The Cheese Board was there, a hole in the wall with a line out the door, before Chez Panisse was so much as a gleam in my eye. When the restaurant was conceived, I wanted it to be in North Berkeley so the Cheese Board would be nearby, because I knew I would be among friends. -Alice Waters, from the ForewordWhen a tiny cheese shop opened in Berkeley, California, in 1967, there was little hint of what the store-and the neighborhood-would grow into over the next 30 years. The Cheese Board became a collective a few years later and Chez Panisse opened across the street, giving birth to one of the country'¬?s most vibrant food neighborhoods, the epicenter of California'¬?s culinary revolution. Equal parts bakery, cheese store, pizzeria, and gathering place, the Cheese Board is a patchwork of the local community, where a passion for good food runs deep. THE CHEESE BOARD presents over 100 recipes for the store'¬?s classic breads, pastries, and pizzas, along with a history of the collective and an extensive cheese primer.

More than 150 classic recipes from one of the San Francisco Bay Area'¬?s most acclaimed culinary destinations.

Includes a history of the store, a cheese primer, and over 50 duotone photographs that capture the food and personality of the Cheese Board.

Average Customer Review: ( 20 customer reviews )
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What is harder to find is generosity of knowledge where a cook will give you their prize techniques, recipes and knowledge for no other reason then to spread knowledge and pleasure though it might dilute their "brand" or mystique. You know people who never let go of a prize recipe because it is too valuable, too precious; something to be passed on to generations.

I am happy to say that this cookbook reflects both kinds of generosity. The Collective really tries to convey the table type of generosity by providing a lot of blurbs from members and clients. Trying to give the atmosphere of a cheese shop where you and the seller spend time establishing trust and tasting models one thin cheese slice at a time.

This book displays the generosity of knowledge by providing ALL the recipes loved by customers of the Cheeseboard. I spent a fortune buying the Olive Provolone bread, zampanos and other heady bread goodness that could be bought every time I left home and returned. When I left Berkeley sometimes I would think back longingly to bread from the cheeseboard during my travels.

Now to the technical aspects. The book is definitely designed for people who have had previous experience with baking though they do show some rudimentary things like the window pane for gluten development. Still I would say that this book is not for the beginner but someone already comfortable with the bread making process.

It is not as technically exhaustive as Silverton's _Breads of La Brea Bakery_ or Rheinhart's _Baker's Apprentice_but it does provide basic ideas and recipes that are used.

Layout --
The layout is not as user friendly as I would like with clear break-out steps so it is highly recommended that you read the recipe before using because the movement of the eye is not broken with subheaders and lines.

The color of the paper is cream with use of black and red typography. It is done as a paperback that with use will become the scratch and sniff type of cookbook easily. If you bake and collect consider getting two copies because one will get quite a beating.

Recipes -
Solid gold for those who know how to bake and have the necessary equipment, like a baking stone. For those who have no patience to spend DAYS doing a sourdough starter this is not the book for you. Also, if you are a newbie to baking bread use Reinhardt's _Baker's Apprentice_ as a way better introduction since this book assumes you know what tacky and elastic dough refers to.

I recommend this book highly with its anecdotal style, generosity of knowledge for any baking collection especially, a collection specializing in the northern California food revolution. However, for those just starting the adventure of baking there are way better teaching books.

8 of 9 found the following review helpful:

Fun book with some great recipesJul 06, 2004
By Tech Geek
If you ever been to the Cheese Board in Berkeley, you've experienced how fun, and delicious it is. It's a destination, not just a food store.

The book is the same way. The recipes are delicious, and actually work. But it's filled with fun facts and info on the Cheese Board history and culture.

So far, I've made the challah (Excellent!), banana muffins (very good), ginger shortbread (good), and simple whole wheat bread (bit of a disaster).

The only criticism I have is its overemphasis on sourdough. Many of the recipes assume creating sourdough with their recipe, so if that's not to your taste, it's not clear exactly how to proceed.

7 of 8 found the following review helpful:

Berkeley Institution in a BookMar 24, 2004
By Picks n Pans
When I recently returned to Berkeley and discovered The Cheese Board book, I bought it sight unseen. It was the best purchase I've ever made.

Who can imagine an amazing bakery providing recipes for every single product that they carry? The Cheese Board owners painstakingly recreated their large-scale recipes for the home baker. Scones, "chocolate things," pecan sticky rolls, legendary sourdough crust pizza....it's all in there!

If you have fond memories of the Cheese Board as a former Berkeley resident, it's likely this book can bring tears to your eyes through photos of the evolving shop and the various owners who may have served you.

If you haven't experienced the Cheese Board (where I've been a customer for 20 years) but want to delve into delicious baking experiments and make the best pizza possible, I highly recommend this book.

4 of 5 found the following review helpful:

Easy recipes, great resultsAug 01, 2009
By wiegley
Do you want to make perfect sourdough boules, the kind you can usually only get at an artisan bakery? Bread that's crusty on the inside, springy and soft on the inside, with a complex and yet subtle flavor?

Well, then you'll need to make your bread with a starter. Which can be complicated, or easy. This book makes it pretty easy, and the results are very, very good. At the same time I made the starter from this book, I followed a different starter recipe from another book. And the Cheese Board starter worked better from the start. It amazes me that you can leaven bread with a solution made initially with just water and flour, but this book makes it easy. It then gives you many easy bread recipes to turn your smelly starter into simply amazing bread. I was shocked when I tore into the first loaf--best bread I'd ever made, hands down.

Furthermore, this book has the best pizza crust recipe we've ever used, made with commercial yeast, so it's quick and easy. The granola recipe is fab, the pizza recipes are great, etc, etc. My husband got me this book as a gift and I wasn't sure I'd really use it. And it's become one of my most beloved and crucial kitchen tomes!

I love baking, but some books make it MUCH too complicated (I'm looking at you, Breads from the La Brea Bakery). This book, while not simplistic, is easy enough to follow and the recipes are obviously very well tested. Go forth and bake delicious things!

4 of 5 found the following review helpful:

Awesome Little BookJan 03, 2006
By Jasmine Yu "Rookie Baker"
I spent 6 years in Berkeley and I still go back occasionally. The one stop I always make is the Cheeseboard. Not only are they famous for wide cheese and olive selection, but their bakery is out of this world. I remember the days where I would get Brioche and munch on it on the way to class. Or getting the fresh baked sourdough baguettes on the way home from the market. This cookbook describes in detail how to work with the dough, measure out ingredients, and how to bake bread properly. I learned a great deal about baking from this book. I have made a few things (such as the shortbread, sourdough baguette, brioche, muffins, etc) from the book and was very satisfied. Now, this is not for the beginner bakers, I don't think. Also, this is not a speed baking book. I would rate this book as a medium skill book, but with a help of Kitchen Aid mixer and patience, you will be able to get the same great products you find at the Cheeseboard Collective. Definitely recommended for anybody and everybody.

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