By now you probably know that despite being on a low carb diet I have not given up the joys of bread-making. My great-grandad and his family were bakers and I feel like a little of that flour may have rubbed onto my little heart. In honour of my ancestors as well as the deliciousnesss that sourdough is, I’ve finally created a category on this blog that’s solely dedicated to bread-making. I cannot even describe the joy when I received a hot off the press copy of Roly Allen’s How to Raise a Loaf and Fall in Love with Sourdough.
I already have another book in the very same edition – How to Raise a Plant and Make it Love You Back by Morgan Doane and Erin Harding of House Plant Club. Which I love dearly – it’s such a simple yet nifty little guide to growing houseplants. That’s one of the reasons I had such high expectations for this book, and boy was I not wrong!
4 reasons you will love Roly Allen’s book on bread-making
The perfect zero waste starter
The first thing you’ll love about this book is its simplicity delivered to absolute perfection. It’s ever so simple and absolutely foolproof. You don’t need a dozen ingredients. And I bet you anything you want that you already have all these ingredients in your pantry. Sometimes when you get your hands on a beautiful bread-making volume, they suggest that you need a mouse tail and a bat’s fang to make a great starter. Uh oh, believe me (and Roly Allen) that is NOT true.
All the other starters
Not many books on bread-making that I’ve held in my hands contained more than one starter recipe. This slim little thing contains 4 full starter recipes. FOUR. And one of them is made with chocolate. Wrap your head around that wipe your chin. Are you even ready for such deliciousness?
Sparking creativity
Considering that this book has only a little over 100 pages it’s so full of creative ideas. I can’t even begin to tell you. From using different starters to using various tools and ingredients to decorate the crust. From using different baking tins to all various sorts of flour. That’s all tightly packed into the pages of this book!
Those recipes though!
Last but not least – there’s a bunch of recipes for you to try. Be it a very plain but oh so delicious overnight sourdough bread. A French olive-speckled miracle. Or a dense moist rye beauty, you’ll be so impressed by these recipes. I haven’t tried many of them yet but will report back very soon. My chocolatey starter is already brewing as we speak. Follow me on Instagram to see how I get on!
You can get this beautiful book on bread-making right here on Laurence King. This copy was sent to me (thank you!), however opinions in this post are my very own and so is my love for baking bread and I can whole-heartedly recommend this book to everyone who wants to give bread-making a try or even to those who are on their way to that perfect loaf already!