How to Make Bread: Step-by-step recipes for yeasted breads, sourdoughs, soda breads and pastries Hardcover – Illustrated, September 8, 2011

I've made bread but not sourdough bread, so this book was a perfect way to tempt me into bread baking more. There are some pros and cons of the book, most of them because I'm based in the US:Pros- Some people don't like that the portion sizes are small but I actually really like that the book focuses on recipes that yield a loaf that is portioned for a meal (for about 2-4 people). I can't tell you how many pounds of flour and minutes I've wasted making stodgy and dense loaves, so the small portion sizes are excellent for me and my preference to be moderate with my nutrition.- There are multiple photos per recipe, and several step by step photos. Ever since I bought the book, I find myself flipping through it daily wondering what I would make next.- I love the European recipes - tsoureki, stollen, etc. Food is a big way for me experience other cultures and I love that this book is so varied in its recipes.Cons- Since the author is in the UK, many ingredients and pan sizes are hard to find in the US. For example, he often uses a 6x4 loaf pan, called a farmhouse loaf size, which is smaller than the average 8x5 but bigger than a mini loaf pan (about 6x3 I believe). Malted wheat flakes can pretty much only be bought online, and I've purchased both of the above from BakeryBits, a U.K.-based website.- The rising times have consistently been much longer than indicated, or at least in my October Northeast kitchen. I wish he would consistently provide visible changes to note, e.g. (Let it rise for 30 minutes or until loaf has doubled)- I'm new to sourdough baking, and I find the sourdough starter instructions a little bit wanting, in that I'm not sure what to do with the extra starter I create - do I discard it? How long can I keep it if I wanted to use more for the next day?I've made three recipes from the book to date - the walnut bread, the raisin rye, and multigrain sunflower seed. The latter turned out dense and overly sour, likely because I used mature starter, and had to let it rise for much longer than suggested. The walnut bread was delicious, though, but required a special order from the UK (or you can get it from KAF too) for the malted wheat flakes

The illustrations in this book are amazing. They give detailed step by step visual instructions for people like me who need to see how it's done. This is a good intermediate bread book that will have you baking an artisan quality loaf with the first recipe. All of the yeast recipes call for fresh yeast. That's kind of hard to come by in the US. I used SAF instant yeast and was fine. These loaves require a bit of babysitting for the first hour or so but then there is a nice long fermentation time so you don't have to stick around while the bred rises. If you are a new bread baker and this is your first time you may want to start off with a simpler bread book like The Bread Bible by Beth Hensperger. If you love bread this will make a wonderful addition to your bread book library!

Many of these recipes are great, though I find the pizza recipe is too dry no matter what measurements I use (standard, metric, or mixture). But most recipes are fantastic. And the knowledge of the process is insightful for beginners too!

I was looking for a good starting point for baking 'the daily bread' plus some steps into more advanced areas. Lots of recipes on the web, but this book has step by step instructions and photos. After the basics (while making actual bread), there are variations to make many different cultural favorites again step by step with photos.Very user friendly and just nice to peruse for ideas on variations you might want to try - whether with his recipe or on your own. Highly recommended.And, home made bread is great. Fresh = outstanding, but toasted with some butter it is even better. Just make sure you have someone to share 'the fruit of your baking' with. You probably shouldn't eat it all by yourself.

My name is Eric and I'm a breadaholic. It's about all I eat. I bake bread frequently. I take bread baking classes and attend bread related events. When planning a vacation, I try to do it around popular artisan bakeries in the area. I could open a lending library with all the bread books I own. I think you get the picture.This book, How to Make Bread, tops the list of my favorite bread books. The range and selection of recipes is unmatched. In the relatively short time I've had the book, I've already made many of the bread and one of the pastry recipes in it. The instructions are accurate (not always the case with some recipe books) easy to follow and most importantly, the results were excellent.Do you like bread but not baking? Fine, buy this book for the gorgeous color photography throughout and leave it on your living room coffee table. The photography alone may just inspire a new hobby... or crazed obsession.