Very Good Bread: The Science of Dough and the Art of Making Bread at Home

After delving into a range of baked goods in A Good Bake, Weller, a James Beard Award–nominated baker who has worked everywhere from Babbo to Bouchon Bakery, focuses on her first baking passion: bread. An overview of necessary tools and ingredients starts things off with Weller instructing home bakers on the ins and outs of making their own sourdough starter. A bread primer chapter breaks the process down into 12 steps, after which are provided two recipes—one for pain ordinaire and one for honey whole-wheat loaf. The following chapters, each of which opens with a “master class,” are dedicated to bagels and bialys, flatbreads, sourdough breads, petit pains, and more. Recipes for dishes that incorporate the final bread products, such as everything-bagel tuna crunch sandwiches and strawberry-rhubarb mountain pies, are also included. Given Weller’s background in chemical engineering, it shouldn’t be surprising that the recipes are laid out with exquisite precision, and measurements are given in volume, weight, and baker’s percentages.