’s just part of my personality. For better or worse, I have an innate resistance to listening and following the directions of any one person.

But these days I’m often not very far from Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads. This book is gem.

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