Bread Alone: Bold Fresh

Rating:
Summary: Agreed: need a new editor
Review: The book has many good features, and I've made some great breads with it. But it is very annoying to run accross silly errors that a half way decent editor should have caught. The worst mistakes are in proportions, which are obviously very frustrating (particularly if you've spent money on the expensive flours Leader incorrectly suggests are crucial). Other reviewers are correct that the number of pages could have been drastically reduced. Frustrating is the fact that while there is an enormous amount of repetition, some important aspects are given only cursory treatment: e.g., how to form the loaves, how to make breads from straight dough. Also annoying is his suggestion that you reuse plastic wrap. The fixation on temperature is too much as well. When my house is warm, it's warm, and when it's cool it's cool, and the bread does fine in both, although it moves faster the warmer it is. My book fell apart very quickly, too.

Rating:
Summary: buy this book
Review: This book is not for the beginner or the professional baker. But if you occasionally bake a loaf or two (The majority of home bakers), you'll learn a lot about bread baking. Explanations are clear and detailed with total times (hands on and wait times) listed in each recipe.