The following reading list of baking books has helped me start baking bread at home and continue to inform, challenge, and surprise me even after reading them for the second and third time. Many of them have inspired me to bake with freshly milled flour, work with ancient grains, and even naturally leavened pastry and sweets. If I had to choose a set of books to take with me to a deserted island with nothing but flour, water, salt, yeast, and an oven, these would be them.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t recommend my own cookbook here!
In addition, I hope the following books provide you with as much insight and instruction as they have for me.
- The Taste of Bread (Le Goût du Pain) by Raymond Calvel
- Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes by Jeffrey Hamelman
- The Bread Builders by Daniel Wing and Alan Scott
- Southern Ground by Jennifer Lapidus
- Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson
- Tartine Book No. 3 by Chad Robertson
- The Tivoli Road Baker
- Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish
- Bread Science: the Chemistry and Craft of Making Bread
- Bread Baking for Beginners by Bonnie Ohara
Click here to see a list of all these books on this reading list and many more exceptional reads.