Richard Bertinen was an epiphany for me. I could not bake bread before I saw him “work” the dough. The clouds parted, the sun shined down, and it all made sense. I’m no expert. But I put my KitchenAid away and now I “work” all my dough. I would never imagine I could throw that sticky mess on my dry countertop with no flour with my sticky fingers and within five minutes I have a beautiful, supple piece of dough. I can feel it changing by the minute. And the bowl scraper? Where has that been all my life? I had another book that I still refer to that is so obsessive, requires/suggests so many ridiculous pieces of equipment, has so many minutiae of steps I was going insane. So, I take the recipes from there and apply Chef Bertinen’s techniques. Ive watched his videos on YouTube. He’s laid back, he wants people to love, enjoy baking. I’m ordering all his books. He’s my style, not OCD about every little detail. But then again, He’s French ?.