I totally identify with every word that Raydee8 said ! Every word!! I can gift my previous three really nice sourdough bread books because yours is the one I’ve been looking for! Auto lyes has never been made so clear and I can now understand using my home milled Einkorn grain without tediously sifting it to make all purpose so my bread wouldn’t be so dense. Thank you for writing it!! And I must say the price point was way under what I have paid for previous books too

I received my book and am really happy with it. I have been baking almost exclusively with sourdough for several years and have turned to Breadtopia regularly for recipes and advice. Recently we lost power and of course internet while I was making bread and I couldn’t get to the ciabatta recipe. I ordered the book the next day. I recently bought spelt and einkorn so am very pleased that there are recipes for various grains besides all the troubleshooting info. Thanks, this may become an heirloom, unless I wear it out!

Do you love sourdough bread but feel the science behind making it yourself is just too daunting? Are you uninspired with mass produced supermarket “bread” and long for homemade delicious sourdough? Or, be honest, there’s a bit of a scientist in all of us and there’s something about cultivating wild yeast and bacteria to use in your lab [kitchen] to make nutritious breads our ancestors aptly called “staff of life” that fascinates you. Well look no further and don’t feel overwhelmed because here’s a book that will guide you every step of the way. From making your very own starter to baking delicious homemade sourdough bread with some marvellous recipes.

When I first got interested in sourdough it actually took a number of years before I tried my hand at it. Always pushed it off going down the easier, less tasty route, of buying bread. Let’s face it, when made for the public, requiring a longer shelf life and the need for speed is always going to produce an inferior loaf. That’s the way of consumerism. Fast, cheap and cutting corners on quality. Bread is all about time and nurture and only then do you get a tasty, nutritious and easier to digest [staff of life] bread. Finally I took the time to learn this art for myself but quite honestly it was information overload.

What we have here is a wonderful helping hand that will walk you through the whole process. Well explained with accompanying photos which are beautifully done. My advice is not to worry about the few steps ahead and just concentrate on today’s procedure because really that’s what bread is all about. You’re putting things in place and time does the rest. It is the rests between the notes [in a piece of music] that are as important as the notes themselves. It’s not actually hard work (I wish someone told me this before I started) as that is the job of the wild yeasts and bacteria. You’re just there to orchestrate.

After you have made your starter (yes, it takes a week but all you need to do is devote a couple of minutes a day otherwise you get on with other day to day things) then onto the wonderful recipes. Many of them I’ve tried myself and each one meticulously done. Believe you me when I say the talent behind these recipes is of the highest level. Each one a gem and there’s nothing quite like taking out the oven a delicious sourdough. After all this time I’m still fascinated and enjoy every single bake.

What one cannot include in a book is a video. And let’s face it when it comes to learning how to handle and shape dough nothing beats watching an artist at work. Theory is all very good but practice (and seeing how it’s done) is how one learns. So as an accompaniment there are videos on these steps https://breadtopia.com/sdbook/ which completes the book.