bread baking books

One final suggestion: Go to your public library (and if they have an online catalog/branch sharing system, order) as many bread baking books that look interesting or potentially helpful as you can. I stumbled on "52 Loaves" that way; otherwise, I may never have found it. It's a small, mostly narrative book with a lot of useful information that I'm glad to have discovered. (I used Alexander's technique for making a 100% hydration wild yeast levain and now make several of his artisan breads on a regular basis.) Getting a variety of books allows you to glean insights from several different perspectives. Have fun! ;o) (P.S. If you like making sandwich loaves, my finalist "Buttermilk Oatmeal Bread" and my "Everyday Potato Bread" posted here are both excellent, if I may say so.)

Thanks everyone so much. With all these lovely thoughtful suggestions. I am thrilled to start serious bread baking. Woot Woot!

The Best is Beard on Bread. I have shelves of cookbooks and always go back to this one. Outstanding !

The Best is Beard on Bread. I have shelves of cookbooks and always go back to this one. Outstanding !

The Best is Beard on Bread. I have shelves of cookbooks and always go back to this one. Outstanding !

The L.A. Times weighed in on this subject today: http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2012/11/bread_bakers_gift.php

I just got Flour Water Salt Yeast a couple of days ago, but think it should be a contender. It's got some great background info on the whys and hows, as well as sections on commercial yeast only bread, pre-ferment breads, levain breads, and pizza/foccacia. It also talks about how to make a dough you can call your own.

I see that no one has recommended The Italian Bread Book (I may not have the exact title, but captured its essence) by Carol Field, I'm pretty sure it's the best bread book I've ever used. I find mr. Reinhardt's books less useful, Ms. Fields is very technique driven, there's food science here but there's a lot of "feel" of dough instruction. I also highly recommend the bread section of Baking with Julia, an indispensable manual on all things baking. Have fun and remember you can always throw a dough into the fridge if something comes up, it's super forgiving.

I see that no one has recommended The Italian Bread Book (I may not have the exact title, but captured its essence) by Carol Field, I'm pretty sure it's the best bread book I've ever used. I find mr. Reinhardt's books less useful, Ms. Fields is very technique driven, there's food science here but there's a lot of "feel" of dough instruction. I also highly recommend the bread section of Baking with Julia, an indispensable manual on all things baking. Have fun and remember you can always throw a dough into the fridge if something comes up, it's super forgiving.

I always recommend Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice when this question comes up. He was my breads instructor in school, and his wisdom, experience, and deep understanding of the chemistry of bread combine with a gift of communicating to readers and bakers of all levels in a way that elevates, enlightens, and grows confidence. Happy baking!

Jim Lahey's, My Bread the Revolutionary No-Work, No Knead Method is a treasure for the home cook! He stresses a long rising (overnight) and less kneading. Plus he suggests heating a pot with a cover for a half an hour and then adding the dough. It comes out very crusty and delicious!

Elizabeth David's English Bread and Yeast Cooking, Nancy Silverton's The Breads of La Brea Bakery. Second James Beard's Beard on Bread, the Tassajara Bread Book. Also think about Laurel's Kitchen Bread, includes how to build a bread baking brick oven outdoors and how to make a Flemish starter.... I have to admit I haven't tried either one.

Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads is a great addition to the Peter Reinhart , James Beard and/or Rose Levy Berenbaum books. (I'm not familiar with the others.) It's much less 'artisan', but has a huge range that works well for new bread bakers as well as avid ones. My favorite section is "Small Breads." All my cookbooks are in storage for this year, and it's one of the few I miss the most. There is a short intro to virtually every recipe, and I learn something every time I open it, even if it's only the history of the recipe. I also love "Baking w/Julia...." but it's more than a bread-baking book.

"Beard on Bread" by James Beard. I second that selection!

I second susan g's vote for The Tassajara Bread Book, which also got me started with bread baking. I believe it was re-issued last year and you can find used copies online. Beard on Bread by James Beard is also a nice volume, accessible and with excellent recipes.

I'm a big fan of Beranbaum's baking books. She's an excellent instructor with a great depth of knowledge about the subject. Recipes are given in weights but also converted to volumetric measurements (and percentages), instructions are given for both mixer and hand methods. She includes variations on basic recipes, "pointers for success", as well as detailed notes so you can understand the reasons behind the techniques. "The Bread Bible" is a big book which at first may seem a little overwhelming but it really does cover pretty much everything bread, beginning with essential knowledge and then allows you to explore wherever your interest leads you.

One of the books that got me started in baking bread is The Tassajara Bread Book by Edward Espe Brown. It is all done with by-hand techniques, lots of grains and a wonderfully helpful point of view. It came out in 1970, and there are many wonderful books that have made artisan techniques accessible recently, but I still love his breadth and point of view.

Do you have a kitchen scale? I have found that serious bread bakers use a scale for accuracy, and some books only give ingredients by weight. Browsing through books at your library (or a book store, do they still exist?) is a good way to get a feel for technical level and clarity. The blog The Fresh Loaf is great too and there is a section called book reviews: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/bookreviews

Such a difficult question to answer! In my opinion, one of the best researched and most inspiring bread books in print is "Artisan Baking in America" by Maggie Glezer. It is a beautiful book.

I depend on Rosé Levy Berenbaum's Bread Bible. The directions are thorough, and ranges from the most basic hearth bread to croissants. Every thing I've made is great.

Ooops. That should be "Loaves", not "Loves.".

There is a smallish, fun, mostly narrative but wonderfully entertaining book by William Alexander called "52 Loves." There is a fair bit of silliness in the first half, but the ending is marvelous, as is his 100% hydration wild yeast levain, which I have been using successfully for well over 6 months. Borrow it from your library. Alexander is a non-professional baker who writes well, and to whom other non-bakers can easily relate. ;o)

My favorite bread book is Richard Bertinett's "Dough: Simple Contemporary Breads." His method is easy for the beginner with plenty of step-by-step photos and the book comes with an instructional DVD. I like to bake a lot, and his recipes are the ones I turn to most. Last year I wrote about the book on my blog, with links to a video of him on youtube here:
http://www.ladomestique.com/2011/07/21/saffron-bread-rolls/

I've also have a post on his Anise and Guinness Bread here:
http://www.ladomestique.com/2011/11/03/anise-guinness-bread/

Plus his Cardamom and Prune Bread here:
http://www.ladomestique.com/2011/12/16/cardamom-prune-bread/

A couple years ago I decided I would never buy sandwich bread from the grocery store again, committing to baking my own at home. Richard Bertinett's book helped me achieve that goal. Happy baking!

It probably depends on how serious you want to go off the bat - do you want to get into hydration ratios and mashes/bigas/poolishes/ etc? If so, Peter Reinhart's books are excellent. His instructions and illustrations are great - but it does take several days per recipe and some concentration to get through the theory to have success.