Customer Reviews

Bread (River Cottage Handbook 3)

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This book is a great introduction to bread baking. I especially like the way it is organised at the start - describing ingredients and why you might add one and not the other, the hows and whys of making a sourdough starter, and dividing up the bread making process into steps and discussing each one in detail. In particular, the section on how to shape dough is great and includes good instructions with helpful photos. Then once you have read this technical section you can move onto the actual recipes section, all of which are clear and easy to follow.

I would have preferred it if the book had not included instant yeast recipes - i don't really see the point of these - but I can see the author is trying to cater to everyone and does so successfully. The book also includes instructions on how to make a simple wood-fired oven with everyday materials if you want the full artisan experience.

I was recently given the Bread Bible by Berenbaum but I have to say I've been put off by the rambling length of it, as well as the numerous online reviews complaining about recipes with many glaring errors - a major failing in a cook book. Also it makes no sense to sell a cook book with a dust cover, very impractical. I much prefer the River Cottage's no nonsense handbook as a beginner and if I want to get in deeper, I would consider the new bread book (as at Nov 2011) from the French Culinary Institute instead.

This is an amazing handbook for anyone interested in making quality bread. It not only provides loads of recipes but goes into detail to the different types of flours and why they are used. It's a great portable size as well!