How to Bake [Kindle Edition]

I was very fortunate to have received this book as an unexpected present and managed to find enough time to try two of the recipes, each of which turned out to be fantastic. I have baked bread on and off for the best part of 20 years but always been pretty disappointed with the dense/airless bread I've produced. This is not to remain the case, as Paul's first section of the book explains in simple terms the chemistry behind successful bread making. I now know what I've been doing wrong all these years...too little water and too much flour! This part of the book is well worth a read however the recipes that follow will certainly not disappoint with breads, cakes and other culinary delights just waiting for you to explore.

The 'Truffle Fiselles' were the first to be tested in our household. I was alarmed at how lose, soft and wet the dough was but remained true to Paul's word that they would turn out alright. In fact,they were better than alright although I will need to work on producing more regular Fiselles in terms of length! The truffle oil (kindly bought as a gift from my daughter) gave the most delicious flavour.

The next morning I set to task on the 'Breakfast rolls'. These were without doubt the best thing since 'sliced bread'. In fact that's an oxymoron as this bread was far superior in every way to manufactured sliced bread and beat the traditional bacon sandwich hands down. The instructions were incredibly easy to follow and fail safe. I can't wait to dip into the book again this weekend to try something new... perhaps the grape and stilton flatbreads?

I believe this book serves novice and more experienced bakers alike and it certainly won't disappoint! An excellent book to inspire you into being more creative in the kitchen and put smiles on the faces of your loved ones!

I do have 100 great breads and I think this book is better. This one unlike the other has good photos for every recipe and only makes 1 loaf/quantity (not the occasional 3 loaf recipes in 100 breads)There are clear helpful instructions and having just made the brioche recipe from it I am ecstatic with the results! It looks amazing! I was worried that How to bake would be a duplicate of the other book with a few extra recipes but it isn't, it has loads of different ones and I am really wishing I had more time free to make them all! Here are just a few things you can make - baklava, chocolate & cranberry brownies, pitta breads, crumpets, wraps, pain au chocolat, apple danish, hot cross buns, teacakes, pecan loaf, pear, pecan and chocolate crumble, clafoutis, passion fruit souffle, lemon drizzle cake,cottage loaf, scones, blueberry pancakes, cherry & chocolate muffins, simnel cake, christmas cake, lemon meringue pie... Hungry yet?!

It will probably not come as a surprise but I have a major weakness in the supermarket, I love the smell of fresh baked bread, so much so that my mouth waters and I've often been tempted to rush off to the butter isle, grab one and rip into the soft doughy middle of many loaves.

But why buy an E-Numbered laden version when you can bake so many varieties at home yourself?

What this book by Paul does, is bring skills and recipes learned the hard way to the home baker. It's easy to follow and whilst time consuming well worth the effort for that rewarding feeling inside. Add to this something for everyone and it's a great addition to your own range of books after all bread is one of the basic staples of life so it should be something that is celebrated. Great stuff.