Bread Baking for Beginners: The Essential Guide to Baking Kneaded Breads, No-Knead Breads, and Enriched Breads

This book is gently dusted in whatever flour I used last for my latest rustic loaf. I do not bake. Ever. I hate baking cookies, cakes, pastries. I loathe it. I say this because when I chose this book I really had to brace myself for professional baker lingo. The precision, the failure rate. I truly figured this is what I’d just committed myself to. Then...there wasn’t any of that in this book! Bonnie has a way of inviting you into her 1920s bungalow with her warm hearted introduction and makes your feel like you’re in the right spot to learn something new; something good and worthwhile. In her writing she feels like an old friend who stands in your kitchen and walks you thru each little intricate step to making these crowd pleasing loaves while sipping that tea in between rising and proofing! I baked my first loaf about a week before Christmas. It was yummy but I worked on my technique and tried again. I had people ask me non-stop HOW to make this and comment on how good it was. And it was easy. And it was repeatable. And I loved it! No crazy ingredients to buy. Simple steps with lots of tasty yield. Whether it’s rustic artisan loaves or brioche cinnamon rolls this is your book. I cannot wait to try my sourdough starter this next week. So glad I got this on a whim, learned something new and found a new peaceful persuit and hobby!

Bread Baking for Beginners is a great book. The introduction pulls the reader in and makes them a member of Bonnie Ohara's baking community. Not only does she give the low-down on how she got started, but she does it in such a warm and easy-going way that you know the information and recipes to come are going to be easy to follow and manageable to make. Ohara does not disappoint. As a long-time bread-baker myself, I know I can pull together some pretty tasty loaves, but Bonnie's opening sections and recipes go above and beyond in their explanations. I learned a ton about useful tools, terms, and ideas that were new to me. My loaves are better because I now think about the temperature of my ingredients and the area in which they proof. I have made several of the recipes in the book (no knead bread, ficelles, and fougasse) and I can't wait to make the cinnamon rolls and the chocolate babka. Ohara's attention to detail has made her recipes shine. I own a lot of bread books, but this is one I know I'll return to again and again, and because it is so beautifully done -- those photos are gorgeous -- I'll also be giving this as gifts to many this holiday season. I wish tomorrow weren't a work day -- I want to bake right now!

I am impressed with this book. The author doesn’t just give recipes, it tells you what each process does and helpful tips on how to troubleshoot mistakes. It’s also very well organized so it’s easy to bookmark the recipes and information you want to keep on hand while baking.

This is a really nice book for a beginner. The only thing I didn't like is EVERYTHING is in grams so forces you to weigh all ingredients or try to convert all the ingredients into cups, teaspoons etc. Not exactly sure how supposed to weigh out eggs in grams but hey....

If you have ever wanted to learn how to make bread this is the book for you. The writing is clear and easy to read, and the instructions spot on. You don't need to have made some kind of bread in your earlier life; this will walk you thru it. Plenty of photos, advice, tips and why you need the tips. You start off with a straightforward bread that requires no kneading. As you get further thru the book, you continue to use the instructions you had finished with the one bread and build onto different recipes and how you achieve them. It is a tutorial and contains everything you need to get started, including tools and tips and reasons why things are done. When you get to the next recipe, you can use what you just learned to get started and she walks you thru it in detail and I can't wait to get started. The more complex breads that require kneading come much later. One caveat: The writer explains the process at which you have to provide warm water for your yeast, and shows you how to figure out the temperature of your kitchen, your flour and how much temperature can really affect the success of your bread, your proofing, the rising and when to handle your dough. And if you are a fan of The Great British Baking Show, it will suddenly clarify to you why all those bakers had under-cooked, over-cooked, under proved, over-proved, wet dough, dry dough, non-airy dough, unrisen dough burned crust or uncooked crust tragedies. Get the spiral bound version, makes it to easy to read and bake without hammering your binding.

I love to cook and bake but was always hesitant to try making bread... “there’s no way I’d be good at it.. I don’t have an expensive mixer... I’m not skilled enough..” That was until I found this book. Bonnie, in my opinion, is the perfect person to write a bread baking book for beginners because she is a self taught bread baker who only started about 10 years ago! She is so thoughtful in the way she eases you into the process of making bread by starting you off with easier loaves and gradually working you up until you feel comfortable. She also give you tips and tricks on ways to bake with items you most likely already have in your kitchen so you’re not having to spend a ton of money on supplies right away. My favorite part is that all the recipes are made by hand (no expensive mixer needed) which I have found I LOVE so much better. Not to mention her style of writing which made me feel as though a friend was writing to me and encouraging me “.. let the dough rest for 20 minutes and go enjoy a cup of tea..” 😊 If you want to learn to bake bread, buy this book! My friends and family are so glad I did as we haven’t had to buy store bought bread since I started! Bread baking does take time, patience and practice. However, shouldn’t we have to work at some things to be good at it?? Not to mention... even my “not so good loaves” are still delicious, there are some recipes that allow for 8 and 12 hour rises to fit better in busy days, and Bonnie provides even more tips, tricks and advice on her instagram page. Oh and to the people upset about the measurements being in grams... yes, you’re right, we do live in America.. but there are also these things called scales (they sell them in America!) you just push a button and it switches over so you can weigh in grams 😲

I fell in love with Bonnie's Instagram page, from her delicious looks breads to her beautiful family (even her pretty bowls and her rustic and cozy kitchen oozing with memories). When she published this book, I couldn't wait to buy it. I've been baking multiple loaves a week now and I can't stop. I usually like to dive in head first and tackle the tough stuff, but I knew from watching Jenna Fischer's stories and seeing Bonnie's posts, that I should start from the beginning and work my way through. I am so glad I did. I learned more about bread in the first few pages than I have in years of baking. I'll never buy grocery store bread again. Bonnie not only explains the process in a way that is easy to understand, but is extremely readable and enjoyable. She clearly knows her stuff and writes in a way that make me feel confident while I'm plugging away at her recipes. From start to finish, these recipes are to die for. Even when I make a sad looking loaf, it's still delicious. Boyfriend, sister, mom, and dad approved. If you love baking bread or have never baked bread before, buy this book. Bake it. Eat it. Share it. Repeat.

GF uses this and her baking bread is awesome, be warned, you will have to buy a bunch of supporting tools/utensils - but all totally worth it. Updating my boyfriend's review, because I feel it was inadequate. :) Yes, there's a lot of equipment needed, however if you visit Bonnie's website she gives you a list (with links) so you can review prior to purchasing. You can find everything you need on Amazon for a reasonable price, I also used the opportunity to replace some of my existing kitchen tools. The book itself is well written and easy to follow. I love the way it is written so that you build upon the skills learned in the previous recipes, it really enables you to develop your skills and build upon those as you go along. I have not finished the book yet, but I'm about halfway through and everything has turned out AMAZING! This book and Bonnie's technique really teach you the importance of precise measurements/temperatures in baking. Prior to starting her book, I always took a lackadaisical approach to baking and just kind of winged it as I went along. Some things worked well, others did not. Now I know that if I just follow directions with precision (LOL) the recipe will work every time. Do yourself a favor, buy the book, enjoy it, enjoy ALL THE BREAD! Also, be sure to follow Bonnie on Instagram for extra tips and technique. Watching her shape bread is mesmerizing!

I just love this book. I made some breads from this book. They all came out fantastic and my family just loved them. It does teach you to make basic white bread (panned loaf) too. Overall, I am very happy with my purchase.

I can not recommend this book highly enough. Bonnie’s writing is easy to understand, and the steps and recipes are so easy to follow. I had already decided to teach myself to make bread, but had no idea where to start. I was lucky to find Bonnie’s book. With the help of the well thought out layout, informative text and great recipes, I am slowly improving. I am slowly working through the book and am going back over things I would like to improve on. I love that Bonnie is also very helpful on her instagram page, with advice, tips, equipment lists and videos. She seems to put an incredible amount of time in helping beginner bakers. I live in Australia, so sometimes it is difficult to source equipment when recommend by US authors, but that has not been the case this time and I have all the equipment. If you are looking to learn to bake bread, this is definitely the book for you! Highly recommended.

O livro me surpreendeu positivamente. A autora usa uma abordagem de desenvolvimento passo a passo, começando com os pães mais simples, sem sova, eventualmente chegando nos levain (i.e. fermentação espontânea). As receitas funcionam, e têm ainda a vantagem de trazer as medidas em gramas.

This book is by far the best bread baking book I own, it breaks down the science of baking and guides you through all the steps explaining why each step is important. There is a huge variety of breads in the book (sweet and savoury) and its organised so you start easy and get more complicated. However the first easy loaf is incredible and you could just make that forever and be happy! Its a great no fuss book with amazing easy recipes, she also doesn't use complicated ingredients so its really accessible. I would also recommend following her instagram for more tips and she does Q&A's @alchemybread

very good recepies