Like many other folks, I have been doing a lot more (read: stress) baking & cooking than I usually do during non-pandemic times so this was the perfect read. Allen has a great voice - calm, encouraging, and clear. The visuals in the book are lovely and truly enhance the writing, and Allen's troubleshooting tips are both helpful and thoughtful. I learned quite a bit from this quick read and look forward to giving my own starter a go. I've been eyeing up the dark chocolate starter on pg. 51, I didn't even know chocolate sourdough existed! Overall, I highly recommend "How to Raise a Loaf" for those interested in bread, baking, or the aforementioned chocolate sourdough.

“How to Raise A Loaf” by Roly Allen set out to teach the novice sourdough baker the principles behind the bread. I have recently taken to baking bread, having found I enjoyed it, and decided to investigate expanding into sourdough. This book seemed ideal!

It is detailed in it’s explanation of the science behind bread and highlights the finicky nature of sourdough. It also includes the key elements around general bread baking. There are step-by-step how-tos with clear photos making it easy to follow and understand. At the moment, under level 4 lockdown in South Africa, I don’t have access to the ingredients needed to try these recipes out sadly but have already picked up several general tips which I will be implementing in my bread baking. There is certainly a lot of expertise included in this book.

Whilst Roly intends his book to encourage the newcomer to try out making sourdough bread, I found the detail overwhelming and concerning, I don’t think I’ll be rushing into this. It sounds like it can wrong too easily and requires quite a bit of equipment. It is a four out of five on the enJOYment scale.

Thank you Laurence King Publishing for a copy of How to Raise A Loaf by Roly Allen to review.

How To Raise A Loaf really walks you through the sourdough process from starter to loaf and I appreciate the easy step by step instructions. Sometimes I find that sourdough bread books in particular skip over the starter maintenance more than I would like and focus on the bread making. The starter is the portion that has been giving me trouble though so I would recommend this book to those like me who are just beginning their journey and need help in that portion. There are not many bread recipes but there are lots of pictures for the kneading and starter process and even a couple of troubleshooting portions that I really thought laid out the most common problems and how you might fix them at home.

This was the perfect cookbook to enjoy during quarantine! I have had my starter going for about a year but have struggled to really get into baking with it. This book was a perfect jump start to reengaging with my starter and trying to improve my loaves.
I liked that this book is clearly geared towards a beginner baker but without being overly simplified or too complex for you to follow along. I found some really helpful tips that helped me pinpoint where I may have gone wrong in my previous sourdough experiments, I loved the photos and they are super helpful if you are visual learner. The recipes are well written, easy to follow and got me excited to try more of them!
I would definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for a straightforward guide to starting their sourdough journey. It would also be a good read for a more seasoned baker who is interested in improving their sourdough techniques and looking for fun recipes.

Perfect for the Novice Sourdough Baker

As someone who has worked with sourdough starters off and on for a few decades, I love this book. It is perfect for the home baker who would like to work with sourdough but is unsure about some aspects of working with the sourdough or other aspects. This author thoroughly delves into everything you need to know about sourdough cookery, from the anatomy of the grain to making a variety of loaves and shapes using several different techniques. You can tell that this author means to instruct the new sourdough baker, as nearly half the book is introductory material. He dives deep into the concepts of how to make a basic starter, other starters, equipment, creative ideas for add-ins and the crust, and techniques like kneading and folding. In this introductory section, he gives a recipe for a very basic sourdough loaf, filled with multiple pictures for each step. If you follow his directions and look at the pictures, it is hard to go wrong. The recipe section expands on the basic ideas presented in this first loaf, starting with some other very simple sourdough breads then getting more complicated with add-ins and shapes, like fougasse with two types of olives and a cheesy poppyseed grissini. One that particularly piqued my interest just from the look of it was a beet sourdough, which was both red and white at turns. How unusual! Just looking at the recipes makes me want to dig out my starter and have a go.

One of the things I absolutely love about this book and what makes it perfect for beginners is that it is just full of photographs. Not only does every recipe have a photograph of the finished bread, but throughout the entire book, the author has given pictures of what different steps look like and how to do certain techniques. I love a recipe book that is so detailed about technique. Especially for something like sourdough, I think it really helps the new baker make each recipe a success.

The author is English, so he gives all the measures in metric. Most volume measures (like Pyrex) in the US do have metric alternatives listed right on the glass. As many baking books do, some things like flour are done as a metric weight. So if you don't already have a kitchen scale, you will need to get one for success with these recipes. If you plan to do any professional-style baking—following other baker’s cookbooks—you would do well to get one anyway. There were a few terms here that would be unfamiliar to my American compatriots. Where you see him refer to strong bread flour, that simply means standard hard winter wheat bread flour with 13% to 14% gluten; I’m not saying whole wheat flour (the author will be specific), but flour milled from hard winter wheat. You can usually buy this in the grocery store, or you can order it online from King Arthur Flour. When he refers to linseed oil or linseeds, just use flaxseed or flax oil; they are from the same botanical genus. Wholemeal flour is whole wheat flour.

But don't let the unusual terms or measures stop you from getting this book. If you've ever had an interest in sourdough baking, this book will more than get you started and will certainly inspire present and future baking.

I love this book! I can't wait to get my started ingredients and try my first loaf! The author is very detailed without being overwhelming for those bakers who might not know how to do this. The table of contents is thorough and broken down so you can easily find the information you are looking for. There are lots of pictures which I love as I am very visual. I love that the author gives the basic science behind the process of creating sourdough bread, but isn't so technical that readers will have trouble following what is being said. There is a thorough description of creating the starter and why it is so important. Alternatives are given later in the book for the starter as well. Other techniques and necessary tools are described so the reader knows exactly what they need to get started. There is even a section on troubleshooting in case you find that your dough is not behaving properly.

The last chunk of the book is devoted to different varieties of sourdough bread you can make, which I found exciting. I love basic sourdough bread on its own--so delicious!--but I also love to experiment in the kitchen and look forward to trying some of the varieties I might not have thought of otherwise. I definitely recommend this book to novices and seasoned bakers alike! And did I mention, I really LOVE all the pictures!

I'm new to Sourdough and have always find the task daunting. How to Raise A Love by Roly Allen was wonderfully and thoughtfully written for beginners and even those who are already familiar with baking sourdough. I learnt different ways to make my own starter, the explanation was detailed and easy for beginners like to me to understand. I appreciate the different recipes that was presented in this book.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

I have always wanted to make bread and sourdough but never had the real push to begin until lockdown and I noticed this book on NetGalley. I am so glad I was approved for this advance copy as I have loved every minute of making breads with family and reading through this excellent book! It explains everything clearly and offers a background into the making of bread. It is full of tasty recipes (we have devoured everything made so far!) and the pictures are excellent (as well as mouth-watering!). Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review - I will return to this book again and again!

Unable to download onto device, so unable to read this.

Looks quite good from the cover etc but just unable to see the content so have no idea what the book actually tells you

Solid, clear explanations without being terrifying. I haven’t actually baked anything using this but I read the book!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is not just a book about bread, but a love letter to bread-making and its many benefits.
In How to Raise A Loaf, Allen shows us the importance of carving out time to make something with your own hands that will not only nourish your body but your mind, too.

I've been baking sourdough for a few months and am always hungry for more recipes - this book more than satisfied my craving and Allen's story really resonated with me. I appreciated his detailed explanations as well as they helped me understand how to make my sourdough even better.

Thank you!

This is a beautiful book on sourdough! I am a novice sourdough enthusiast and was interested in this title to learn about sourdough in a more systematic, comprehensive way, and the book does a GREAT job explaining the ABCs of sourdough. The images are lovely and the text is clear. It includes lots of practical tips, such as taking a picture of your dough with your smartphone before a rise, so that you can compare its progress over time (has it actually doubled, etc).

It is written for a British audience, and because of this I found it a little more complicated than I would find useful for purchase (things like translating gas marks/Celsius temperature to Fahrenheit), and for something that already feels a little complicated and fussy (sourdough) I feel like this might be just one step too far for patrons. Although the book is very clear about equipment needed, it is a bit limiting - for instance almost all the recipes require the use of a banneton (a special basket used for shaping/rising), something that I don't even own and I bake quite a bit. Without alternative instructions (ie "If you don't have a banneton", etc) the book feels really limited. And though I love my kitchen scale, I also realize that I'm in the minority in owning one, which would be tough since all the recipes are by weight.

All that said, if you are looking for a beautiful book on sourdough, this is a lovely one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Laurence King Publishing LTD for providing me a review copy. This review is based on NetGalley ARC provided in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.

This book offers instructions on making a sourdough starter and caring for a starter, as well as tips and instructions for making the actual bread. There are tons of pictures and clear instructions, as well as information about different types of flour. There are also many recipes for sweet and savory types of sourdough bread. I'm not nearly so scared to bake sourdough bread now.

It could have been more complete and featuring more recipes. It remains a helpful reading for those who want to embark on the adventures of sourdough baking, nonetheless.

I found the how to instructions in this book so clear and easy to follow. I am a seasoned bread baker when it comes to sourdough but I felt that this was written so well that it would be easy to follow and understand for someone with no experience. The recipes were easy to follow with step by step photos that went along with most of them. There are detailed instructions for each recipe. It doesn’t feel intimidating at all. I appreciated the simple easy to understand explanations of the complex chemical reactions of bread making. I loved the tips and cool bread facts included throughout the book. It was an easy read that went by very quickly.
The recipes themselves are pretty basic staples to bread making. They make a solid base for a baker but include some tips about how to customize the loaf to your personal tastes. Of the recipes, there were only two that I will be trying that are different from other books I already own. I liked that the pizza dough recipe also included a simple pizza sauce recipe. If you are going to take the time to make your own dough don’t ruin it by using store bought sauce. The recipe given is so simple, quick, and easy using canned tomatoes. A must try if you make the pizza!
Very comprehensive and would be a great gift for a first time sourdough baker or first time bread baker.

This is a very helpful book , I knew nothing about sourdough [ I live in a non-bread-eating country]. This is certainly helpful . I learned about starters [ amazing]. There are recipes too with great pictures.

Laurence King Publishing and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of How to Raise a Loaf: and fall in love with sourdough. I voluntarily chose to review this cookbook and my opinion is freely given.

How to Raise a Loaf includes everything from analyzing the crust to a basic starter method for sourdough. This comprehensive cookbook has well laid out, colorful pages that are very inspirational. I found the technique section to be very helpful, as it goes through the special way of kneading and folding sourdough to achieve the best results. The author also provides troubleshooting, allowing beginners to fully understand sourdough and how to work with it.

The recipe section has some great options besides the Basic Overnight White Sourdough. I most look forward to trying the Sourdough Pizza and Tomato Sauce, as well as the Poppy Seed White Sourdough Rolls. The most unique offering is the Speckled Beetroot Sourdough and the most interesting sweet one is the Chocolate Sweet Sourdough.

The author does a great job of explaining the basics to beginners, but this cookbook would be good for all who desire to make different sourdough breads. I highly recommend How to Raise a Loaf and I look forward to making most of the recipes in this cookbook.

I’m pastrychef, but this quarantine I practice bake bread, and this books is so really amazing and perfect , thank you so much for this ARC.

Very detailed step-by-step instructions for how to make bread. Very much enjoyed the attention paid to creating your own sourdough starter with written as well as visual pictures of the different stages and process.

The recipes in this book are great for both beginners and more experienced sourdough bread makers. I have been baking sourdough for about 18 months and I found some new and exciting methods and recipes in this book. Chocolate sourdough starter.! I can’t wait to get that one going. The instructions and methods are clear and there is a very good list of suggested equipment that is not to daunting for the beginner baker.