Jeff Hertzberg

Some years ago a friend picked up this booked, and on several occasions served me bread he and his partner had made from its recipes. It was consistently delicious. I was recently pleased to find a copy to remind me of it. I've read it through and all the recipes seem clear and thorough, with photographs to help further.

I haven't made anything from here yet, however. Per the authors' suggestion I bought an oven thermometer to check calibration, and found that my oven is 50-75 degrees below temp! After I get the oven fixed/replaced, I will try it out, and may revise this review to reflect how well this method works for me.… (more)

“After years of experimentation,” the author(s) developed a method to create delicious bread as remembered from (their) childhood. They eliminated tedious time consuming steps keeping only those steps essential for the bread and it’s flavor.

As with most cookbooks, the majority of the book is recipes. And for me, the most delightful part is reading the part before the recipes.

My wife bought the Kindle book at the end of May 2020 and has been making artisan breads since then. Finally those baking stones are coming in useful.… (more)