Brilliant Bread Hardcover – International Edition, August 1, 2013

I have never given a five star review on any book, but Brilliant Bread by James Morton deserves it! What I enjoy about the book, is that it is well organized and well written. He takes you on a journey of bread making from simpler, easy recipes, to the more complex ones, with detailed explanations, so you have a better understanding of the science behind the process. All the extra details are jovially written which is a joy to read.Brilliant Bread has a clean layout and is filled with many photos that compliment the recipes nicely. I love how each recipe starts with the "Time spent in kitchen" and "time taken altogether" to make each recipe, it gives you an accurate idea of how much time you needed to spend at minimum before starting.I have the Kindle version of the book because I couldn't wait to start baking and will no doubt get the printed version later on. I am glad I got the Kindle version, as I always have the recipes if I am on the go. The digital version of this book is excellent. I read it on my computer, iPad, Kindle and mobile phone with ease. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn how to bake bread, this is the best book to have. I have tried many different recipes for scones, white bread, pita breads, focaccia and pizza dough, and none beat James' recipes. Weighing your ingredients like he says, really makes all the difference but not only that, the whole process he uses is fool proof.Five stars for me and I look forward to his next book and who knows, with a video or two?

This book truly is brilliant! I have MANY cookbooks, and several bread cookbooks, but this one is truly unique. First of all, I read it cover to cover, something I’ve NEVER done with a cookbook before. And second, the book is in order from easy recipes to get the basics, and gets increasingly more difficult. And one of the philosophies of the book is that YOU can make all of your favorite breads at home, with the proper skills. Btw, I’m an American, and I find it VERY easy to decipher the ingredients (ie. strong flour = bread flour, etc.—just google things), and get a scale. You will soon hate Americans love of measuring cups when you see what it’s like to not need them. The book is funny, straight forward, and a delight! Recipes are pretty amazing too!

This is an amazing book for the aspiring bread baker. I have made at least 8 of the recipes (as of this writing) and they are all fantastic. The focaccia is one that everyone particularly loves. You cannot go wrong with this book.

I am in love with this book. It has literally changed our lives. My husband, kids, and I are spoiled to homemade bread now. It is all very doable and I love James Morton's approach in teaching the bread making basics ( and advanced bread making) I have gotten so many compliments on my breads i make that i always tell people they HAVE to buy this book. I cant wait to purchase his others.

Best bread book--best recipe book I have ever used. Of the many recipes I have tried only two have been less than stellar and they were still very good. The introductions and informational sections are incredibly useful and the whole book places emphasis on the practical. I would recommend to anyone who has ever, even only in passing, thought about making bread

Love it! Feel like this is my little bread bible. I try other recipes but still come back and use what I’ve learned from this book- still learning!

I'm a complete novice when it comes to bread..terrified in fact! This book simplifies the process of making bread and takes you on a journey of discovering and having fun with making bread. I love how humble and unpretentious his writing is. Thank you so much for changing my life Dr. Morton!! I'm dedicating my first ever Rose flavored croissant to you

This is the best book on bread of my enormous collection. His sharing of the most minute details would be so helpful for beginners. We've been a fan since GBBO, thought he should have won, and loved his self-confident personality. Buy this book, it's even better than PH's!

This book deserves at least a 10 star rating, it has completely made me fall in love with baking.I hadn’t baked before I bought this, I’ve now baked my way through the whole book. His explanations are so easy to understand that it clears away any fears you may have about trying baking.The first few breads in the book don’t involve kneading, so he takes that pressure away from you and helps you nail a few great tasting breads. The breads with bits section is great for learning how to introduce different ingredients and flavours to breads. And then there’s the sourdough section, which will change your life forever! I even made croissants and panettone for my family this Christmas, which I never thought I’d be able to do.So if you’re thinking of starting to bake and don’t know where to start, I’d highly recommend this book.

I bought this book because I love his baking book. I really want to know why. Without understanding I don't think you can be a really good baker. James really explains why.In this book, he begins by explaining the principles of bread at its most basic. Then follow recipes for basic breads - minimal handling, no kneading per se. Then he explains the virtues of kneading and gives recipes for kneaded doughs...He is an extremely engaging writer and writes with great passion. I have many other bread books - by Dan Lepard, Richard Bertinet, The Bourke St Bakery....but this one above all inspires and delivers that all important 'why'.As an eBook it is generally very good. It begins with a linked list of all the recipes. The Goto function then enables you to navigate chapters and recipes within them. The only snag is that some of the 'how to' photos are quarter screen and I find it impossible to read the captions.Here are some of the recipes, but you can get the whole list by downloading a kindle sample.100% Wholemeal BreadAdvanced White BreadAll-star Sour BaguettesAlmond and Rapeseed BraidsBabaBagelsBaguettesBalsamic Onion BatonsBanana BreadBasic White BreadBreadsticksChallah....CiabattaCroissantsDoughnutsFast BriocheFast Flour TortillasFocacciaFougasseGranny's Scotch Pancakes....

This book is absolutely brilliant. It will be useful for all bread bakers, from novices to those with experience, it’s also just a very pleasant read. I bought it as a gift for my husband, who has already been baking sourdough for about a year, but still had many questions. This book explains the processes amazingly well. I was so inspired by the book, I’ve started baking simple ones myself and find recipes very easy to follow. Thank you very much indeed, James, you are not only a hugely talented baker (as seen on Bake Off), you are a very good writer!

This book presents quite a learning experience for me as I have not done much bread making in the past. I am working my way through the book and have so far tried out five of the recipes. All have produced delicious, satisfying bread, so I am happy, although in a couple of instances, in spite of following the instructions to the letter, two have not turned out quite as expected; turning the temperature of the oven up and shortening the baking time did nothing to produce a softer crust on my rolls (they came out identical to the ones that were meant to be crusty - luckily, I prefer crusty rolls, but I was disappointed that the experiment did not work) and only some of my pitta breads emerged from the oven as pitta breads (the rest turned out more like very light, fluffy paninis - delicious, but not what I had intended). Still, even when the recipes don't quite work for me, the end result is always delicious, so I can't complain too much, and I'm looking forward to working my way through the rest of the book (and so is my family!).

I sort of get what was aimed at with this book but it missed the mark for me. I got mad keen on baking and especially on sourdoughs and bought a load of baking books in the first few months. This one is aimed at getting people to just try baking - which is admirable but can leave the keen baker feeling a bit slighted. Being told not to worry about flours or water or what yeast you use as it 'makes no difference' makes you wonder if you have some false sense of pride in the artisan bread you are aiming at. I take care in the selection of organic flours and not using unfiltered water from my tap (very hard water area).I may not have been the target audience for this book and if you are not a rabidly keen baker but mildly interested in having a go at baking a loaf then this is your book. Not being a snob but I know for a fact that flour selection makes a difference to the bread you get at the end, however, any home baked bread made by whatever means is better than the mass produced pulp on offer at the supermarket. Horses for courses.