The Sourdough School: The Ground-Breaking Guide to Making Gut-Friendly Bread

Our family is full of enthusiastic bread makers; I made my first sourdough start (Alaskan) when I was about 12 and got many, many loaves of bread from it.My sister recommended this book; she is an expert breadmaker herself and knows I enjoy the science behind baking almost more than the actual baking. This is one of the first books I've seen on sourdough that breaks down the actual composition of the starter and its potential flavor profiles.I grew up near San Francisco, so I've always loved the deep tang of sourdoughs from that area. Commercial bakery attempts to reproduce them using other ingredients (acetic acid, yogurt, lemon juice, etc) are usually disastrous. It was great to see this book offer suggestions for flours, methods, and particular strains of lactobacilli that get you close to that great flavor.Highly recommended for anyone who loves to make bread.

This book has been in my life for many many years and I keep it around like a trusted best friend, even if just to see the beautiful photos or read the prose because I simply enjoy it so much. This book is jam-packed with knowledge but almost more importantly: wisdom. Wisdom about how to make sourdough of course, but also wisdom about being a more ethical person, being more conscientious about our impact on this earth and our connections to the farmers and millers, and the list goes on. It's a book about bread and a book about humanity too. Listen to what Vanessa says, you won't be disappointed. Her other books are just as influential and groundbreaking.

I'm a complete beginner with bread. My partner has celiac's disease and I have a gluten intolerance. I never thought I would make bread let alone eat it without feeling awful. While I do feel guilty making and eating bread around someone who is actually allergic to it, I have a very difficult time getting in grains otherwise as I'm allergic to amaranth, which is in most gluten free whole grain bread. Anyways, this book is such a breath of fresh air. I have several bread books that have recipes and how to's, but this isn't just a recipe book (though it does have some simply divine looking recipes) it is a tome of bread science and knowledge. From soil to flour, from flour to hands, from hands to starter she explains the microorganisms. She goes in depth on different types of wheat and different types of starters. You truly must read the whole book before moving forward with making bread and if that's not your cup of tea-that's understandable. However, I am quite positive, if you like knowing why and how/ love learning, then you will love this book.

Great resource. Definitely a text book on sour dough. One of the best resourses in making sourdough.The author is right. You need to read the entire book before attempting a recipe.The challenge with this book—- the process is chopped up into sections and causes you to flip back and forth to other sections when referring to the book while baking. Sour dough is complex process... when the use of the book is as well, makes it a challenge.Yes, buy this and bake fabulous bread.

I like this book because of the information it provides. I have been baking sourdough bread for a few years with varying degrees of success. Sometimes I get a wonderful loaf with a thin crisp crust and a light airy crumb. Most of the time I get one with a thick hard crust and a wet crumb. The crust shatters when you cut it and the crumb is inedible. The baking information she has is different from mine. Hopefully that will solve the problem.There is one problem I see. She has done the same thing I see time and again in sourdough recipes. She has ignored the effect of the leaven on the hydration percent of the dough. On page 114 the recipe says the hydration percent is 73 %. It is if you ignore the flour and water in the leaven. It is 76% if you don't.If you want a 70% hydration dough and use 700 grams of water and 1000 grams of flour,700/1000 = 70%. But if you have 200 grams of leaven with a 50:50 ratio. The real numbers are(700 + 100) / (1000 + 100) = 800/1100 = 73%.I think I read that Chad Robertson of Tartine Bakery also ignores this.

I particularly like the emphasis on healthful features of sourdough, as well as tips on how to refine soudough the process. This book has more details on those healthful aspects of sourdough than most books. Also, the book is well illustrated which means that I will continue to refer to it in my ongoing efforts to make better loaves, as well as gain confidence in technique. I believe the writing is quite good and clear and reveals the passion of the writer for sharing her knowledge. I was a little surprised that it came without a dust jacket, as I think dust jackets help sell books such as this. If I had not seen this book on a the coffee table of a friend who is a professional baker I might not have noticed it on a bookstore shelf.

This was a great buy and just as expected. Arrived quickly. Thank you!!

I dont understand the negative reviews or comments about being better off watching Utube videos. This is, bar none, the fastest and simplest way of getting sourdough into your breadbox i have EVER seen! Two feedings at 15 minutes apiece and one final dough mix that takes less time than greasing the pans and getting the dough into them!. I have been giving this bread away after my husband's years of stomach issues simply STOPPED and three people who have not been able to eat bread in years are enjoying it now. I make up starter kits with discard and full instructions and so far have given away 8 of those. Vanessa has done an astounding service in writing this book and i am eagerly awaiting her sweet sourdough cookbook!