is probably the best all-around introduction to home artisan bread baking. It takes the material in Crust and Crumb one step further and provides very clear and easy instructions, plus a lot of great information on the chemistry of bread and *why* things happen.

Maggie Glezer's book is a bit more specialized, and provides a lot of information on individual bakers and their specialties, but it's aimed more at experienced bakers.

For solid basics, stick with Peter Reinhart.

Stan Ginsberg

www.nybakers.com

For people getting started with artisan breadbaking I always recommend Rose Levy Beranbaum's _The Bread Bible_ (note that there are several books on the market with that title by different authors).  The reason I suggest RLB's book is that her recipes are very complete, easy to follow and use, yet also very precise.  If you follow them very closely then you should have successful bakes at least 50% of the time to start (which is a very high success rate for a beginner) and 95% after 6 weeks' practice.  Rose's recipes are not considered the best or the most authentic by breadmakers with a lot of experience, but making them successfully gives the new baker the confidence and experience to try Glaser or Hamelman.

Similarly I always recommend King Arthur Flour's DVD "Artisan Bread", which shows the steps for a simple straight white dough and is very easy to follow.  Unfortunately this is no longer in the catalog and was available only in the US video format (although it would probably play on a computer in the UK).

However, there is a problem with all of this advice:  you are in the UK.  RLB wrote several extensive blog posts about traveling to a relative's house in the UK expecting to make some great bread for the family, only to have her favorite formulas fail to make edible bread.  After research she concluded that the ingredients available in UK grocery stores, particularly flour, were so different from that available in the US that significant adjustment is needed for most US-developed recipes.  This would probably apply to almost all bread books published in the US (Hamelman specifically notes in his formulas where there is big difference between US and European ingredients).  Something to be aware of if you are going to the trouble of buying books published/reviewed in the US.

sPh

Maybe give River Cottage's bread book a look? It's supposed to be a nice introduction and is likely to have more traditional British breads in it as well as the normal artisan styles you want.

I would recommend Dan Lepard's book The Art of Handmade Bread - I believe it has a different title in the UK. His White Thyme bread is one of my favorites and he gives very detailed instructions for creating a leaven. Lovely pictures too, A.

Sunee, two books I've learnt a lot from and have come to value for their insight: - First, Andrew Whitley's "Bread Matters" and Dan Lepard's "Art of Handmade Bread", also sold as "The Handmade Loaf", so I understand. Both books give invaluable background information as well as recipes. Whitley's book is a superb exposition of what he sees as the poor state of commercial bread in the UK and how to eat well with homemade bread. I have a couple of others but value these two most of all.

If you do a web search on either of those authors, you'll find various articles and recipes that will give you an idea of their bread philosophies.

As sphealey has mentioned above, UK flours and water mean that what works superbly in the USA may be disappointing in the UK. I'd encourage you to find flours that you like and trust, ones that work for you. My favourites include Shipton Mill, Waitrose own label and Doves Farm flours, all in that order. I use only bottled water but know others who are totally happy with their tap water. For yeasts, I variously use fresh, quick-acting dried or a sourdough starter as my mood takes me at the time.

Let us know how you get on!

Sojourner

It's very accessible for the home baker and the breads are very good.  Her explanations are clear and detailed, and the amounts and techniques are appropriate for home baking.

If you have access to a library, you might try some of these books out before you decide which to buy. 

My vote goes for the Bread Bakers Apprentice!! I too have used a bread machine...but for almost 15 years...and the BBA is just AWESOME!! An excellent way to introduce yourself to the hows and why's or Artisan Baking!!

Good Luck!!
   Jannrn
PS....I got mine on Ebay for less than $15!!

I'd probably recommend Bread Baker's Apprentice.

Beautiful Book. Tons of helpful information. Many recipes that I have had success with right out of the gate.

Sunee,

I do have that book and find it worthwhile. However, I cannot compare it to other breadbaking books (I do have a few others, but I don't use them). There is more then recipes in the books, which I also do like.

The subtitle reads "master formulas for serious bread bakers". To me it suggests it should not be your first bread baking book. 

Measurements are in Fahrenheit, ounces and cups, which does take some translation for me. I found out recently Fahrenheit is of Dutch nationality (but originally from the Gdansk area), but we now measure in Celsius, grams and liters. 

Here is an intro on Peter Reinhart: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/peter_reinhart_on_bread.html

Cheers, from across the Channel,

Jw.

Hi Guys,

Thank you very much for all of your comments. Those will help me capture my choice very much. You guys are very helpful. I am glad that I found this website and have joined to the community. I will go to the library for my final check for my favourit book but still consider your comments, very helpful. It seems to be that the BBA and RLB would be the one. But, still more comments are welcome, though.

Cheers,

Sunee

I moved from the US to the UK, and discovered that my breads came out differently. Of course, I also went from a gas oven to an electric fan oven, so it's hard to tell what all the differences were. The water here is harder than I used in NYC, and the flour is different. I completely agree with sojourner, above, about the flours, though. Shipton Mill is pricey, but good. Still, I just use Sainsbury's or Waitrose own most of the time. All flour here is unbleached. If you can find a local mill, get flour there.

I would also recommend Richard Bertinet's books. I only have Dough, now, but I'm going to get Crust. And Carol Field's The Italian Baker has always served me well.

Personally, I plan to try the River Cottage book and The Handmade Loaf sometime soon.