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In this disc from the Better Bread DVD series, Chef Ciril Hitz illustrates how to easily expand the visual variety of an existing bread line through the use of simple and decorative shaping techniques.

Using one basic lean dough formula, Chef Hitz demonstrates over 30 new variations to add to your bread-shaping repertoire. From easy cuts and twists to more elaborate appliques, these techniques will create new interest and variety in your breads while allowing them to retain the unique flavors of your own personal formulas. Included are variations of baguettes, round loaves, oval loaves, crowns, folded breads, and rolls.

Chef Ciril Hitz brings a unique expertise to the field of artisan and decorative breads. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Rhode Island School of Design and then completed a three-year pastry-chocolate apprenticeship in his native Switzerland. Since that time, Chef Hitz developed a passion for baking exquisitely crafted bread that has earned him national and international recognition. He is currently the Department Chair for the International Baking and Pastry Institute at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Chef Hitz competed in the 2004 National Bread & Pastry Team Championship where his two-person team won the Gold Medal and Hitz independently swept all three individual bread awards. In 2002 he represented the USA as a member of the Bread Bakers Guild Team at the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie (World Cup of Baking) in Paris, France, where the team took home the Silver Medal. He has been a guest intructor and judge at many national and international culinary schools and events and serves on the Advisory Board of the Bread Bakers Guild of America.

Ciril Hitz has been featured on The NBC Today Show and The Food Network and has been honoured as a Top Ten Pastry Chef by Pastry Art & Design magazine in 2007 and 2008. He is the producer of two DVD series, Bread Art and Better Bread, and the author of the book, Baking Artisan Bread (Quarry Books/2008), and numerous magazine articles. For more information, visit www.breadhitz.com.