Bake Your Own Bread: Completely Revised and Expanded

Back in the late 1970's I discovered this book and started making homemade bread for my family. Sharing the bread with friends and neighbors prompted some of them to ask for lessons in bread making. This led to offering bread classes in my home, which in later years led to demonstrations at a gourmet kitchen store, programs for civic groups, bread "camp" for online forum friends, and most recently, selling my homemade breads at a small local farmers' market. I still make bread every week, sharing it with family, friends, and now, customers. I love this book for its simplistic, demystifying directions and very clear information on making the recipe your own with glazes, toppings, shapes, fillings, add-ins, etc. If you did not learn to make bread at your mom's or grandmother's knee, you can easily learn from this book! The author's were sharing their knowledge and expertise long before the current craze in "artisan" bread and recipes that take days (not hours) from start to finish. Buy this little book if you want to "make your own bread and be healthier" - you will not be disappointed.

I have the 1972 copyright of this wonderful book, yet it is so up to date. I have only ventured with the 100% Whole Wheat Bread recipe, but it's exactly what I was looking for. I searched far and wide for a Whole Wheat Bread recipe that did not use white flour, all purpose flour, eggs, milk, sugar etc. This recipe uses honey as a sweetener, and the other ingredients are: WHOLE WHEAT flour, water, yeast and salt. It's so simple and the authors provide incredible instruction. Every step of the way, they seem to anticipate the musings of your mind and settle your fears. I am so glad I found this book at the local public library. THANK YOU! What is more, the recipe didn't rely on any fancy equipment. For some, this may be a drawback, but I like to do everything by hand. The instructions are for someone working with their hands. No food processor, no standing blenders, whisks. It's about as basic as you can get. Keep in mind I refer to the Whole Wheat Recipe. Which came out chewy and tender, the best bread I have made yet.

The original version of this book was my first bread baking bible in the 70's. It was especially good for someone without much experience with yeast, whole wheat flour, and kneading. I remember that the recipe for challah described the dough as smooth as a "baby's butt." This was exactly the consistency of that dough when I tried my hand at challah for the first time which is why I have always trusted this book. The Rich Whole Wheat Bread recipe and the Challah recipe are my all-time favorites. I was thrilled to find this newer edition because my original was getting pretty crumbley in more ways than one. However, it seems to lack a little of the original pizazz. Still, it is the latest edition of the best book I have ever found about baking bread, including the oh-so-beautiful picture books which fill most bookstore shelves. And a perfect shower gift!