Whole Grain Sourdough at Home: The Simple Way to Bake Artisan Bread with Whole Wheat, Einkorn, Spelt, Rye and Other Ancient Grains Paperback – September 8, 2020

In short:Whether you are brand new to whole grains, a casual baker who just wants to bake a good loaf or you want to level up this book has you covered. Read the tips (they are gold) and trust her this is a foolproof way to a great sourdough loaf.Beginners, the master is the easiest way to get started with sourdough baking and have good loaf right from the get go. Buy a scale and start baking!!Experienced bakers, these recipes will open up a whole new world to you. Long forgotten grains and tasty inspiring ideas. Don’t think this isn’t a book for you there is plenty to explore.Detailed review:This is a great book! If you only plan on buying or gifting one sourdough book get this one. It’s one for everybody.I am an avid sourdough baker for a few years now and I have baked Elaine’s master recipe countless times. Elaine managed to simplify and whittle down the often intimidating process of making sourdough bread so it’s easy to understand even for the greenest beginner. Her method can produce a consistent and tasty loaf even for a first timer.The book will hand you all the information and instructions to produce a starter and a basic loaf. But it doesn’t end here. This isn’t a book only for beginners. This is a book for everybody from a first time sourdough baker to people who would like to branch out from the basic white loaf or up their whole grain game. And not only bread but biscuits, rolls, crackers, you name it.If you are a beginner, Elaine makes clear that you don’t need fancy equipment to get started and all her recipes are mixed by hand. This approach is as simple and accessible as it gets. Follow her instructions and read the tips regarding time lines and temperatures and you will be baking these recipes successfully in no time.I tested several recipes already and they are amazing. I tried the “Speedy Seed and Oat crackers”, the “Snowy White Spelt Sandwich Loaf”, the “Emmer and Honey Sandwich Loaf”, the “Pumpkin Seed Crusted Spelt Master” and the “Oat Crusted Einkorn Master” and I am far from done. These are tasty combinations and truly showcase the different grains.I used fresh milled flour for all the recipes and while they are written for store bought flours (which are easily accessible) the recipes still worked great. Fresh milled flour does need a bit of experience as every home miller will tell you but Elaine’s recipes needed no adjustments and turned out beautifully. So whether you are just trying a couple of new flours from the store or are eying an mill this book is for you.The crackers were super delicious and the loaves stunning and tasty. She has figured out how to let you bake with often tricky ancient grains and have consistent success.One thing I have seen in several bread books lately is that the main recipe/procedure is written once in the beginning of the book and all following recipes do not include complete instructions so if you aren’t familiar with the process there is a lot of flipping back and forth.Elaine’s book is NOT like this. While the master is explained in detail in the beginning, ALL recipes include clear instructions on the same page as well. I really appreciate this even when it might seem repetitive. There is so much to think about and do I don’t have the time (or clean fingers!) to flip pages when I am in the middle of the recipe.All recipes come with ingredients measured in grams (and cups). A scale is a must and grams is the way to go. I wish the cups wouldn’t be included as we really need to get everybody tossing them out and buying a scale. To consistently bake bread a kitchen scale is crucial. If anything I would love to see bakers percentage for the recipe as this is an easy way to judge a recipe and what kind of dough to expect.Highly recommended!

This is by far the best guide and tutorial on having success with sourdough. I’ve made attempts over many years with purchased starters, various homemade starters. None of which produced such wonderfully satisfying results. Elaine Boddy’s concise no nonsense explanations of the process covers all the details. This volume is deftly organized, presents great recipes for using sourdough starter to create wonderful breads. She has included information on Creating your starter, maintaining a starter and suggests uses so there is no waste. This collection is a treasure and a must have for those interested in sourdough. She includes a timeline guide that is most helpful so the process fits into even the busiest of schedules. Elaine has connected with her sourdough fans on such a personal level. We enjoy a grand friendly community on Facebook and Instagram. Elaine forgoes all the jargon of artisan bread making for direct easy to follow directions. Treat yourself and other bakers on your gift list. Having used her book guide for awhile now, I stand firm in recommending her and her book to bread bakers far and wide.

Very inspiring to try new grains

I am not going to lie, Elaine is my friend. A dear friend. But reviews matter, and they should be impartial and truthful. For that reason, I refrained from posting any feedback until I made a recipe from her first cookbook. And here I am, to tell you I made three, and they were all outstanding! I picked one regular bread, Whole-Wheat and Einkorn Master, one of her fun coils (Cheese and Pesto), and one of her crackers (Speedy Seed and Oat). The recipes are clear, given both in metric and volume (for those who still resist getting a scale), detailed enough that a beginner can tackle them, and with a nice and light prose that will still capture the attention of seasoned bakers. She clearly put her soul into the book, the pictures are beautiful, the text is stylish and easy to read (I hate books that print things in light yellow because someone decided it is so cool.... ;-) - Elaine gets the set rigid rules of sourdough baking and discards them all, instead of discarding starter... I highly recommend her book, no matter your level of expertise. I've been baking sourdough for 13 years, but my experience with whole-grain is quite limited, so her book will take care of my limitations...

This book is beautiful and would look great on your kitchen counter. I, for one, appreciate the aesthetics of a cookbook that looks like art in a kitchen. So even when you aren't baking, this book propped on your countertop looks pro!There are lots of pictures, and lovely ones. Very classy and professional. Pictures def inspire you to want to bake THAT.Easy to read applications.I am knocking 1 star off for a very specific reason. I purchased this because it's tailored to using Ancient grains: Spelt, Einkorn, Emmer, Kamut etc. I am currently baking only with these. Once received, I noticed that while every recipe features an ancient grain, 99% are mixed with normal bread flour, making this book unusable to me. I know the author did this, because for sure, the recipes will perform much better with this addition of bread flour. The strong gluten framework will make a great bread! I agree. BUT, I am avoiding modern American wheat for my own reasons. Sigh. I accept a lower performing bread, in place of better GI health. If I had purchased this book from a book store I could have thumbed through it and seen this bread flour addition to all the recipes, but I purchased it online and couldn't. Again almost all recipes are a mix of bread flour and an ancient grain together.Beautiful book but probably not for me. I'm unsure if I will return it. Or maybe give it as a gift to my sister who uses bread flour.