Homemade Sourdough

Good job Jane!

At first, I wasn't expecting much from this book, because the title is not telling you what's inside specifically. As I read further, after the preparation and all, here comes the recipes.. I am so excited to see sooooo many rye recipes in this book! There are many kinds of rye bread I never heard of. After this, I'm going to give it a try.

Besides rye recipes, of course, there are some recipes with wheat or spelt, that part isn't so special for me. I saw the 181 page is double,

The introduction's font is a bit difficult to read imo.

Generally, this book is good. Jane has troubleshooting examples for you. When she explains things, it's easy to understand. Like when she compares us with bread, we are both burping to release gas. I laughed. Thank you for sharing Jane!

Homemade Sourdough by Jane Mason is a great book on making sourdough bread at home. The book is full of beautiful and helpful photos, great recipes for different types of sourdough breads and also other uses for sourdough like waffles. This book also includes troubleshooting pages that have ideas for different problems one can have with baking sourdough bread. All in all, this is a great book and a beautiful one, too.

Awesome book! I have baked sourdough bread a few times, and I want to start again. This book is very handy for newbies, but it is as useful for people familiar with sourdough. Absolutely mouthwatering recipes with fabulous pictures. I’ll try many of these. Fingers crossed I’ll make eatable bread. To help with this there are useful tips on how to avoid things going wrong.

This is a non nonsense book with the essential information you need, and that’s what I want from a book like this. I’ll be using it as a reference book, and will most likely get back to it every time I try to work my magic on sourdough bread. Highly recommended!

As someone who is a beginner bread baker- this book has clear, fun instruction. There’s shared knowledge. The layout is simple and eye catching. The photography is perfect. Thank you to Netgalley & Quarto Publishing Group for the gifted PDF copy.

Homemade Sourdough: Easy, At-Home Artisan Bread Making by Jane Mason
Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group – Chartwell Books
Genre: Cooking, Food & Wine
Release Date: December 22, 2020

Homemade Sourdough by Jane Mason is a resource and recipe book discussing bread basics (& so much more).

The beginning of the book explains all the things you need to know about baking bread. There is so much information - I know I will be reaching back to this again and again.

The recipes are broken in the following chapters: Batter Bread, Everyday Rye, Everyday Wheat, Flavored Wheat, & Sweet Breads and Buns. I want to eat just about everything! Also, the recipes seem easy to follow and are well explained!

I will be getting this book for my husband for Christmas. During the first 'lockdown' in my state, my husband discovered a love for baking bread (I already knew I loved eating bread so this was a match made in heaven!) and I know he will appreciate these recipes!

I'm so grateful to Jane Mason, Quarto Publishing Group – Chartwell Books, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I make a basic rye sourdough loaf so was excited to have the opportunity to review this book and expand my repertoire.

There are so many recipes in this book that I would like to try: I had no idea that you could make sweet breads and flavoured bread using a sourdough starter and cannot wait to give some of the recipes a try out! The book is suitable for absolute beginners and spends the first few pages clearly explaining key concepts and equipment required. I like the fact that some recipes show a stage by stage process accompanied by photos to aid you through the steps (eg cinnamon rolls, gingerbread, Austrian Christmas bread).

There are lots of mouth-watering photos just showing the final loaf: San Francisco Sourdough looks heavenly and seems quite easy to make. The range and variety of recipes are excellent and I think this book is suitable for anyone who likes to spend time in the kitchen.

If you love baking bread at home, but haven't started playing with sour dough starters yet (or maybe you have an want to broaden your recipe bank) run, don't walk, and buy this book. This is one of the most beautiful bread books I have ever read. I make bread weekly, but always get my sourdough from the store because to be honest, I've been intimidated by the fermenting jar of hooch i would need. But Jane Mason's book Homemade Sourdough truly lays it out in a way that makes it simple to understand, and attainable to do. Not only are there basic sourdough recipes (and BEAUTIFUL photos of them all), but this book is FULL of other amazing recipes such as waffles, pita bread, and even a pizza dough! I am truly looking forward to making many of these recipes. A must have book for the artisian bread maker.

You're in good hands with this book. Jane gives practical easy to follow instructions that will help the novice baker wanting to tackle sourdough bread. A section I particularly likes includes very useful pictures describing "what went wrong" and how to fix it next time.

She covers many different types of flour and also a wide range of items to make including waffles and even bao style buns giving plenty of chances to hone your skills.

Jane is the founder of Virtuous Bread and set up Bread Angels microbakery course teaching people how to set up their own small bakery.

This book was previously published as Perfecting Sourdough in 2015.

Beautiful book! I love the step by step instructions and all the tips. I've been wanting to try making sourdough and I'll use this book to try it. It looks easy to follow and the recipes look so delicious! I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

I have struggled using sourdough before but feel like this book addressed some of the problems that I had. So after reading this book I think I will give it another go. A great number of recipes. Easy directions. Beautiful pictures. I look forward to expanding my sourdough horizons!

Homemade Sourdough


This book deals with two types of sourdough - wheat and rye. Sourdough bread is unique due to the fact that the starter dough sits for many hours before it is used, unlike regular bread which sits for a shorter time period.
The first recipe is for basic sourdough batter bread - it uses sourdough starter, flour, water, salt, sugar, butter, milk and eggs to make a flavorful bread.
The sourdough starter, water and flour are mixed together and left to rise for 8 hours. Then the remaining ingredients are added to it, it sits for 3 hours, and then it is baked for forty minutes.
You are given the directions for making sourdough starter, you are told how to refresh it, and you are told what happens if you leave it at room temperature for too long. (mold).
The recipe for sourdough waffles can be partially prepared the night before and then finished for breakfast.
The recipe for rye bread uses rye starter, rye flour, salt and rye flakes. The preparation method is similar for wheat sourdough bread, but the 2nd rising is longer and the finished product is thinner than wheat bread.
You will find recipes for Swedish Limpa bread, Pumpernickel bread, Caraway bread, Pita bread, Gingerbread and Christmas bread!
Follow the directions closely to produce flavorful, chewy bread every time!

I was really excited to have a chance to review this sourdough book by Jane Mason and having just eaten my first few slices of Rosemary Bread can report a 100% success. I have been baking sourdough for several months now and have read two very scientific and, I have to say complicated books which have resulted in more failures than successes. Mason's book is easy to follow, simple to plan in terms of timeframes and has a wide range of interesting recipes using sourdough starter. Deliciously sounding waffles, rye breads and Austrian Christmas bread all sound very tempting and will keep me busy in the kitchen. Thank you to Netgalley and Chartwell books for the chance to review this delightful book.

Homemade Sourdough is a technique tutorial and cooking guide with recipes developed and curated by Jane Mason. Due out 29th Dec 2020 from Quarto on their Chartwell Books imprint, it's 160 pages and will be available in hardcover format.
Despite being prizewinning expert bakers, the authors have written an accessible, understandable, usable book about sourdough for the rest of us. An introductory chapter covers the basics including demystifying the process, the different steps involved, ingredients, and moving on to a very (very) basic tutorial for making and maintaining a starter. This is one of those "if I can do it, ANYONE can do it" situations. It's not hard and for a long time I've been intimidated by the process, but I just followed the instructions and it worked without any tears.The author has done a good job of breaking down the basic tools and supplies and a good tutorial for a basic loaf to get readers started.

The recipes/tutorials are arranged by base flour (rye, wheat, flavored wheat, sweet breads and buns). Recipes include a short description, ingredients in a bullet style list in a sidebar, and step by step directions. Ingredient measures are provided in American standard and metric (yay!). Most (but not all) ingredients will be easy to source at a relatively well stocked grocery. Some specialty flours might need to be bought from bakers' supply or a specialist grocer. The photography is not abundant, not all of the loaves are accompanied by pictures. The photos which are included are clear and attractive and serving suggestions are appealing and appropriate. The tutorials are accompanied by step-by-step photos which are clear and easy to follow.

The book includes a cross referenced index with ingredients and recipes listed. There are many recipes included in each category; definitely enough to keep bakers busy for a long while. This would be a superlative gift or for the home cook's library. I couldn't think of any sourdough recipes which weren't included (and indeed there are many more in this volume that I was previously familiar with).

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Great book to get into Sourdough.
I especially liked the structure. An introduction with the basics (note, you do need some equipment, so think about whether you want to invest before you get started), then a breakdown of ingredients and equipment, and then an easy-to- follow line to recipes. Choose from two simple basic doughs (pages listed in the introduction) and then slowly work your way up to the more intricate ones.
My personal favourite: The troubleshooting with pictures! As a very bad baker, I have an entire gallery of fails, but when you don’t know how to bake, it is sometimes hard to identify the problem exactly (if you did, you would already know how to bake), so comparing your result to others helps a lot

I love to bake bread and I have tried recipes from a number or bread baking books. However, I always felt that sourdough was something for advanced bakers. So, I was too shy to try it. After reading this book I feel ready to give it a go.
This is a mine of information about techniques, ingredients, baking techniques etc. What I found very nice was the amount of details about how the starter should look like, how the dough should feel like when you work with it, common mistakes one can make, little disasters (and how everything is always nice toasted) and many tips for all stages of the process. There are good pictures that illustrate the techniques and the recipes. As a newcomer to sourdough I appreciated the effort made by the author to make the whole process as familiar and friendly as possible, and to stick to simple ingredients. And there are many recipes to choose from.
I am ready to start with my first sourdough and put in practice all the good advice from this book. Thanks to the author on behalf of the sourdough rookies (and surely of many experienced bakers too).

Many thanks to NetGalley, Quarto Publishing and Jane Mason for the privilege of reading and reviewing this books thanks to an advance reader’s copy.

Cookbooks, to me, is either poorly done or very well done. This one is really, really good. Love sourdough bread so am patiently waiting for my starter to be ready. I think I’ll start with the Sour Cream Waffles. Then make wheat sourdough starter so I can try my hand at Onion Olive Bread. Or Cheese and Onion Bread. Cranberry Nut Bread sounds delicious. Love the smell of homemade bread when it’s baking in the oven. Oh so many new recipes to try! The photos of the various breads are very helpful in deciding which one to try first (or make it harder). Directions are clear and precise. This is one cookbook that will get a lot of use over the years.
I received an advanced reader copy for free from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

An excellent book for those who are either starting out on their sourdough journey, or who are wanting to expand their repertoire.

Really enjoyed the sourdough recipes and am excited to try these with my family. The recipes were very easy to used and I love the amount of time needed to prepare these for my family. I would highly recommend this book to friends and family!!

Homemade Sourdough is nicely laid out, easy-to-follow, and fairly comprehensive. There are many photographs to explain the points and I especially liked that there is a troubleshooting section to quickly help you fix bread issues such as bread that comes out as dense or with huge holes. At the same time, there are odd areas of missing information and the typeset is small enough to give you a headache reading it.

The recipes are what you would expect: wheat, rye, flavored wheat, sweet breads and buns, and various batter items such as pancakes and waffles. The tips are intermixed throughout, which was a bit daunting when e.g., trying to find the basics for kneading correctly. On one hand, I like that the tips for rye bread are with the rye bread recipes. But at the same time, they are not listed in the table of contents and so can get lost easily. It does make the introduction small but it can be frustrating to track things down when it comes time to bake.

The book is fairly comprehensive - storing, different flours, and explaining why you need to do certain steps (e.g., why you knead and what to watch for when doing it). But then at the same time, it'll tell you that if a dough is overkneaded, it is no longer good and needs to be thrown away (without explaining why overkneading means the dough is ruined). But on the whole, I have to say this this has been one of the most comprehensive on the subject but definitely does not feel onerous to go through and do the recipes.

The author has a very practical approach that is especially appreciated. The recipes don't require super special flours or anything beyond a nice proofing basket and a plastic bread scraper. You won't have to put the starter on a pedestal and pray to it daily that it ferments nicely - I really liked that she makes it all sound very easy and is very encouraging along the way. I also liked that the author spent time explaining when/how to add fresh ingredients like fruit and nuts - and how best to prepare those items before adding to the dough.

There is extra information in the end about bread and health - as well as why sourdough is a bit better than your normal loaves in terms of helping your digestion. As well, there is a small resources guide, index, and glossary. A top 10 sourdough tips (also at the end) is a good thing to check through just before starting to keep the making process smooth.

In all, nicely laid out, with plenty of pictures and a lot of good and practical tips. There are many recipes including your traditionally San Francisco sourdough to various buns, muffins, and flavored breads. Just note that the text is incredibly small and difficult to read as a result. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Another great resource to add to the growing library of books helping those of who have added baking to their pandemic repertoire. Lots of interesting info and enticing ideas.

Good info on getting started with sourdough at home. The book includes info for both rye starter and wheat starter, and it is based on keeping starter in the fridge - a much more approachable technique for most home bakers.
The book covers ingredients and equipment. Recipes are in chapters on batter breads, rye, wheat, flavored wheat, and sweet breads and buns. Many recipes have photos, and there are also technique and troubleshooting photos included. I enjoyed that there are tips and info in here I haven't seen elsewhere.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.