Book of Bread

Fifteen years ago, when I ventured into bread making, a co-worker who was an excellent baker and cook gave me a copy of this book. She called it her "bread making bible." Since then I have used this book more than any other baking book. People love my breads and most of my bread recipes are either adapted or straight from this book. It is very hard to keep a copy of this book in my kitchen because either a friend or a family member asks for a good baking book and end up taking my copy. I am ordering my 10th copy!! By far one of the best baking books!!

I've used this book for 20 years and love it. My brother has taken up bread baking and this book is his Christmas present. I was delighted to see it was still in print. This is a great book for a beginner or any baker.

I bought this book when I was searching for a specific recipe. This title happened to have that which I was seeking at the time, and I brought it home. I will confess, it is not a book I use often, as I prefer a different style of bread than many of the recipes presented in it, but it still is a good volume with good recipes.I am a bread baker who likes a plain, "honest" loaf of bread, not enriched with a lot of fruit, vegetables, nuts and cheeses. If I want that kind of bread, I make something like cinnamon buns or a stollen or something. This book is full of recipes that use a variety of these ingredients, and that is a style to which I personally do not adhere. There are recipes that require such things as pumpkin, carrots, and other things not normally found in regular loaf breads.That said, the recipes in this book are top notch. I have made a few of the more "plain" recipes, and the results have never been less than exceptional. Even if I do not bake in the style presented in this book, I cannot fault the recipes. It's a style issue, not a quality issue.The book is full of very interesting and informative tidbits that make this book an interesting read in addition to being a cookbook. One section describes the origin of doughnuts (and specifically, the hole in the middle). Another describes an interesting account of where Anadama bread gained its name.This book has no photographs. Rather, it has lots of pencil drawings to go along with many of the carefully written recipes. The instructions are easy to follow, but the drawings add a nice touch that make the recipes even more complete in many places.Overall, this book is very well written and organized.This book has an exceptional recipe for Monkey Bread, the best I have used so far.If you want a large collection of "plain" recipes, I recommend you look at something else instead of this book. However, if you like variety and you enjoy recipes that make use of unusual ingredients for bread (at least as far as normal loaf bread is concerned), this book will serve you exceedingly well. It's a great book for the adventuresome baker.

I have cooked (and baked) professionally for 20 years. I have amassed a library of 250+ books and this book continuously gets more use than any other. Primiarily because I love to bake and trust The Book of Bread recipes.

Judging from the contents, this is a book of execellence. It contains over 200 recipes on a wide varieties of breads. Unlike other bread or baking books I have, the recipes here are easy to follow, correct in measures, and most of all, taste fantastic. It also contains many bread-making tips/techniques that made a huge difference in the results. If you make bread by hand, or are attempted to try, this is the book. The best $20 I ever invested. Warning. No color photo. Only hand drawings.