A bread book is born
Two years, hundreds of pounds of flour, and 125 recipes later, The Big Book of Bread is here!
There are 565 photos of bread on my phone, all taken in the last two years. That’s how long it took me, together with my coauthors and fellow King Arthur employee-owners, Martin Philip and Melanie Wanders, to write the aptly named Big Book of Bread, which publishes this week, and how much bread we baked to get there.
Those photos (and the accompanying texts I sent, with messages such as “Martin, what did I do wrong?” and “Melanie, look at this perfect bread!”) are testament to the work we put into this enormous new cookbook, the company’s first devoted solely to bread (about time!). We made each of the recipes in the book over and over again, in our Test Kitchen and in our home kitchens. And while we worked, we thought of you baking these breads at home and did everything we could to ensure you’d have success.
There are a lot of bread books out there. Here’s what makes this one special:
The recipes (and there’s a lot of them)
True to its name, this book has about 125 recipes, and the vast majority of them are new (that is, not already published on our website). The book is divided into six chapters: Flatbreads, Pan Breads, Hearth Breads, Buns, Bagels and Rolls, Fancy Bread, and Things to Make with Bread, which is a collection of sweet and savory recipes to make with leftover bread.
Our goal was to write a comprehensive bread book that had all the recipes a bread baker might want or need. There are recipes for breads made with yeast, with sourdough culture, and even some with no leavening at all. The global array of breads runs the gamut from flatbreads, like scallion pancakes and Syrian-style meat-topped sfeeha halaby, to crusty whole grain boules, to plush, pillowy enriched breads, like our Tiger Milk Bread and braided challah. There are recipes for bread bakers at every level, whether you’re a beginner or more advanced.
The techniques
In addition to the recipes, the book opens with a robust technique section that explain the bread-making process in detail, from mixing, to proofing, to baking. The text is accompanied by step-by-step photographs, as well as QR codes that will lead you directly to short instructional videos (because sometimes a video is worth a thousand words and photos combined).
But what about sourdough?
This is not exclusively a book about sourdough baking — because we’re not exclusively sourdough bakers! We bake yeasted sandwich loaves as often (if not more often) than sourdough baguettes, and in this book, you’ll find recipes for both. That said, we do love sourdough, which is why we devoted an entire section to it at the heart of the book, called the Sourdough Primer. In this section you’ll learn everything you need to know about sourdough, from how to start and maintain a sourdough culture, to what to do if your culture starts smelling like old gym socks. We write about preferments, what to do with sourdough discard, and answer the most frequently asked questions about sourdough.
The photographs
Every recipe in this book has a gorgeous accompanying photograph by Ed Anderson, and the front technique section is loaded with step-by-step photographs to guide you along the way. In addition to the big, luscious photos, the book also has instructional illustrations depicting techniques like how to score a loaf of bread and braid challah.
The timelines
At the top of each recipe you’ll see a color-coded timeline depicting how long each step of the recipe takes, as well as the total time, start to finish. The timelines allow you to see, at a glance, how much of a time commitment each bread requires and which steps of the recipe are hands-off. At the back of the book, we’ve also indexed the recipes by time, so whether you want bread in one to three hours or prefer the flexibility of a loaf made over two days, you’ll be able to quickly select something to bake.
Now comes the fun part!
We’ve lived and breathed this book for the better part of two years, and now it’s your turn. We truly can’t wait to see which breads captivate and excite you. Please take pictures of your Big Book of Bread bakes and tag us on Instagram @kingarthurbaking so we can see what you’re baking and cheer you on. Want a preview of some recipes? Here are 8 of our favorites, ready for you to bake right now!
Prefer some video instruction? Watch Martin make the Everyday French Loaf, the Sesame Wheat, and our favorite loaf of sandwich bread from the book.
Recipes in this post
