French Boulangerie: Recipes and Techniques from the Ferrandi School of Culinary Arts

As a pastry chef I have hundreds of cookbooks, each providing inspiration for my cooking and baking. This book is wonderful, the recipes well written and photos supplying the beautiful images which whet the appetite and send bakers like me into the kitchen. I feel it is something both the accomplished chef as well as the neophyte could benefit from. My playground was the kitchen from my very early age, loving every moment in the making, yet I realize some only approach the kitchen looking for quick and easy shortcuts. This book is not about taking short cuts, but it is for anyone who wishes to make something beautiful, a pastry to savor. Recipes are clearly written and easy to follow for any one wishing to work with the directions. . It is a worthy addition to any serious bakers library....Lots to learn and enjoy within its pages which can lead to making beautiful memories. Its a special book, a treasure which I hope many discover. I recommend this.

This book is great - beware though - it is huge and heavy so it's not super comfortable to read it on your lap. It's def worth the money. So informative, breaks everything down and there are so many recipes. The quality is great- it's a thick hardback with thick glossy pages. Love it!

As a chef always looking to refine my craft and explore new angles on traditional techniques, French Boulangerie from the Ferrandi School exceeded my expectations. It’s more than just a recipe collection—it’s a deep dive into the fundamentals of French bread and viennoiserie, with the structure and clarity you’d expect from an elite culinary school. The techniques are laid out methodically, and while the precision will appeal to professionals, the writing is still approachable enough for advanced home bakers. What really stood out to me is how well the book balances tradition with thoughtful innovation. Even as someone familiar with these classics, I found new insights in their approach to dough development, fermentation timing, and shaping methods. The variations on classics like brioche and pain au lait sparked a lot of creative ideas, and the laminated dough section is especially strong—clean visuals, exact instructions, and room for interpretation once you master the base. It’s rare to find a baking book that teaches, inspires, and respects the technical demands of boulangerie all at once. This is one I’ll keep close at hand in both my test kitchen and professional development library.

Great book. I was very happy with all the different types of recipes and the technique and the pictures step by step I will recommend.

A very good book if you love making bread. If you have been to Paris and make bread, this book is an absolute must!

Beautiful book with excellent recipes. Would recommend to people with some experience in baking.

Purchased this book as a gift and it was a hit. Well worth the price.

Beautiful book with great photos to demonstrate technique, but amounts in recipes are often inaccurate. My guy says they made mistakes converting from metric and weighed ingredients to the American approach with measuring cups and English measures. Doughs are often too stiff to work effectively, especially for laminated doughs. I have enough experience to know what the dough should look/feel like, but less experienced bakers will struggle. Maybe they just used a computer to convert the text from the French version without testing the results?