Bread: From Sourdough to Rye (Hardcover)

by Linda Collister (Author), Martin Brigdale (Photographer)
Key Phrases: little more tepid water, tapped underneath, tepid milk, Monterey Jack (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
I love Linda Collister's writing. In fact, it was her "The Bread Book" that got me baking. (Nigella Lawson )

Linda Collister's name on a baking book guarantees high quality. (The Guardian ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
Bread: from sourdough to rye is a delicious journey around the great breads of the world, from Linda Collister, the author of several of the best books on bread and baking. Chapters include: The Americas are richly endowed with wonderful breads, from the original tortilla to dozens of variations on sourdough, excellent Jewish breads like challah and bagels, marvelous cornbreads, and rye. France, Italy, and Spain are the source of some of the great breads of the world-try baquette, pain de campagne, ciabatta, focaccia, pizza, and more. Northern and Eastern Europe have contributed German Beer Bread, Polish Poppy Seed Roll, Swedish Saffron Bread, and the Grant Loaf-easy, foolproof, and delicious, made with just one rising and no kneading at all. South Asia includes countless regional variations on the bread theme, from the well-known wheat based breads of North India and Pakistan, such as naan and chapatti, to the delicious South Indian breads, poori and dosa, made of rice and lentil flour. Australian and New Zealand breads are typical of the many immigrant groups in the region-from Irish potato bread to splendid French baquettes produced by Vietnamese bakers. They are made with excellent produce, such as good flour, high quality dried fruit, and native ingredients such as macadamia nuta. Linda's introduction gives basic information on flours and yeasts, how to make a sourdough starter, making and kneading dough with an electric mixed, and how to make a basic loaf-the basis of many of the breads in the book. A directory of specialist flour millers and suppliers, together with stores selling bakeware and utensils for the serious baker-names, addresses, websites, and more-makes this book required reading for all home bakers, whatever their level of experience.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Ryland Peters & Small (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841722081
• ISBN-13: 978-1841722085
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 9.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,014,688 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book will enable anyone to achieve perfect breads, June 6, 2008

By	Martin - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bread: From Sourdough to Rye (Paperback)

As a keen experienced amateur chef I have occasionally over the years tried turning my hand to bread baking, but with discouragingly poor results. However about 3 months ago I began scouring the internet for information; downloading various recipes plus notes on using the correct types of flour etc, and within about a month I was achieving good results and had at last acquired the basic feel for bread baking.

A few weeks ago I took a look at a friend's copy of Linda Collister's "Bread", and immediately ordered my own copy. Since receiving my book I have baked French bread based on the Baguettes recipe; Corn, jalapeño & cheese bread; Potato Bread, and Welsh cheese & leek bread.... The results have been spectacularly good, and this coming weekend I shall be baking Zucchini & carrot bread.

I believe my copy must be of a later edition to that of the previous reviewer as there do not appear to be any editorial errors etc. It is a superb book and I can strongly recommend it to anyone with an interest in bread baking.

12 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Badly edited., January 3, 2002

By A Customer

In the first recipe for a "basic loaf" in this cookbook there is either a misprint or a mistake in the list of ingredients. The author recommends using compressed yeast as opposed to active dry yeast. As compressed yeast is not always easy to find she provides an alternative if using active dry yeast. However, the author starts to give the directions for adding active dry yeast and then states "then add the butter". What butter? Other than greasing the pan nowhere is butter mentioned in the recipe or recipe list. This renders the recipe useless...I am returning the book. What a shame.