Bread Alone: Bold Fresh Loaves from Your Own Hands

This is a straight-forward testament to fresh, quality ingredients, preparation care and attention to details. Like you should want to know temperatures. Of everything. There is confidence inside this book. My first loaves after getting this book were better by a long way in quality with just fresher, higher quality flours. My whole wheat loaves were able to develop texture that I have never been able to achieve before...after making bread for 40 years. My raisin nut rounds, full of fruit and nuts, rose on my stone and produced the best crust ever just given some more moisture during the bake. All things do matter. Some of it is going to be beyond your current level of understanding, but the instructions to are so simply stated you can follow them. The results will raise your understanding a bump and more right along with your loaves. There is more than enough in this book to help all of us achieve better results. I appreciate having found this book. One reading of it moved my result more than I would ever have imagined. The only things that changed are what I learned from this book.Maybe a half star less than five to encourage a new version with an appendix aimed at current ingredient sources and suggestions. Without an update, there is enough detail in this version to direct willing bakers how to ask exactly the right questions to find sources for what will always be the right stuff. Because of that this book will stand on it's merits for a long, long time.BTW, the pictures are nearly edible. I haven't been moved yet to try new recipes, there are many, many. But, because I am so astounded how much better this book made my own work like never before...my wife and step-daughter call mine "magic bread"...who'd mess with that?

I’m so happy I bought this book. I’ve been wanting it for years. Thanks for the great service!

I bought my first copy f this book back in the mid-1990's in an attempt to learn how to bake breads like the ones featured in this book. It became a part of my life and every week I would remove my chefs from the frig and bake bread all weekend. I then had to move and the book was packed away for years with many of my belongings. A few years back, a close friend of mine told me she had bought a sourdough started in San Francisco and wanted to bake me a loaf from it. I bought her a used copy of Bread Alone (it turned out to be a signed copy). I have not heard from her in a long time and I still haven't received the promised bread from her. Now I'm resettled in a new home with a new wife and she has all this bread flour stored away in the freezer. I bought another used copy of Bread Alone (lost my first copy, years ago) and yesterday I baked my first bread in almost 20 years. It was as wonderful as before and I am grateful to Mr. Leader of sharing his talent and skill with the world. This is a wonderful book and all those concerned with editing errors - get over it as it is about baking and not publishing.

A great book for baking. This is a 2nd copy that I purchased and will give as a gift.This book is what 'hooked' me on baking rustic bread 20 years ago following retirement.. I have visited the Catskill home of BREAD ALONE (Bakery) on more than one occasion over the years. Baking bread is a hobby for me and my efforts have been guided over the years by Daniel Leader's book BREAD ALONE. The stories of his visits to bakeries all over the world, the design of ancient ovens as told in the book has always held my attention and I periodically pick up the book and read it again. Well, scared, foot-noted, dog-eared, and worn it still serves me.A wonderful learning tool and one that highly recommend.

I've only baked a few loaves from a couple of simple recipes. But when my grandfather let me borrow this book, I felt inspired and ready to tackle some more serious bread-baking endeavors! Leader is VERY knowledgeable about everything from ingredients to yeast activity to oven styles and baking temperatures and methods, and he shares his wealth of knowledge in a very meticulous and descriptive, yet accessible way. Anyone who is patient enough to follow intricate instructions will be baking professional-looking artisan loaves on their first try after reading through his intro sections and recipes. At least, that's what I was able to do!

I have had this book for a few years, in addition to others. I have primarily used this book to bake my breads, but have now turned to Peter Reinharts “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice”. The rye breads that I have made in “Bread Alone” turn out very hard right from the oven. Cutting off slices are an upper arm workout in itself! I recently baked the New York Deli Rye from Reinharts book and was surprised at how much softer the inside was, but still had a nice, crunchy crust on the outside. It was so much easier to use for sandwiches, and much easier to cut. I will still turn to Bread Alone for the tasty Pumpernickel bread, but will probably try more recipes from Reinharts books. Bread Alone breads are tasty, but just to hearty for the average person.

Absolutely sure fire book for baking artisan bread. Each section of the book has a core of recipes that followed will result in wonderful bread. The only thing you need to watch is the amount of flour that a recipe calls out. Depending on density it varies wildly, but to give him credit he does say to weigh it, but you need to experiment with the correct texture and feel. I have probably 10 books on breads, but this is the one I use and the one I can't live without.Also it has an absolutely surefire Pain de levain recipe with about 6 variations of the same recipe, and two of the best baguette recipes I have tried. No other recipe has given the results that this book does. The sourdough starter is sure fire also.If you want to learn how to bake good bread using only flour, water, salt, and starter/yeast this is it.

Excellent book recommended by my teacher at COLLEGE. I was very pleased by the product and DELIVERY of this item.

Book was in excellent condition and very good value

What a great read I learned so much my family won’t eat any other bread

Being told "You must put this in the middle shelf of the oven" and "spray the oven walls and back with a water spritzer when the loaf goes in the oven and again 3 mins later" is a bit too over the top for me. Especially when he says - if your oven has an electric light - don't spray water on it - it may burst. Finally it says place the baked bread on a cooling rack - then directs you to the start of the recipe - two pages back - for the exact time you need to let it cool. Really???Finally there are no Baker's percentages - making scaling up or down the recipe more work.Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes by J Hamelman is an excellent book and talks to you in a learning style rather than with statements.

Most valuable book for the home baker