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Bread: The very best recipes for loaves, rolls, knots and twists from around the world

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Sheasby opens her new book with an authoritative introduction to bread baking that provides the basics, from the equipment and ingredients you will need to the techniques necessary to achieve perfect results every time. The chapters that follow present a collection of more than 100 superb recipes for breads of all kinds - including everyday rolls and loaves, exotic flat breads, mouthwatering teabreads and bakes, rustic Mediterranean-style breads, and festive loaves for special occasions. Also featured is a number of gluten-free breads for those on a restricted diet, and a selection of recipes specially developed for use in breadmachines.

Whether you are an experienced baker or a complete novice Bread will revolutionise your morning toast, your lunchtime sandwich and your evening meal.

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

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About the author

Anne Sheasby

170 books7 followers
UK-based cookbook editor

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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Profile Image for Rodney.
171 reviews
July 11, 2023
I bought this randomly because it was cheap, and it has become my go-to bread recipe book. All the recipes are simple and delicious.
Profile Image for J.S..
Author 1 book68 followers
March 1, 2017
This is a very beautiful cookbook. Please note that it is hardcover and bound - it does not have spiral binding. The pictures are wonderful and accompany most of the recipes. I'm still very new to baking (and cooking, in general) but breads are one thing my whole family seems to love. So I appreciated the instructions and tips in the beginning - I had no idea how important it was to keep the salt, sugar, and yeast apart when loading the breadmaker for delayed bread-making, and I think it's made a difference in the quality for me. Plus, it's helped me understand better how to use the breadmaker we bought several years ago but seldom used, and I'm eager to try more regular dough recipes.

There is a wide range of recipes here, from regular breads to gluten-free options to breadmaker recipes to seasonal favorites (and more). I've only had time to try a few of them so far but my favorite (so far) was just the simple brown bread (breadmaker) recipe. I've tried many from the breadmaker manual as well as a number online, but this one came out much more moist and tasty than the others. Another that is a very pretty bread - the marbled chocolate-banana bread (also a bread-maker recipe) - wasn't sweet enough for my sweet-tooth, but the people I shared it with at work appreciated that it wasn't so sweet (although no one could tell it was a banana bread - the cocoa being the dominant flavor).

Beyond that, it has a number of recipes that surprised me considering it's a bread cookbook. There's recipes here for pancakes (the book calls them "drop-scones"), french toast (a much fancier recipe than I usually make), and pizza dough (well, the recipe is for much more than the dough). And a lot of the seasonal favorites are very European, like bread pudding and such. It's a very nice cookbook, and although I think my family is getting tired of my experiments, I'm having a lot of fun with it. (I received this book from GoodReads First Reads program in exchange for an honest review.)
Profile Image for Amanda.
14 reviews
September 18, 2014
Bread is a beautiful cookbook with over 100 recipes ranging from staples such as basic white bread and drop scones (or pancakes) to savoury baked goods (such as apple ginger muffins and sun-dried tomato & olive focaccia) and delicious bread from around the world (such as naan, panettone, and stollen). Most of the recipes are accompanied with mouth-watering pictures - my favourite part of reading cookbooks is definitely admiring the pictures!

The book begins with a handy introduction with notes on bread basics such as types of flour, yeast, and other important ingredients. It also includes notes on techniques such as kneading, shaping, and glazing bread as well as equipment such as commonly used utensils and breadmakers.

I only tried one recipe so far, the one for banana bread. It is a gluten-free recipe, but I used the regular ingredients instead of the gluten-free versions (since I already had them at home and wanted to use them up) and the banana bread turned out really well (soft, flavourful, and moist on the inside and crunchy and delicious on the outside). I'm really looking forward to trying other recipes from the book.

This cookbook is simply presented as a collection of recipes grouped into different sections. What I would have loved to see is personal comments about each recipe, such as where the recipe came from, what kind of traditions are associated with the recipe, and other interesting anecdotes that help introduce the reader to each recipe. Overall, it is a great cookbook and I'm glad that I was introduced to it through Goodreads First Reads.
Profile Image for Michelle.
109 reviews
September 24, 2014
I received my copy of Bread, by Anne Sheasby from Watkins Publishing through the Goodreads FirstReads program.

Fantastic book, simple to understand instructions. With this recipe book, any home cook can make beautiful artisan loaves and quick breads, including traditional flat-breads from around the globe. Chapters are also dedicated to gluten-free and bread machine baking. Introductory guidelines introduce the would-be bread baker to the basic ingredients, which types of flour are best suited to certain types of breads, various forms of yeast, sugars, salts, fats and liquids.

As a professional bread baker and Red-Seal Chef with over 25 years in the food industry I am accustomed to making bread doughs to yield a hundred or more loaves at a time, scaled in metric units. It felt strange to be using such small quanities, and in the house-hold friendly format of cups and teaspoons measurements. The recipes are successful and instructions are easy to understand and follow.

More detailed review of individual recipes to follow.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews

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