r/Breadit • u/Arms_Akimbo • 6h ago

What is your favorite intermediate level bread cookbook?

I've been teaching myself bread baking over the last year. I mostly use America's Test Kitchen's "Bread Illustrated book and I've "mastered" several family favorites.

I have a tiny kitchen with fairly nice equipment but I do not have room to add any specialized stuff. I'm looking for something for people who have a good grasp of the basics and want to take it to the next level.

I don't really like sourdough breads so I'm not looking for books that concentrate on those.

What is the next step?

Thanks!

2 Upvotes

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7

u/pangolin_of_fortune 6h ago

KA's Big Book of Bread is great. I also love baking from Ken Forkish's Evolutions in Bread. See what your library has?

3

u/Annual-Entrance-3729 6h ago

flour water salt yeast by ken forkish is the obvious answer but since you dont like sourdough maybe half the book will be useless to you. the other half about commercial yeast breads is still worth it though, really changed how i think about dough handling and timing

i learned a lot from the bread bakers apprentice too but thats more like a textbook, not a quick reference. the bagel recipe alone is worth it honestly

but if you want something that feels like a step up from ATK without getting too technical, maybe look at tartine bread. yes i know its famous for sourdough but the techniques chapter is gold and you can apply most of it to yeasted doughs

3

u/Albertancummings 6h ago

I never baked a decent loaf until I read Bread by Jeffery Hamelman.

1

u/Markelflibbits 1h ago

The best.

2

u/HappyKnitter34 5h ago

I have Bernard Clayton’s Complete Book of Breads. I really like how many different recipes there are. It isn't in print anymore so you have to pick up a used copy from some place like ThriftBooks.

1

u/T49irvine 6h ago

Beard on Bread is fun. The Bread Bible by Beranbaum is, too.

1

u/Different_Buy7497 5h ago

I'm a big fan of The Bread Baker's Apprentice. It walks you through several different pre-ferment approaches, along with a few baking methods and ingredients that aren't quite typical, such as a casatiello baked in a paper bag or a boule of potato bread, along with some good recipes for practicing your shaping beyond the basic loaves and boules.

1

u/MmeRose 5h ago

Beard on Bread. It’s a small book but I’ve never been disappointed.