Best Cookbooks for Baking Bread

There are many books written on the subject of bread and bread baking. The books listed here are my recommendations, based on my own love of bread baking. These also happen to have gorgeous pictures of bread, and of some people too.

My must have book is The Bread Bakers Apprentice "mastering the art of extraordinary bread" by Paul Reinhart. This is the most comprehensive instructional book on baking bread that you will ever see. There's a lot of science to making bread in there too, formulas, measures, ratios, and how to apply the formulas to your dough. From brioche to ciabatta, lavash to marbled rye, there's nothing you won't learn to bake in this excellent instructional book. There's a chapter on sourdough with recipes for basic sourdough or more advanced such as a sourdough pumpernickel. You can even learn how to make delicious white bread that will keep you from ever buying store bought again. The pictures are beautiful, the breads look scrumptious, the book is worth the pictures alone.

My second recommendation is Country Breads of the World by Linda Collister and Anthony Blake. In this book you will learn how to make more rustic style breads such as honey rye and sunflower bread-delicious with soup. More exotic country breads are listed in the celebrations chapter which include Swedish saffron cake and Russian Easter kulich. While these are called cake, they are very breadlike. Or if you want to get very exotic you can bake sourdough Japanese green tea bread. This book also takes the reader on picture tours of various bakeries in different countries, as well as showcasing expert bread bakers from all over. The pictures are artful and beautiful, and show a love for the grain and the bread. This book has some grain free recipes which are delicious and a treat for gluten free readers.

My third recommendation is The Bread Baker's Bible "traditional bread recipes from around the world", by Jennie Shapter. As the title implies, this book takes you all over the world to learn about traditional recipes and about the people and culture of these nations. This book is fascinating, with recipes, history, some anthropology, all thrown together. Learn to bake Mideastern breads on one page and Scottish on another. This book too has gorgeous pictures, lots of bread but also lots of photos of people. It's really a tribute to all bread bakers everywhere and the cultures that produced them.

These incredible bread baking books are also a good read. Between the amazing pictures, excellent writing, and clear, understandable recipes, they will be a perfect addition to your foodie library.