10-Minute Sourdough: Breadmaking for Real Life

9 reviews for 10-Minute Sourdough: Breadmaking for Real Life

1. 

   H. Leathers – 20 September 2024

   If you think sourdough is difficult buy this book
   All my friends who trued sourdough during lockdown said their first few attempts were poor! I thought it would take me a while to turn out the perfect loaf, but no!After hearing this wonderful author on The Zoe podcast I bought her book and oh my goodness I m so glad I did.I was brought up baking and cooking and I often tweak recipes as I go if I think they might not be working. I bowed to follow these instructions to the letter as I understood sourdough to be difficult to master. I am NOT disappointed.Even when I thought the dough was too dry or too wet I left it as per instructions. I followed it step by step through each of the master recipes. One a week.It took a week to get a gorgeous bubbly starter and every recipe turned out perfect.I shared some of my first attempt with a friend who arrived just as it was ready and he was gobsmacked, saying it was the best he had ever tasted.And who knew you could make such awesome cake from the starter!I’ve bought this book for my mum who hasn’t yet successfully made sourdough. I’ve recommended it to all my friends.And I’ll be ordering the next one to make sweet things too!Thank you.Anyone wondering.. just buy it and try it, follow it to the letter, it worked 100% for me!

2. 

   HL – 20 September 2024

   A great addition to my book shelf
   I have been baking sourdough for several years and love recipes that are not simply bread. The recipes in this book stretch the scope of sourdough further. Particular favourites that I go back to again and again are the Traditional GInger Cake – devine – and the Garlic and Rosemary Bundt Focaccia.I have several other sourdough books by Vanessa Kimbell but this book stands on its own. There is a lot of information, clear explanations, tips and troubleshooting. So many variables can impact your sourdough bakes, such as the temperature of your kitchen, the flour you are using, whether your starter is active enough. I still have occcasional sourdough ‘fails’ and this book can certainly help you understand when things go wrong – or right! – and help you improve your sourdough baking and be more consistent.10 minute sourdough? Yes, once you understand the process, with a little preparation and planning ahead. The author explains clearly how, with lots of visuals too. There is a rhythm to baking sourdough. If you are new to sourdough then take time to read and understand the process.

3. 

   Crimereader – 20 September 2024

   The author’s master recipes are tricky and lacking in detail
   Unlike most of the other reviewers to date, I’m not someone who has been to Vanessa Kimbell’s sourdough school, so I can give a completely independent review. I have a lot of experience of baking sourdough, so I purchased this book in hopes that it would have something new to tell me – but unfortunately I’m somewhat disappointed.I’m not sure who this book is aimed at. It is definitely not a beginner’s book as the author assumes that you have an array of bread-making equipment already – stand mixer, lame, cloche, banneton, thermometer, and an assortment of flours including spelt, einkorn, khorasan are all essential requirements, I can’t see a beginner willing to make such a high initial outlay for equipment etc. It also doesn’t seem to be a book for the experienced baker – as there is just not enough detail and new ideas therein.The USP for this book is to be able to do sourdough in less than 10 minutes. But the author seems to sacrifice all other considerations for this purpose. So one has to mix the dough in stand mixer for 1 minute (1 of the 10 counted minutes) but then leave it to stand for 20 min (minutes that aren’t counted) and come back to mix again for another 1 minute (counted). This back and forth into the kitchen still keeps you house-bound, even if you’re not actually doing much. I would much prefer to mix the dough for a good 6 min and then leave it for a couple of hours – than have this to-and-fro stuff. Also the time for weighing ingredients & dealing with the mountain of washing up created by the author’s instructions – stand mixer bowls, flat open bowls, cloche, etc – isn’t counted in her designated 10 minutes.The real let-down though was her master recipes. I followed the instructions for the ‘basic sourdough boule’ but this was not easy. The main problem is that you are required to keep the dough throughout at 27 degrees. This starts off okay, as can add water to the mix at 27 degrees, but then the author gives no advice about how to maintain 27 degrees ambient temperature throughout the next 3 hours of mixing/proving. I worked out for myself that I could stand mix bowl in water at 27 for the first part of the time, but then for the last 40 minutes the dough is required to be in a banneton – which wouldn’t work this way. I suspect that the author makes bread herself using a proving oven/box at 27 degrees, but perhaps doesn’t mention this in the book as the cost of a proving oven is beyond the budget of the average bread maker. I did my best to follow the temperature instructions – but after the overnight rest period in the fridge the author does not give any instruction about bringing the dough back to room temperature before baking. I was puzzled by this – unsure if it was the author’s oversight or if she really wanted me to put dough straight from fridge to oven. More clarity in the instructions would have been appreciated. Telling the reader to ‘score the dough using a lame’ only works if the reader already knows how to use a lame, scoring patterns etc. as these aren’t mentioned at all.In order to give the basic sourdough boule recipe a good test, I aimed to follow the author’s instructions as closely as possible. But I became aware that the recipe proportions resulted in a dough that was far too wet and would be unlikely to hold its shape. It came out the oven as I anticipated (see photo) – it hadn’t risen anywhere near enough – only 2 inches high – no good for sandwiches, etc although taste was fine. I will be going back to my usual method of baking sourdough – it may take 15 min of active work rather than 10, but it is much easier, makes far less washing up, and leads to a better and far more reliable product.

4. 

   chrissie – 20 September 2024

   This really is sourdough for real life
   Great to see Vanessa has produced an excellent book that will help people gain confidence when baking sourdough and showing how it can take a total of just 10 minutes of effort (spread over a longer period for fermentation) in a way that fits around a busy schedule.Starting with the basic process of creating and maintaining a sourdough starter and key master techniques for a tin loaf, sourdough cake, basic sourdough pizza and a sourdough boule this is followed by lots of really interesting recipes. I started with Oat Pocket Breads and will work my way through the rest. As we come to expect from Vanessa the recipes are really interesting and have information on health and wellness factors and the photography is wonderful. More importantly the recipes are based on the most up-to-date studies about health, wellness and the gut microbiome. What more could you want!

5. 

   S. K. – 20 September 2024

   I became a mum a fewMonths ago and with a baby there is no time to spend a lot of time with the dough.I really wanted to get back into bread baking and Vanessa’s book came just at the right time.Two things (out of so many) I particularly love are:The recipe structure is always the same, no matter whether it’s a cake or bread recipe and it doesn’t require any work during the day, only in the mornings and evenings.It goes with the seasons. Starting in autumn with the new harvest of grains, you find so many wonderful recipes with produce of all seasons, perfect to share with family and friends.I’m an experienced sourdough bread baker and still get a lot out of this book. Even for beginners it is perfect as the book explains everything you need to know in sufficient, yet not to much detail.

6. 

   梶山大輔 – 20 September 2024

   I think this book is full with ideas and it is beautiful, I love how it devided in to seasons. I was looking for guidelines on how to make sourdough bread with out handling it so much and this book is perfect for that., I can understand how I might use the methods and switch up the flavours. I also so happy about the sourdough cake. We can make a cake with no need to add baking soda or powder. First time for me to see this kind of cake recipes. definitely one a great and creative soudough book that will increase my ability to bake sourdough bread and cakes. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge

7. 

   Leisa Sparkman – 20 September 2024

   What’s not to like. For anyone who wants to combine gut health and sourdough baking this is the best! I am working my way through every recipe all have been fabulous! For the couple of minority negative reviews out there you obviously haven’t read the instructions properly. You couldn’t get a better book for shortcutting sourdough baking.

8. 

   Gilles Caron – 20 September 2024

   Many new recipes to try, new methods, etc…

9. 

   Francine Pace Caruana – 20 September 2024

   A must book for sourdough enthusiasts!! Highly recommended!