Flour Power: The Practice and Pursuit of Baking Sourdough Bread

The “Sourdough Guru” who advises the test cooks at America’s Test Kitchen and teaches extremely popular workshops introduces novice and experienced bakers alike to approachable techniques and 80 recipes for sourdough, rye and hearty wheat breads. Illustrations.
"A fun and empowering bread master class with 80 recipes and insights from sourdough whisperer Tara Jensen. Teacher and baker Tara Jensen introduces new and experienced bakers to approachable techniques and recipes for making sourdough, rye, and desem (hearty wheat) breads. Flour Power is divided into two parts: the workshop and the recipes. In the workshop, bakers learn all about flour and how to build strength in dough by hand, read a bread formula, and troubleshoot sluggish starters and unruly doughs.The recipes section is divided into chapters by flour and bread type. There's a chapter on sourdough using white flour (Olive Loaf; Milk Bread), whole wheat desem (Cinnamon-Raisin Desem; Aloo Paratha), and rye (Honey and Aniseed Rye; Mountain Rye). And like any good professor, Tara offers a chapter on extra credit too, with recipes like Overnight Waffles, Sourdough Pie Crust, and Cheddar Crackers to make from "discard" (the starter you discard before "feeding" it). Recipes are categorized by difficulty level and there's also a helpful "snapshot" at the top of each recipe offering a start-to-finish quick takeaway of the loaf from how much time it actually takes to the pan size you need and type of loaf the bread makes. Alongside stunning photography by Johnny Autry and playful, but informative illustrations are all the tips and tricks you'll need to become a happy and proficient baker at home"--
“Tara’s a natural teacher, and this book reads as if she’s at the bench next to you, patiently articulating the core concepts and techniques of bread-making, as well as the joys and rhythms of the craft.”—Claire Saffitz, bestselling author of Dessert Person, from the foreword 80 easy-to-follow recipes and loads of know-how, troubleshooting guidance, and bread science intel for baking your best naturally leavened loaves—from sourdough whisperer Tara JensenYes, you can make crusty, tender, bakery-quality sourdough bread—even if you’ve never baked before! Especially when you have a teacher like Tara Jensen (who taught both dessert guru Claire Saffitz and Southern-cooking evangelist Sean Brock) by your side. Tara’s friendly approach to technique and inspired flavors in more than eighty recipes for sourdough, rye, and whole grain bread will enrich both beginners and advanced bakers as they learn about the craft.With Tara’s guidance and supportive voice, she shares important lessons that cover all the technical bases—from learning about flour to exploring wild yeast fermentation and developing your (doughy) intuition. From there, Tara dives deep into the worlds of sourdough, rye, and desem, showing the true diversity of bread through recipes like Miche, Chocolate Beer Bread, and Mountain Rye. There’s even an extra credit chapter on making extra-flavorful Overnight Waffles, Cheesy Cheddar Crackers, and Sourdough Chocolate-Chip Cookies. With Tara by your side, artisanal bread at home is totally achievable . . . and fun!