New World Sourdough by Bryan Ford

New World Sourdough

by Bryan Ford

Best-selling cookbook New World Sourdough offers an inviting, nontraditional approach to baking delicious, inventive sourdough breads at home.

Learn how to make a sourdough starter, basic breads, as well as other innovative baked goods from start to finish with Bryan Ford, Instagram star (@artisanbryan) and host of The Artisan’s Kitchen on Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network. With less emphasis on perfecting crumb structure or obsessive temperature monitoring, Bryan focuses on the tips and techniques he’s developed in his own practice, inspired by his Honduran roots and New Orleans upbringing, to ensure your success and a good return on your time and effort.

Bryan’s recipes include step-by-step instructions and photographs of all of the mixing, shaping, and baking techniques you’ll need to know, with special attention paid to developing flavor as well as your own instincts. New World Sourdough offers practical, accessible techniques and enticing, creative recipes you’ll want to return to again and again, like:

  • Pan de Coco
  • Ciabatta
  • Pretzel Buns
  • Challah
  • Focaccia
  • Pizza dough
  • Cuban Muffins
  • Pita Bread
  • Flour Tortillas
  • Queen Cake

Straightforward and unintimidating, New World Sourdough will get you started with your starter and then inspire you to keep experimenting and expanding your repertoire.

Reviewed by annieb123 on

5 of 5 stars

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Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

New World Sourdough is a tutorial and recipe collection for all things sourdough by Bryan Ford. Due out 16th June 2020 from Quarto on their Quarry imprint, it's 160 pages and will be available in hardback and ebook formats (ebook available now).

Given that a significant proportion of the world has been locked down for months and baking so much bread that there's a significant yeast shortage, this book has been both timely and satisfying on a soul deep level. I've wanted to learn how to make sourdough starter at home for years, and never managed to carve out the time to do it.

I found this book inspiring and creative, reassuring ,and honestly fun. The author has such an enthusiastic and patient voice that I really think anyone can succeed with the process of creating a starter and making good bread. I imagine he would be a very capable teacher.

The introduction includes a capsule list of tools and ingredients necessary. The first section includes tutorials for making a starter, keeping it alive, mixing, shaping, and proofing dough through the final baking. The second section contains a dizzying array of artisanal recipes for breads and treats both savory and sweet.

Each of the recipes includes an introductory description, ingredients listed in a bullet point sidebar (most of the flours are given by weight, in grams), and step by step instructions. There is no nutritional info provided. The breads are photographed very well and clearly. Serving suggestions are attractive and appropriate.

The recipe ingredients themselves are mostly fairly easily sourced and will be available at well stocked grocery stores like wholefoods.
The book also includes a solid cross referenced index with listed ingredients.

Five stars. I can't imagine anyone needing more from a sourdough tutorial cookbook; this one's definitive.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 13 June, 2020: Finished reading
  • 13 June, 2020: Reviewed