The Handmade Loaf: The book that started a baking revolution

I’ve been making sourdough for many years, but bought this on impulse after reading a post on Dan’s blog. It’s a real pleasure to have ‘forensically’ clear recipe and process instructions and the book itself is fascinating: part travelogue which really caught me by surprise and quickly had me hooked. I’ve always been rather sceptical of the low knead / no knead technique, which is often over-sold and described in rather woolly terms; but the clear, authoritative tone of the writing persuaded me to have a go - and while it sounds corny, I really am very unlikely to ever go back to the way I was working the dough before. Huge round of applause from me: BUY THIS BOOK

I've used a Dan Lepard naan recipe for years and was always impressed by how easy and delicious it was. One evening I made the rash decision to stop buying bread and to bake it all myself. This book has convinced me that the decision was not really that rash. Mr Lepard is a legend of a baker and his recipes are so easy to follow and thanks to his minimal knead method, they couldn't be simpler. Knock up some of his starter and make the sourdough (the first recipe) for a home baking epiphany! Eight hours from start to oven might seem like a long time but start it late afternoon (or early evening if you're a night owl), stick it in the fridge after it's final shape for it's final prove and simply pop it in the oven the next morning! The milk loaf is great as well and I can't wait to make more of his recipes from this book and his Short and Sweet one (great corn oil flatbreads).

I am working my way through the recipes. The method for creating a sourdough starter has worked very well for me. The white sourdough loaf was the best I've ever made. Some of the flours take a bit of tracking down but good health food shops seem to stock maize & barley flour.

I've had this book a year, and it is undoubtedly a five-star book. The author writes so insightfully about the whys and wherefores, and when you follow the non-too-difficult recipes within you realize just how much talent, consideration and experience this excellently presented book offers. You'll find instructions for kneading and shaping, how to make and store your own leaven plus recipes from around Europe adapted for the home baker working by hand. The author has gone to the trouble of actually going to these places to talk with other bakers, and the corresponding photos of location, people and their wares give what I would describe as a sense of community. The recipes use all manner of flours and grains, and raising agents from fresh yeast to leaven and soda. Someone below had complained of a limited variety of recipes, but I don't find that justified since there are plenty of recipes and there's no need for 23 variations on the same theme - in particular I find this book imparts a real feel for what's going on so that you can use your own initiative to experiment, though you'll find it hard to improve on the recipes provided here by Dan Lepard. Another complaint below is about the time it all takes, and there is some justification here if you're looking for a 40-minute loaf. Performing multiple tasks in a restaurant, the author found that dough sorts itself out nicely and the flour is best and properly saturated if left alone rather than pummelled to death. So it's often about 10-second kneads once in a while with lower proving temperatures of, say, 21 C. The `worst' it gets with a white leaven bread is around 3 kneads at 10 minute intervals, then a half hour, then an hour, in the tin and another hour, wait a few hours more (even 5). Naturally you can be doing other stuff in the kitchen at the same time or simply leave the house altogether. Other recipes are rather quicker. Another complaint is that you need to keep feeding your leaven (with more flour and water) - not so, as you can stick your jar of fermenting, gassy dough in the fridge and put it to sleep for quite some time. To conclude: fantastic hands-on stuff by a true expert who cares deeply about bread and puts it across superbly, great value, not a quick fix but if you're in the kitchen on Sunday you should be able to work something in. I had hardly baked before, so no experience necessary. Many thanks to Dan Lepard for reminding us just how important bread really is. Don't underrate it, or this book.

The book is well-produced, attractive and has a host of interesting regional breads. There is a big ‘but’ though in that the cooking times, temperature and quantities are very inaccurate and, without considerable experimentation, can give some very poor results. I am an experienced home baker and have been baking breads, including sour dough for many years and so it was disappointing, given Dan Leppard’s reputation, that one cannot rely on the recipes. Worth getting but don’t assume the recipes will work as expected without considerable tweaking!

Though I bought the hard copy when it first came out, it's buried somewhere in the packing boxes so I bought it again on Kindle. It's an outstanding guide to breadmaking and my go to book for recipes for everything for a milk loaf (makes great toast) to flatbreads. Beautifully illustrated with a picture of the finished item for every recipe but lots of other lovely things to look at as he takes you round different parts of the world. Well worth buying and the Kindle edition could hardly be described as expensive.

I pre-ordered Handmade Loaf and was not dissapointed. It is well presented, beautifully illustrated. The recipes do work and are easy to follow because of the detail in which they are set out. A treat for all bakers out there. A postscript: It is a number of years since I first ventured into sourdough bread. I have used my copy so much it is very worn!! The recipes are exceptional and once you have made your own sourdough you will be hooked.After having made your starter it is easy to keep if you bake on a regular basis. The recipes do work just try the basic loaves first. Give this book a try you will not be dissapointed it is a joy.

No doubt, what this does it does well; however, as a practical guide to everyday baking it seems rather limited, the recipes routinely call for ingredients that are not likely to be held in my store-cupboard. Most of the recipes are from overseas and are unfamiliar. If you are looking for obscure artisan recipes to astound your friends, and have the opportunity to shop for the less common ingredients this might be just the book for you; if you want a guide to baking a variety of basic British breads there are much better alternatives. One valuable contribution is the quick-kneading method, I have tried this and it works a treat using my home-grown leven and makes the preparation of the dough a bit easier. At the kindle price of less than £1 it is worth looking at.