Classic Sourdoughs, Revised: A Home Baker's Handbook

Sourdough: The Gold Standard of Bread

More and more home bakers are replacing mass-produced breads and commercial yeasts in favor of artisan breads made with wild cultures and natural fermentation. Whether you want to capture your own local yeasts, take advantage of established cultures like San Francisco Sourdough, or simply bake healthier, more natural loaves, you’ll find no better guides than renowned sourdough authorities Ed and Jean Wood.

In this updated edition of Classic Sourdoughs, the Woods reveal their newly discovered secret to crafting the perfect loaf: by introducing a unique culture-proofing step and adjusting the temperature of the proofs, home bakers can control the sourness and leavening like never before. The reward? Fresh, hot sourdough emerging from the oven just the way you like it—every time. Starting with their signature Basic Sourdough loaf, the Woods present recipes featuring rustic grains and modern flavors, including Herb Spelt Bread, Prarie Flax Bread, and Malt Beer Bread, along with new no-knead versions of classics like White French Bread. They round out the collection with recipes for homemade baguettes, bagels, English muffins, and cinnamon rolls, plus a chapter on baking authentic sourdoughs in bread machines.

Steeped in tradition, nuanced in flavor, and wonderfully ritualized in preparation, sourdough is bread the way it was meant to be. So join the sourdough renaissance and bring these time-honored traditions into your own kitchen.

Customer Reviews:

best sourdough reference hands down

By Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome "Vascular Ehl... - July 19, 2011

I looked at many other sourdough cookbooks and only found one other that did not list recipes asking for commercial bakers yeast. I wanted real sourdough recipes so selected this book and "Wild Bread: Hand-baked sourdough artisan breads in your own kitchen" by Lisa Rayner. This book has far more recipes than the book by Lisa Rayner. It is nice to have both selections but if I had to select only one, this would be the one I would pick and is the one I recommend to close friends just getting started using sourdough. The recipe selection is fantastic.

The only thing I could see missing from this book was dessert items but those can be found on the web. The chocolate sourdough cake recipe offered by King Arthur Flour Company's web-site is very good as long as you know they are looking for starter with a thick pancake batter consistency.

I was really glad to have a copy of this book after getting my starter. It really helped answer the question of, "Now what do I do... read more

A great starter

By William Steck "Bill" - July 27, 2011

Had been baking my own bread for a couple of years and wanted to try baking with true sourdoughs. With this book and the Sanfrancisco starter sold on the author's website, was able to activate the starter and bake some wonderful breads. Don't think I'll ever be going back to baking with commercial yeast.

The book was quite readable and contained information that you just won't easily find anywhere else. Wood discusses different grains, gives tips on how to bring your starter back if it goes south, describes different starters, and provides a nice collection of recipes. If you are going to experiment with sourdough, this is a book you'll turn to again and again.

As an aside, the San Francisco sourdough culture makes a great bread, but I'm itching to try the Russian starter that according to Wood works well with whole wheat. Will update this review once I receive that order and turn out a few trial loaves.

Hard pressed to say if this book, or the... read more

Still my favorite sourdough book!

By Mimmi Deutsch - August 7, 2011

This is an excellent reference for home bakers who want to understand how to create authentic sourdough breads. It's not complicated and does not require any special equipment. The original edition of this book has long been one of my favorites, and I really like the updated information in the revised edition.

One of the biggest improvements is the simplified directions in the chapter "Putting It All Together". In my opinion this is the heart of the book. In just a few pages it explains very clearly what is happening in your sourdough culture and how to handle it correctly. It made me a better baker, and I am having more fun experimenting with recipes and adapting them to my taste.

Another great addition is the "No-Knead Sourdough" recipe section. I was intrigued by the simplicity of the basic recipe. It worked beautifully for me. And with a slight adjustment to the loaf proof (lower temperature, longer time) I can now easily fit baking fresh sourdough... read more