Book Review:Paul Hollywood's Bread

I have had this book for a while now and think it's about time it got a review as its a very useful book for the traditional bread maker who bakes bread as a leisure activity and not for something to eat.

Bread. The titles somewhat blatant which just about sums up the personality of the author, Paul Hollywood, but once you see past the cover you'll realise that the book is way more than just "bread" and that it actually has some great meals in it too so you can enjoy bread in more than just a sandwich as it is so much more than that anyway. 

The book itself is divided into many different sections (all of which I'd say are relevant and not just put there to make the book look bigger), these include sourdough and soda breads; you wouldn't normally find these in a bread book as sourdough is a very rare occurrence in the home of an amateur baker (although I have tried it myself using recipes from this book and it was successful) and soda breads are pretty much all the same. In this book, I must say that the soda bread chapter doesnt overwhelm me but it still contains several good recipes.

I like the fact that this book is very different to others as it actually only contains around 30 bread recipes as well as a recipe you could use each loaf in as part of a meal. This means that you can turn to it if you have some leftover bread or want to use your bread in a different way, this means that it is easy to mix your normal ingredients up a bit (similar to Mary Berry's new book Mary Berry Everyday). 

Although the book is good for an a more advanced bread baker for a beginner it lack useful qualities.

1. It only has a few recipes in it (its not a big book) and so a novice would struggle to master all of the basics.

2. My pet hate-It doesnt have a white tin bread recipe! If you are going to write a book on bread then you should at least put a standard bread recipe in (although it does have a white blooper recipe). 

For a beginner baker I would recommend 100 great breads by Paul Hollywood as this is full of bread with great instructions and technique guidance for a novice baker.

To conclude, this book is great for a regula, more advanced breadmaker who wants to mix things up a bit.

Rating: 3.5 Star

Sorry, the system won't let me upload a pic today (I'm not sure why).

The Food Kid