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

From the acclaimed baker and James Beard Award nominee, a masterclass on perfecting the elemental and beloved food staple — from sourdough loaves and crispy baguettes to bagels, pitas, tortillas, and pizza dough.

To Melissa Weller, bread is: transformative, it’s the foundation for meals all over the world, it’s an elemental ritual that leads to mouthwatering results, and it’s inspirational — the taste of the perfect brioche, and Weller’s obsession with perfecting it, made her fall in love with baking. Now, after years of working as the head baker at some of the country’s most celebrated restaurants, Weller shares her best recipes for consistently making the highest quality breads.

Weller knows that baking is about precision and science, but it doesn’t have to be difficult! With detailed, accessible step-by-step instructions on techniques, equipment, ingredients, and flavors, Weller gives you everything you need to achieve beautiful and impossibly delicious results.

In these pages, Weller tells you how to create a simple baking schedule that fits into your routine, how to weigh and measure ingredients, and how to make yeast and sourdough starters. She also shares tips on mixing, explains the finer points of fermentation, and lays out the basics of shaping and folding. Here too are also extended recipes for bread-based meals, like the Everything Bagel Tuna Crunch, Tortillas with Pulled Pork and Salsa Ranchera, and Pizza Margherita. With over 70 recipes, this is the essential book for making bread so delicious that it earns a place at the center of the table.

Included are sections and recipes such as: *Bagels (Sourdough, Everything, Salt+Peppter, Pumpernickel Raisin, and more) and spreads to go with them *Flatbreads *Sourdough Loaves *Petits Pains *Rolls and Sandwich Buns *Baguettes and Ciabatta* Pizza and Focaccia