Bread Illustrated: A Step-By-Step Guide to Achieving Bakery-Quality Results At Home

I have several different cookbooks and baking books in my library. They all have different things that I like about them, but I have to say that Bread Illustrated is definitely my favorite of them all. America's Test Kitchen has an amazing collection of recipes. While I don't know much about their magazines, TV show, and websites, their cookbooks and recipes are all absolutely amazing! I have had amazing success with all the recipes from this book I have tried so far. Many reviews mentioned the color of the lettering was difficult to read. I considered this fact before buying the book, but decided to buy the book anyway. I am so glad I did! It has caused me no problems whatsoever. I have found all of the lettering very easy to read. Furthermore, other reviewers have mentioned how this book is difficult to use. Because each recipe takes up several pages, some have said it is bothersome to flip back and forth between pages while baking. While I believe it would be easier if each recipe only took up a page, all of the extra content makes it well worth it. Each recipe includes a full sized photo of the finished product. Each recipe also includes an in-depth, very detailed section about what went into making the recipe, why it works, and what all of the steps and ingredients do for the recipe. Each step in the recipe also includes a picture. The pictures showing each step are really helpful, especially for beginners, in showing exactly what you are to do. This extra content is so helpful in showing what you are to be doing for each recipe. All of the instructions are clearly laid out. This book is an amazing one for beginners. It over lots of helpful hints and simple recipes to get you started. It is a great resource for intermediates and even experts as well. There are many higher level recipes included as well. The first chapter is a great place to start. There are many quick bread recipes, like corn bread, tortillas, and quick cheese bread. The first also has several easier level recipes or shortcuts to making things that are more complicated. Other chapters in the book include recipes for sandwich breads, pizza and flatbreads, sweet/enriched breads, sponge breads, and more. The last chapter in the book is great if you are looking for something harder. It includes details on how to make your own sourdough starter, bagels, baguettes, fougasse, and pain d'epi. There is really something for everyone in this book, and America's Test Kitchen really scales it down, making it simple and easy to understand. As I have mentioned, all the recipes I have made so far have turned out amazing. I have made pizza, pitas, soft pretzels, ciabatta, and so much more. I have made the homemade flour tortillas (only four ingredients!) several times so far. My family loves them and we have deemed them much better than the store. In fact, we have part of a batch in the fridge right now. I hope to make the yeasted doughnuts and pane francese soon as well. Pictured above are English muffins, challah, whole wheat quinoa bread, ciabatta, American sandwich bread, focaccia, Chicago style deep dish pizza, and bagels. Everything has turned out so good. The recipes in this book can really help guide you in proper bread baking techniques and taking your skill to the next level. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has even the slightest interest in baking!

This is a fantastic book. I knew it would be, America's Test Kitchen always has good books full of hints and tips that make life easier. There is everything from sourdough to quick breads in this book. Illustrations that are helpful and explain what is being described makes it easy for novice and expert cooks to follow along. I am very glad I made the decision was made to purchase this book. It is a welcome addition to the cookbooks I term "keepers". This book is perfect for people who are learning how to bake bread. It discusses various ways to knead bread, depending on the type you are baking. It talks about tools that are useful and ones that are "must haves". It talks about substitutes and ways to fix problems. There are lots and lots of pictures to show what they mean so if you are visual learner, you are covered. Beyond this, there are recipes, lots and lots of recipes for bread of all types. You are sure to find what you are seeking in this book, be it a quick bread that you need or a fancy bread for a dinner party. Everything is explained, so novice cooks are not left guessing what is meant. Experienced cooks will likely learn something as well, I know that I did! From the moment I heard this book was hitting the shelves, I was pacing. Bread is a weekly thing at our house. Sometimes sourdough, sometimes yeast, often both on the same day. Bread baking has become a ritualistic type of thing that is a way to relax and make the house smell divine. Yes, even in the depths of summer, when the mercury rose to 100*, there was rising bread. Tweaked recipes and new techniques are tried, some flop, some exceed expectations, and this book is helping to make the ritual even more fun.

Great book. Great instructions and illustrations. Glad I bought it.

I was waiting until this ebook came out on Amazon.com. So far I had made few recipes like the butter fan rolls, ultimate cinnamon rolls, and the Japanese milk bread. These were so good, yet these came out fantastic. My family loved how they can smell the aromas of baked fresh bread especially when I first tried the butter fan rolls. We always buy it from our grocery store nearby especially during the holidays. But anyway, when I made the rolls and baked it out fresh from the oven. My brother thought I burned the kitchen but he was smelling the fresh baked bread that I baked. I know right!!!...just funny. So my mom also noticed the aroma, and made ourselves some coffee to eat these rolls. They were good. Making it was a lot easier, but kneading it, shaping and cut them into strips. Then putting and stacking in 5 layers took the most time: I would say 20 to 30 minutes tops. I was kind of laborious.... but that's the fun thing.... allow the dough to rest, enough to hyrdate the dough and letting nature takes its business. The ultimate cinnamon rolls were a hit!!! Then made the Japanese milk bread ... just because I was out of bread. They were so good next day when I prepared brunch for 6 people. I recommend this cookbook. These recipes is when pro chefs have already troubleshoot what is going wrong when you had experienced tough, dense bread or other problems you may encounter. These recipes never fail, and they were flavorful, freshly baked at your own home. Great edition about making bread when we had a lot of questions, but were answered. I ordered the Kindle Edition, which had the backstory of how they adapted recipes that would work (science). They showed the recipe and fully detailed instructions and photographs on making replicas of these great breads. So satisfied of a happy home baker.

I subscribed to both of their magazines for years, so am used to the layout they use. I love it, and since this book arrived I have been having a blast re-learning how to bake bread. I baked some many years ago, but thought this would be helpful to me in learning over again. I was right. They explain what they did, why they changed this or that, why they use one type of fat instead of another - or flour - or sweetener, etc. I came close to not ordering the book after reading some of the comments about how difficult it was to read the ingredients in their list box. My eyes are wretched (I think!) and are getting worse with cataracts starting. I am near-sighted in one eye, far-sighted in the other and have worn glasses with a prism for numerous decades. Right now my bifocals work most of the time, but when I start having trouble with reading, I just have to stop. This is probably too long and drawn-out, but I just wanted to say that the ingredients listing COULD be better, and hopefully in future editions they will consider changing that, but I am able to read them just fine. I read other comments that people weren't happy that the ingredients are on one page, then the photo, then instructions are on the following page. I don't have any issues with that, because I get all my ingredients lined up before starting. Just wondering if that was their intent, when putting the book together. The photos are enormously helpful, and for me, the layout just falls right into proper order. All that said, great book. It also explains a lot of the ingredients, tools, etc. that will make your bread turn out better. I've made at least a half-dozen of the recipes, and every one has turned out beyond my greatest expectations. Knocking on wood now, but I've not had a failure yet! Glad I got this book. 05/08/17 I have made a few more different breads now and still am having success every time. I mainly wanted to add that I live at 4,800+ feet in altitude and have not made any adjustments to ingredients to compensate for that. I have adjusted the times a little, but it's easy to check with the trusty digital thermometer.

I've had this book a little over a week, and I've already made 4 recipes. All have come out perfectly. The beauty in this book is the detailed description of the baking process in the beginning (really a culinary course in itself), the (relatively brief) explanation of the science behind the recipes provided, the pictures and numbered directions for each step, really useful and inexpensive tips and tricks for success in a home oven, and the troubleshooting tips. These are largely classic recipes for baking, which other reviewers have listed already. I'm an experienced baker, and have tried variations of many of the recipes in this book. However, it's nice to have a compilation of recipes that are truly successful all in one volume. My favorite so far has been the "Morning Buns" recipe (which I've renamed to something more delectable to reflect their amazing flavor). It's a really cool (and time-saving) way to make a cheater version of puff pastry without all the folds and turns required in the traditional method. The results were fabulous! For those who are frustrated with the amount of time many of the recipes require for fermentation (i.e., those requiring use of yeast): good things take time. Fermentation is a chemical process that is required for the physical structure and ultimate flavor of the end product. The option this book provides for the bulk fermentation at room temp (usually 2 hours) or the longer cold fermentation in the fridge (16-24 hours) provides the flexibility to plan when to bake off the product. I love being able to assemble cinnamon buns in the afternoon, let them cold ferment in the fridge til the next morning, and bake them off in time for breakfast. I gave 4 stars because of the orange-colored print used to list recipe ingredients. It's just hard on the eyes (and I'm far from old). This could be a publishing strategy to deter photocopying, though. Also, the binding of this book should really be spiral. The spine of my book is still relatively new, but I see the potential of it snapping like a overbaked breadstick. P.S. Use instant yeast and keep it air tight in your freezer. A pound of it will cost you a few dollars, and you'll get months of lovely baking and smiles with friends and family in return.

Overall, I'm a big fan of America's Test Kitchen, Cook's Illustrated and Cook's COuntry. This book is ne exception. There are so many kinds of bread here that there is something for everybody. I was never much into bread baking, but this makes it fool-proof even for a novice. Don't be intimidated and honeslty, if you mess up, just chalk it up as a learning experience and try again. I have made the best baguettes using this book. There are also sandwich breads that are wonderful. I've really gotten into it and I'm not sure I'd have been able to without the help from this book Super step-by-step gave me confidence I didn't know I had.

This book reminds me a lot of another great cookbook called "The Best Recipe". This one has pictures, which are nice but not necessary, but what I really like about it is that they go a little into the history behind how they came up with the recipe. It's not as detailed a discussion behind the recipe science like found in The Best Recipe, but it helps explain why things are done, which really helps you with your own ability to experiment and tweak a recipe, something I am always doing. I've only just scratched the surface of getting into this book but I can tell I'm going to be spending a lot more time with it! Definitely recommended it.

Oh my goodness this book changed my baking life into a pro.

En México, la variedad del pan y sus sabores son infinitos, y por lo mismo, muchas veces es complicado encontrar el sabor y la textura que esperas por la adecuación local de recetas provenientes de otras partes del mundo. Adquirí este libro básicamente por curiosidad, porque pensé que los resultados que uno prueba en panaderías artesanales son a base de prueba y error: INCORRECTO. Aplicando las instrucciones de este libro al pie de la letra obtendrás los resultados precisos sin necesidad de echar a perder material o desperdiciar tu tiempo. El precio de este libro es ridículamente bajo considerando lo mucho que ahorrarás los viernes de pizza aprovechando todo lo que tengas en el refrigerador y poniendo en práctica una buena base de pizza de las varias que se incluyen en el libro. Prepara tortillas de harina, pan pita o pan para sándwiches de un día a otro (la preparación de las masas debe ser bien planeada para permitir sus tiempos de elevado), sin aditivos y con el sabor del pan recién hecho. Lo recomiendo totalmente a expertos que desean probar formas más efectivas de mejorar sus resultados o a amateurs como yo.

I have always enjoyed the America's Test Kitchen TV show since I stumbled across it on the PBS channel. I was hooked by the attention to detail in every recipe they cook/bake. No incomplete instructions here like some cooking/ baking books that assume you are a competent cook/baker. Obviously aimed at the American market I still would not hesitate to purchase this kindle edition as all recipes have American cup measurements, and weight measurements in ounces, not grams but this is not a problem as any decent set of scales are able to weigh in ounces anyway. Also if you visit the America's Test Kitchen website, they have a cup to grams conversion chart which is helpful for bakers in the U.K. This kindle edition is fantastic with a huge range of breads from basic white sandwich bread, whole meal/wholewheat breads, sweet breads, breads with pre-ferments i.e. Poolish, overnight soakers, and the King of breads, the sourdough. All recipes have great photos of the finished product and also pictures of vital steps, for example shaping bread whether it is a boule, Batard, or a sandwich/tin loaf. Don't hesitate to purchase, you won't regret it, I know I didn't! Enjoy bakery quality breads at home.

Outstanding, as expected from America's Test Kitchen. Clear and thorough introduction on the equipment you'll need, the science behind what happens in the process of rising, kneading and such. Lots of great recipes that turn out beautifully when followed carefully. You can't expect to find everything there is to know in the wide world of bread in one book, but as a reference for anyone wanting to get into making bread at home this has been simply fantastic. Note 1: I have really come to love the work done by America's Test Kitchen. I have a few of their books now on everything from cook's science to perfect cookies and they are, almost without exception, perfect. Not just for the recipes that they have exhaustively tested to ensure they'll work out well, but I really enjoy their explanations for the steps they take in testing each recipe for what works, what doesn't, and why. I've learned as much from those as I have anything else. Note 2: When following this book's instructions on Sourdough bread I didn't have much success at first. After the customary rising period, instead of a cohesive dough I basically had flour soup. I decided after a few unsuccessful attempts to go through the same trial and error process the test kitchen does and record all my changes. It seems that the native yeasts of this city (Ottawa) might just be lazy little buggers. Using the same recipe but with a much larger amount of sourdough starter than indicated (think 5-6x as much) which had been fed well about 5-6 hours before use yielded much better results. There seems to be some regional variation in this, so if yours doesn't turn out quite right the first time don't give up on it.

Step by step instructions with colour photo.