Bread

Even accomplished cooks sometimes shy away from baking their own breads, since the task leaves such considerable room for error. How long to knead? How long to mix? How to add fruit or nuts without turning a loaf to lead? This attractive and informative volume, part of Williams-Sonoma's series of slim cookbooks, answers questions even the most nervous baker might have, providing step-by-step instructions for classics like Popovers and Corn Bread, as well as for more complicated yeast breads such as Swedish Rye and Oatmeal-Molasses Bread. Like all Williams-Sonoma guides, this book emphasizes the practical, providing a section in the end called""Bread Basics,"" which clarifies the difference between quick breads and yeast breads and explains the way breads should rise. The recipes themselves, accompanied by mouth-watering photographs, offer a comprehensive tour through the wide world of bread, with stops in Wales (for a fruity Welsh Bara Brith), Italy (for a deliciously salty Onion Foccacia and a sweet Christmas Panettone), and the Middle East (for firm and chewy Pita Bread).