Jeffrey Hamelman

Even if you already know how to handle dough, I would suggest Hamelman's as a go-to reference. He covers the technicalities very clearly and discusses a few points, such as the all-important scoring just prior to baking, which none of the other books (that I've read) explain.

I have one niggle about this book ~ the author gives the home (not industrial) overall formulas in the recipes as pounds and ounces, no metric except for the commercial quantities. Yes, there are baker's percentages, but show more Hamelman's book is the only one of the 8 I've read in the last 12 months that doesn't stick to metric for home baking. show less

Fabulous book. Hamelman treats you seriously, assumes you have a brain and can work out that things can be varied. His recipes include a conversation with you about the variations. He also informs you in general about what you can expect when you vary things.

The nicest treatment of grain breads I've come across so far. My only mild quibble is that I wish the amounts for the home baker were given in metric as well as imperial.

This has become my primary reference for baking bread. I started with Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice and a few months later purchased Hamelman's Bread. While BBA goes into a fairly lengthy narrative describing Reinhart's flavor building techniques, Hamelman's Bread goes into greater detail on the actual handling and shaping of the dough, as well as providing detailed information on additives, ingredient temperatures, and other practical details.

There is one caveat to my recommendation show more of this book: earlier versions of it were very poorly edited and in some of the recipes the ingredient amounts are badly off, especially for the home baker. Make sure you seek out the errata sheet for the book. With this in hand, Hamelman's Bread is a complete success. I haven't had any disappointing bakes using this book. show less

Do you bake bread?

Yes-> Get this cookbook.
No-> You're weird. Get this cookbook. Start baking bread.

An absolute essential in every bread baker's home, though not flawless.