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This wonderful book is a joy to read, I now look at bread in a new light, the writing is easy to understand, and the writers passion for the subject really comes through.
One of the sections I found fascinating is the chemical process that the loaf goes through, it amazing how interesting our daily bread is.
I definately be buying more on the subject.
Ken Robinson
Australia

I purchased this book based on previous Amazon reviews and was expecting it to be good - but I didn't expect it to take over my life and my kitchen! I have bowls of sour dough seed starters, barms and pate fermente. I'm stretching my dough to see if it passes the "window pane" test and sticking my milk frothing thermometer into the risen dough to see if it is warm enough - there is so much to learn in this book and it is so much FUN!!! You can use a machine mixer if you like - the author is encouraging of a variety of methods of kneading and proofing - and so far I have had great results - the instructions are very detailed and easy to follow.
My only criticism is that I would want a few more pictures of the dough in its different stages particularly for the more complex recipes involving several different stages of wild yeast starter. I had no visual reference to see if my starter looked right on the final day. But a small point in an otherwise magnificent book!

Excellent bread book. The recipes are awesome. I have tried 4-5 of them and all of them turned out great. Now I bake better bread than most of the store-bought ones!

This is an excellent, comprehensive book to help you produce incredible breads. Every time a loaf comes from my oven, friends & family alike beg me to open a bakery.

The printing of this book is totally lousy. The spine weakened within just a few weeks. This is my main complaint because I just don't think it will hold up to years of opening and closing. I can see this as coming apart.

This book is wonderful for anyone wanting to learn magic tricks. This book explains how each trick will appear to the audience and then gives very detailed instructions with drawings showing each step. I used the information in the book to teach rope tricks to a bunch of third grade cubscouts. The parents were so impressed with the tricks that they wanted to learn them too.

Many times applauded, this classic for teaching magic is practically unequaled. If you want to learn magic from scratch, this book is what you need.

I have a library full of Magic books. This is definitely in the top of my recommended list for magic books.

1. For the price it can't be beat
2. For all the information included it can't be beat
3. For included illustrations it can't be beat
4. It includes tricks from about every category in magic

I find it hard to give any book 5 stars but this one definitely deserves it.

If you are interested in magic and want a good book to start or to have for reference just buy this one without further thought.

I got this book knowing a few basic magic tricks. This is a very informative book, designed as a class/course. I'm a clown, and I'll get good use out of the close up magic in this book.

This is my first magic book and it is fantastic. I've seen my share of amateur and professional magic tricks. This book covers the gamut. In one hour, I found and learned three tricks that I've never seen before. I performed them for co-workers the same day and astonished them.

I've since found a good handful of tricks that are original (to me), don't require great slight-of-hand skills and don't cost money (for props). Now I perform them for friends and strangers and, viola, my circle of friends is growing! Do a few easy-to-learn magic tricks really make one more interesting? I guess so.

And there's the easiest little "Jumping Rubber Band" trick that if you show a child, then teach him how to do it (sorry, I broke the first rule of magic), you'll put a big smile on his face and he'll excitedly run off to show everyone his magic.

This book was an amazing find for me. I have always been of the mind that bread baking is too much trouble and too much time for the results. But I wanted to try and fortunately happened upon this book. Not only can I now bake wonderful bread, but I also am gaining a deeper understanding of myself through the process of baking bread as I am guided by this book.

I know this may sound like a bunch of new-agey gobbledygook, but if you really want to feel like you're accomplishing something when you bake bread (especially if you are a beginning bread baker), this would be a good book for you. One of the things I like best about it is that it provides step-by-step instructions on how to bake bread in general, and then gives you the recipes to fit into the process. The book also tells you what kind of (basic) equipment works best. But it's also very open in saying that all of its instructions are merely guidelines, and the person reading it is left feeling free to deviate out of desire and/or necessity.

The Tassajara Bread Book is also an enjoyable read, and has some fantastic recipes in it (I use the egg bagel recipe to make Challah that is even better than the Challah from Trader Joe's!).

Hey, if you want to know bread and I mean the important stuff here it is, everything that was ever done with bread starts here...
Once you've got it you never forget it... I originally bought this book in 1971 and baked bread when I was in college.

There is nothing like that fresh baked aroma and taste...

Hey I could teach this!

Enjoy this great day~

Tom

When a classic book remains in print past the end of its useful life, what do you do with it?

I'm going to get one point out of the way right up front -- if you're a baking fan, you probably should get this book, as it was one of the most important influences on the rise of the modern American artisan baking tradition. I'm led to understand that it was also a major graphic design influence on much counterculture publishing (particularly the Moosewood Cookbook with handwritten pages, but the current edition has reverted to a more standard typeset layout. Though the author is a deeply religious Zen Buddhist and a vegetarian, religion and other dogmas do not dominate the book, making it palatable to all readers.

But there's an important thing about Tassajara that seems to get lost in the mostly deserved praised for the book -- Edward Brown is not and never was a professional baker, but rather a food generalist who happened to do quite a lot of baking. (The foreword, where Brown describes the naive, self-trained crew of a Tassajara-influenced bakery being laughed at by a pro, drives that point home.) Although the chapter on basic Tassajara bread is an exception, for the most part, this is not a technical bread book in the manner of Peter Reinhart's Crust & Crumb or Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Bread Bible, but a cookbook about bread in the manner of Beard On Bread. Again, this is fine. But if you're interested in baking like the pros, Tassajara will not be sufficient to your purposes -- apart from the first chapter, it's light on technique and baking science, and it uses volume measurements rather than weight, a big no-no for an experienced baker.

So that's how it goes. Tassajara captures for a modern audience a period where tastes were in flux and people were rediscovering the older ways after an overemphasis on modernity almost drove them to extinction. For that, you want this book. But if you're a pro in training, or an all-around kitchen geek, this book is only the beginning.

The Tassajara Bread Book has been part of my library for at least ten years. Upon first purchasing this gem with its gently textured cover and hand drawn sketches, I fell in love with the poetry that Edward Espe Brown, the author, offered in the opening of this cookbook.

His words, insights, and even the recipes themselves carry with them a humbleness and gratitude towards cooking, food, and life.

I'm amazed to say that only last week did I actually used one of the recipes (page 100, Bran Muffins) and it was scrumptious--not to mention helpful in getting things flowing (if you know what I mean!).

I intend to use many more recipes in the upcoming months. Next on the list is Corn Muffins (still on page 100--I figure why mess with a good thing).

I can't recommend this book highly enough. I've loved using it for more than three decades, and have never had a need for any other. Bread can be a little tricky, but with the Tassajara Bread Book even beginners will turn out perfect loaves. Using only this book, for years I was official bread baker for 34 of us sharing communal living--that's a lotta loaves.

For simple and nutritious meals, I also recommend Tassajara Cooking, a classic in vegetarian cookbooks. Other greats from the 1970s that have withstood the test of time are the New Age Vegetarian Cookbook and Laurel's Kitchen for basic fare; and Madhur Jaffrey's World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking and the Vegetarian Epicure for the more adventurous. As of this writing they are all available from Amazon.

I love this book!!! All of the recipies sound so delicious and I can not wait to try more. So far I've made Pear Sorbet and Strawberry Yogurt. Both were delicious and very simple to make. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in making their own Ice Cream.

If you enjoy preparing homemade ice cream, BUY THIS BOOK. The coffee ice cream is sublimely decadent, the vanilla custard is basic ice cream at its best. The recipes may use a little more heavy cream and egg yolks than some people may want, but that's the beauty of making ice cream - it's not like baking which is an exact science. You can tweak the recipes by using more milk and less heavy cream, whole eggs instead of egg yolks or any combination thereof, less sugar, etc. and you'll still have a fantastic result more to your liking. This book is essential to any serious cook's library.

I bought this as a gift for my son who makes great ice cream, he requested it!

Of the four ice cream books we've purchased, this one is by far our favorite. Even the simplest recipes (tart frozen yogurt, fresh mint ice cream?) turn out wonderfully.

Very disappointing. I had great hopes in view of all the positive reviews, but in reality there are few original recipes -- just variations on recipes easily found elsewhere. I strongly recommend Chez Panisse Desserts instead. The CPD book is mostly about ice creams, but has many more interesting ideas.

Lebowitz's basic formula (cf. Vanilla Ice Cream) is 28% buttercream fat (2 cups heavy cream + 1 cup milk) + 6 yolks, although most of the time he uses just 5 yolks and practically never adds any alcohol. CPD is 30% fat base (2 C cream + 1 C half/half) + 6 yolks and some alcohol most of the time. Madeleine Kamman in her book In Madeleine's Kitchen recommends 20% fat base (light cream) + 9 yolks (for 3 cups) and has some alcohol in all recipes.

Bottom line is that Lebowitz's ice creams tend to freeze harder and feel less rich and smooth. IMHO, you should always experiment with the basic recipe to find the right percentage butterfat and the right number of yolks for your taste. In any case, a small amount of alcohol improves texture and flavor -- check CPD for great combinations.

The book has great photos -- CPD has none. I should learn to discount by at least one star the average rating for any cookbook with great photos :-),

The Mitford Cookbook is a delightful and beautiful addition to my cookbook collection. The foods described in all the Mitford books always made my mouth water and here they are, every one, ready for me to try out. I had purchased two of the cookbooks for gifts before I decided to get one for myself. What a treat!

I always thought the recipes in the Mitford books sounded so mouthwatering and It's nice to have them now. The cookbook has the stories about each recipe and which book it came from. It's like going right back into Mitford. It's also a beautiful book. I'm glad that I bought it.

You probably read the whole Mitford Series before thinking of buying this book. Well, this book is a treasure. It is beautifully written and beautifully edited and illustrated. The recipes are good too! But somehow not the focal point of the book. The focus is still on the many varied characters Jan Karon created in her Mitford Series. I didn't put this book in my bookcase with all my other cookbooks. No, I keep it on my coffeetable where I can pick it up and read a favorite tale, or espiode in the characters lives that have grown dear to me. This book has a warm place in my heart, and as a Southern woman, these recipes are very familiar to me. Like I'm reading my grandmother's cookbook.

If you love easy, flavorful cooking, this is your book! I've had so much fun reading and cooking. This is a treasure I'll pass down to my daughter and a great gift for others!

Having read all of Jan Karon's Mitford books except her cookbook, I borrowed it from our public library. I was so impressed that I purchased five copies of the book from "Amazon" for myself and family members. Needless to say, they were all delighted. Not only does it have good recipes, but it is interesting reading while you are waiting for your recipe to finish cooking. If you have read Karon's books, I feel sure you will enjoy this book. If you haven't read them, you are in for a great treat. Do yourself a favor and start looking for the "Mitford Series" today.

As a culinary student, my chocolates and confections class instructor relied heavily on this book to teach us recipes and techniques. My team has yet to fail in any of our candy making endeavors. :)

Part food-porn, and all instructional, if you're serious about making the best ganaches, chocolates and confections, look no further. This book is absolutely indespensible.

My wife wanted this for Valentine's Day. It went over swimmingly. She's a bit of a cooking freak. I can't vouch for the contents of this book, but it's managed to give her ambitions to be an artisan chocaltier.

This book is a little pricey, but you get what you pay for. I am getting into the chocolate business and have a recent certificate in chocolate making. Of all of the books I have read on chocolate making, this one has the best lay out and photographs. The how to sections are easily read for the amateur but very comprehensive for those wishing to read further.

Excellent book. Lots of technical detail for those readers who enjoy such information. The recipes are not for the faint-of-heart, and some should be considered "expert" level. All will take plenty of practice to perfect. Nevertheless, this is one of the best books I have on making chocolates.

Chef Peter Greweling is THE source for all things confectionery. He has devoted his study to candy-making and if you cannot find yourself in his classroom, this book is the next best thing. Geared toward the working professional more than the casual at-home cook, but attainable for most skill levels due to thorough and thoughtful explanations of the processes that must be controlled in order to be successful with ingredients like sugar and chocolate. Highly recommended.

This is a great resource. It gives many examples of how to impliment the program. One thing I really like about Words Their Way is the fact that is hands on. This will really help my students who are more concrete thinkers.

Words Their Way is an excellent source for teachers to use for word study. It gives great insight into how kids learn to spell.

It's been shown that spelling provides a window to one's reading. This book explains the developmental stages children go through K- adult. The database software on one of the CDs that allows one to analyze the spelling inventories and sort the results is very easy to use. Classroom teachers appreciate the data I have been able to give them on their students. The word games and short videos on the 2nd CD are very helpful. The analytical phonics approach is very kid-friendly right up through high school. This is a very thorough resource that every ELA, SpEd, and Title I teacher should use.

The book is outstanding. The materials in the book is easy to read and follow. I use the activities and word sorts in my classroom each day. I have used the spelling inventory with my class, also.
I do have a problem with the CD that came with the book. I wish the word sorts involving words would be big like the picture sorts are. My students have trouble with the small size of squares.

My children attended a public school where this program was used. When I brought them home due to their various LDs/allergies, I balked at the $40 price tag of this book and opted for the less expensive Spectrum Spelling books for their grade level. I found those to be rather annoying because often my children already knew the words. And the ones they didn't know, they would spell correctly on the tests, but they didn't necessarily continue to spell the words correctly in their writing. Mid-way through the year I abandoned the Spectrum books and purchased this one.

My favorite thing about this approach is how the kids really think about and interact with the words. It is a disciplined program, I require my kids to do a word sort and an activity in their spelling journals every day -- their choice. However, this typically takes less than 10 minutes a day.

The other thing I do is pretest the kids every week to find out which words they need to study. If they already know a spelling pattern, then I don't give it to them and move on to the next one. Sometimes I pull misspelled words out of their writing, and then find the pattern that applies and give them those words for the week.

I will say, that for most homeschoolers, this book is pretty heavy on the theory, and the "how-to" is mixed up with the theory so it may take more work up front to start the program if you are unfamiliar with the idea of spelling notebooks and word activities. But it is quite fascinating, and will give you a new appreciation for a young child's emerging spelling skills, as well as concrete strategies for helping older students with more complex words.

As for content, the book covers spelling from pre-K through at least middle school, perhaps early high school.

And the CD-Rom is a real time-saver too, with its words for sorts and activities.

All in all, quite effective, very interesting, and a great value - you buy this once and then purchase simple notebooks or composition books for their spelling journals, and you are set for years to come.

I initially bought this cookbook to learn more about Sichuan cuisine, but quickly realized the recipies are extremely practical and easy to follow. They do not require much specialized equipement (unless you consider a wok specialized) and the ingredients can be found at a local Asian market or online. I prepared several bean curd recipes this week. Once I had the ingredients prepped, the actual cook time was only 3 minutes or so (at a very high heat).

In addition to being simple, economical, and fast to prepare, most of the recipes seem fairly healthful (Deep fried foods or pork belly would be obvious exceptions).

If you have never tasted Sichuan pepper, it is definitely worth experiencing. It is not spicy, but it does have a have a fairly big impact on your mouth. That said, even my children (who do not like spicy foods) were able to eat and enjoy the recipies with the Sichuan pepper. Some recipes do have more heat for those who like very spicy food.

I highly recommend this cookbook both for the cultural/historical information and for the recipes.

I am very impressed by the depth of knowledge the author acquired to write this book and how she carefully shares it with her readers. It is not just a book of recipes. The author did her homework understanding the hows and the whys. I love how she explains the many cooking and cutting methods very clearly, AND she includes the Chinese calligraphy (beautifully done) for each, as well as the Chinese pronunciation. This truly helps 'connect the dots' because English translated menus in Chinese restaurants do not always use the same words so it's very helpful to see it in Chinese and know how to pronounce it too. She goes into details explaining the use of Chinese cooking utensils, how to prepare/oil your wok properly, etc... seriously goes beyond the usual cookbook! THANK YOU!

And of course, from her descriptions of the dishes, I could practically smell the spices and want to sink my teeth into the dishes so badly... This was my first Dunlop book and I am a fan now.

I have to say that as much I've cooked from this book, I've appreciate much more my neighborhood Sichuan place.

The author has done a great job. I do think there are some small areas where the technique isn't too obvious.

I would recommend reading the introduction and the basics before proceeding to the recipes - offers a good grounding into Sichuan foods and techniques.

The Good:
- Authentic recipes (lots of them). Most of the dishes taste pretty good. The first dish I made was Gong Bao Ji Ding and it was delicious.
- Very nicely written. Instructions were clear and easy to follow. Lots of great info and details about the ingredients and cooking method. The author also provides an interesting background for each dish. You can tell Dunlop is passionate about Sichuanese food.
- Great organization (separated by Noodles, Appetizers, Meat, Fish, etc.)
- No MSG

The Bad:
- Lacks pictures. The pictures were great but I wish there were more. I had to use google to compare my results.

Conclusion:
Overall a great book and easily recommended. Despite the lack of pictures, I still have to rate it 5 stars because of the delicious recipes.

Wonderful cookbook, my husband & I have become exteremly interested in Sichuan Cooking over the past few months and we were very excited to find a cookbook representing the Sichuan style of cooking. We love cooking with Sichuan Peppercorns and the "Hot & Numbing" style of cooking. The first recipe we tried was the Dry Cooked Beef, the recipe was very well written, easy to understand and the end product was yummy. I would recommend this book to any one who is interested in a wonderful and very interesting style of Asian cooking.

This was a great book, not for the waistline, but certainly for the tastebuds.

I love the recipes in this book...The clam chowder is fantistic with a different flavor of tarragon. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Great book with luscious photos. I can't wait to make these great looking soups! There's something for everyone in this compact well-wriiten book.

Great reading and even better cooking. If you are an afcianado of cold soup's this is your cookbook. Interesting and inventive.

I haven't tried many of the recipes in the book yet, but so far so good! I picked the book based on all the other positive reviews, and from what I have seen so far they are very accurate. Almost all the recipes in the book look very appealing and I suspect the ones that don't appeal to me probably would to someone else (we all have our favorite or less then favorite ingredients!) The ones I have tried are delicious and I have a long list of other ones to try. I just finished making the spinach, feta cheese, and toasted pine nut soup. I was actually making it to have around the house for lunches this week but I tasted a bit when I finished and I'm just going to have to have it for dinner now! Yum! So far I have found everything very easy to make and the ingredients are easy to find with out a hassle at the grocery store. Its also been easy to make small changes to the recipes to make a few of them a little healthier. (I'm trying to do the Mediterranean diet thing, whole grains, lots of veggies, light on the meat, heavy creams, etc.) For example the soup I just made called for cream. I ended up just leaving it out because it was already a great texture and very tasty already. But I think the recipe would have been great with the cream or with half or whatever. Anyhow, if you like soup this one is worth buying!

Amazing book. The recipes and information are so diversifed and delicious. If you want to make a salad interesting there are number of ways to turn salads and vegetable dishes ordinary to extraordinary. I encourage you to buy this book. You will be so happy that you did.

Excellent recipes and background information for adding interesting, tasty and nutritious greens to your diet.

I absolutely LOVE this cookbook! It is rare that you find a cookbook with recipes for kale, mustard greens, collard greens, broccoli rabe, bok choy, spinach, arugula, etc. I used to pass right by these vegetables in the supermarket. Now I feel like an entirely new world has opened up for me! I try at least two new recipes a week!

The book is separated by the type of green vegetable with a picture of each green and information regarding purchase, preparation, and storage. It's an excellent resource for everyone who would like to incorporate more greens into their diet!

I am a holistic health counselor and I recommend it to all of my clients!!

As a health counselor, I am always interested in the best resources for my clients. Whether you're an experienced cook or a novice, this book will help you to incorporate greens - super-nutritious, mineral-rich, healing vegeatbles - into your life, simply and deliciously!

I really love this cookbook, and have given it to a number of my clients (I'm a nutrition counselor). It's got a wide variety of recipes, and I find it very helpful that they're organized by individual variety of green. My very favorite is the Sesame Creamed Dandelion Greens.