Bread Ahead: The Expert Home Baker: A Masterclass in Classic Baking (Hardie Grant Books)

Bread ahead runs first class classes in London on baking generally (and sourdough in particular) and the recipes and clear explication of technique in this book comes as close as possible to teaching through reading what is taught in person on the courses. Follow the recipes precisely (and if at first you don’t succeed, try again) and you will have great results.

Gave as gift my daughter in law was very pleased with it

Bought as a present alongside Bread ahead baking course. Recipes looked nice and well explained, and book was well received as a present .

These recipes are traditional and comforting. I love to bake for others and Bread Ahead’s second book does not disappoint! Although recipes often require an over night prove, they always taste better for it. Clear photos showing the various techniques are appreciated. Definitely the perfect present for any baker or any aspiring baker.

Husband uses it all the time

This is such a joyous book and so glad to have discovered it. Wonderful slightly different recipes for everyone bread to cakes to tarts and pies. Requires some skill but really great results

It was a gift and he is into baking so he really loved it. I am enjoying the recipe as well

The book is presented beautifully and I was thrilled when I received it and saw so many recipes I wanted to try. However I’m not sure if this was rushed and these recipes not really tested properly.. So far - Belgian buns - 250g icing sugar to 2tbsp lemon juice? That’s so thick it’s powder, not what you would expect? Milk rolls - not sure about these, the dough didn’t rise a fat lot until it went in the oven and the texture was dense. Marble loaf cake - dump everything in the mixer and wait. Well, if you want to be mixing for ages to get rid of lumps. Much better to cream the sugar and butter for a few minutes before adding the other ingredients. It seems every recipe I try has a quirk and ends up in me having to make notes in the book to get it right next time. I don’t think I’ll bother with something complex like croissants!!! UPDATE: I tried the milk rolls a second time keeping everything at 24 degrees. Still no rise after 45 mins but not surprising. Eventually rose to just less than double after 3.5 hours. I wonder if there’s an erratum from the publisher…

My favourite to go book!

Bom produto para quem já cozinha.

amazing quality, aesthetically pleasing to look at. Used one of the recipes and it turned out great.

In my opinion, only experienced bakers can have any success with the recipes in this book. Quite a few adjustments are often necessary, which only experience can suggest. For a baking school, it lacks the necessary tips and tricks that would help beginners going along. It most decidedly misses the Gellatly touch.

So effective and efficient