January 30, 2014

Step By Step Bread #DKCanada #Review

This year I have set severals goals for myself in the areas of cooking and baking. I am determined to eat healthier and purchase less processed foods. One of my goals is to provide my family with more home baked pastries and breads (I want to be able to control what goes in my food and choose healthier options). I have tried on several occasions to make bread loafs and have failed each time (sigh!).
I jumped at the chance to review Step By Step Bread as part of DK Canada’s Start Something New promotion. I was determined to finally make THE perfect bread loaf!
Step By Step Bread has over 125 recipes to suit any bread lover needs as well as for any occasion. Recipes range from classic breads, artisan breads, flat breads, crisps, quick breads to sweet breads (the complete set of recipes!). It was hard to even know where to start! The author Caroline Bretherton has worked in the food industry for the last fifteen years. She then opened up her own catering company and now owns and operates her own eatery in the USA.
One of the best features of this book has to be the photographs. Each recipe has a page or two dedicated to itself with large and clear photographs. She breaks each recipe down step by step making it much harder to make a mistake (especially for this newbie in the world of baking bread!). The ingredients were simple and included items that I always have stocked in my pantry. Caroline covers every possible question that I could possibly have had in this book! Not to mention the fantastic variety of recipes that were included. It covers such a large variety of recipes which eliminates the need to have multiple recipe books laying around the house.
For my first trial, I made a simple ciabatta bread. This is a family favourite in our home and we have it with dinner quite frequently and is delicious when topped with cheese. I have attempted to google recipes on four separate occasions and each time my loaf either did not rise, was rock hard or uncooked on the inside. The instructions for this recipe were simple and easy to follow. I was actually able to start this recipe while getting the boys ready to head out for school/daycare and continue it while working from home. Which is the perfect fit for me!
The final verdict from my family? They loved my ciabatta loaf! This was the first loaf that I have ever made that came out perfect – have to admit I was quite proud of myself.
I love this book and it has made the perfect addition to my recipe book collection. It is incredibly easy to follow, a great variety of recipes as well as a variety of easy and harder skill level baking. A definite must have for families! I am excited to be starting my new year providing great home baked breads for my family!

This entry was posted in book review, cooking, review.

cvegnad

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10 thoughts on “Step By Step Bread #DKCanada #Review”
  1. Masshole Mommy

    There is absolutely nothing like homemade warm bread with butter. It's one of my favorite things in the world. This book sounds perfect for me. I need simple instructions with things like this LOL.

     
  2. Melinda Dunne

    I have been trying to make Porteguese Sweet Bread for the last few weeks and I can't get it to turn out. I have made 4 different recipes and none of them rise correctly. Is there a recipe for that in the book? I love cookbooks that make cooking simple and easy to understand. It is awesome that your bread turned out perfect on the first try!

     
  4. Angel

    That books really nice in that it show step by step instructions so well. The bread you made looked nice! I would suggest checking out heirloom or ancient wheat (such as at jovialfoods.com) as the modern wheat is hybrid and many people have a problem with the gluten in modern wheat, from what I've read. God bless!

     
  6. Amanda Love

    I have to admit that I don't know how to bake bread from scratch. My mother on the other hand bakes it like there's no tomorrow. She's bakes on the weekend and I just love eating her homemade bread. This is a book I should get for myself. I really do need to learn how to.