Bread for All Seasons: Delicious and Distinctive Recipes for Year-Round Baking

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Summary: One of my favorite cookbooks!
Review: ... This book is a terrific addition to anyone's recipe collection. There is such a wide variety of recipes here, and each is unique and delicious. I love that the recipes are separated by season. This allows me to thumb through and find a light bread (summer, spring) or a heavy one (winter, fall), depending on what I'm looking for. Also, I must mention that this book was my very first attempt at baking bread ever -- and it went off without a hitch! I think Hensperger's book is a must have.

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Summary: Not for the Novice
Review: I'm a huge fan of Beth Hensperger's bread books, but I should note that I don't think anyone who is truly a novice baker would have an easy time with any of her books. I have found that the best approach to using her books is to "loosely" follow her recipes, while also making sure to follow basic bread common sense. Her typical missteps: Her recipes often call for way too much liquid, and she frequently underestimates kneading times. I don't know of anyone who can properly knead a whole-grain bread in 5 minutes! The recipes, if followed loosely, are indeed delicious. My favourite bread recipe ever is the Oatmeal bread that's contained in the "Winter" section. (It calls for maple syrup and oatmeal...I can't remember its exact name). Again, though, beware of the liquid measurements when making the recipe!

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Summary: Nice pictures, but.....
Review: Not a book I can recommend. Though it is filled with nice photographs of bread with interesting-sounding flavors and combinations of ingredients, many of the recipes just don't work for one reason or another. Anyone seriously interested in baking should consider The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. This book also has great photos of interesting breads, and they all work flawlessly.

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Summary: superb collection of recipes
Review: One of the - initially - most unasuming bread baking recipe collections. Once I started to bake breads from this book, it was hard to try a new recipe, and not to repeat the old one: every single one was a clear favorite (for a week, until a new one appearred!). I have a nice collection of bread baking books , but this one holds a very special place. Superb, and so tasty!