• michele_rkidsu on December 19, 2025

  Perfection

• SULibraries on October 18, 2025

  641.815 L576p 2022 (LOU)

• IvyManning on March 02, 2025

  I'm going back to the Tartine recipe I've been baking for 15 years. Everything I've tried from this book has pages of detail, takes a ton of extra steps, and the breads so far have been just...meh. Or haven't worked at all. There's so much waste as well. You DO NOT need to feed you starter every day and discard so much. For all the granular detail there are places where it's too vague (see amount of water in "My Best Sourdough Loaf"). After 5 recipes tried and no great hits, I'm giving this book to a Free Little Library.

• aistern on September 12, 2024

  Love the way the recipes are presented. The timings are very clearly laid out so its Easter to plan full-day on multi-day bakes. My only pet peeve is that the ingredients aren't shown order used in all cases.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Simple sourdough

  • stef on July 10, 2025

    Yes it takes much longer to make than most sourdough recipes. On my second attempt I am very pleased with the results. A chewy, lofty loaf.

  • Lynnette on December 29, 2025

    I made this about a year ago in my old house & oven and it turned out well, but I burnt the bottom of the two loaves. Doh! Now I’m in a new condo with a new-to-me oven and my second attempt turned out better.

  • KevinSeattle on March 04, 2026

    This is all timing and technique, but it works every time I’ve made it. The only criticism I have is probably on me and my scheduling: you have to know 3 days ahead to start it. So... it sort of helps to have a regular baking day (like Sunday) so you always know to star the levain on Friday (night).

• Fifty-fifty [sourdough]

  • jenburkholder on January 13, 2023

    Turned out wonderfully. I underproofed it slightly, but flavor was great and instructions were almost foolproof. Great start into this book.

  • christineakiyoshi on November 11, 2024

    Very nice loaf, 50/50 is a great blend. Recipe was easy to follow and love the layout. I have sliced up the extras and put them in the freezer and the taste and texture is perfect when toasted. 5 stars

  • Margret on January 19, 2025

    To repeat.

  • LauraMB on June 13, 2025

    I've made this bread twice. It turned out great. I erred on the side of almost over-proofing, which produced a more open crumb.

• Cranberry and walnut [sourdough]

  • LauraMB on November 05, 2023

    I’ve made this bread three times. It is delicious. I have been baking bread for more than thirty years and have made many recipes. This recipe is one of my favorites.

  • Margret on January 19, 2025

    I liked it.

  • anita_o9f8v4 on June 03, 2026

    Delicious! Makes a relatively small loaf. Full recipe makes 2 loaves.

• Sunflower and sesame [sourdough]

  • mdcbakers on November 12, 2022

    A hit! Never used sunflower seeds in sourdough before. Plays really well with the sesame. Taste testers definitely approved of this one. The directions were clear. My loaves did end up taking about 8-10min less than the described time. (Probably my oven or slightly smaller loaves)

  • LauraMB on November 19, 2023

    Very good. I used bread flour with 12.7% protein. The loaves turned out perfectly.

  • jenburkholder on April 01, 2024

    Nicely nutty. Didn’t rise quite as well as some in this book - likely due to numerous heavy inclusions.

• Rosemary and olive oil [sourdough]

  • LauraMB on March 18, 2026

    Very tasty loaf. I cold-proofed the dough overnight for added flavor and to fit my schedule. I will make this again, either with or without the rosemary.

• Mediterranean olive & rosemary [sourdough]

  • jenburkholder on January 18, 2023

    Really fabulous. Subbed Castelvetrano olives for Kalamatas and proofed for an extra couple hours (my kitchen runs cold), but otherwise made as written. My hopes weren’t high - bread was very flat when it went into the oven - but sprang up beautifully. Only tweak is that I would add a bit more rosemary.

  • LauraMB on May 25, 2024

    This is a delicious bread. Based on Jenburkholder's comment about the amount of rosemary, which I love, I increased the amount to 13 grams (from the 9 grams stated in the recipe). I'm glad I did. I will definitely make this bread again.

• Lemon and herb [sourdough]

  • michelle_v1irp9 on May 24, 2026

    Makes a herbal bread with a slight hint of lemon. Delicious. Goes wonderfully with scrambled eggs.

• Wintertime sourdough

  • dbuhler on April 16, 2026

    This is quite delicious, and the instructions were very easy to follow. My dough temp was a bit higher, and I had to fridge rest longer, so my loaves were a tad over proofed, but I am still happy with the results. I will definitely make this again!

  • michelle_v1irp9 on May 24, 2026

    Such a lovely bread, cranberries and pecans are always wonderful together but the sage pulls it in a more savory direction. It’s fantastic toasted with some cream cheese.

• Seeded spelt [sourdough]

  • LauraMB on October 06, 2025

    This is a very tasty, hearty bread. I let it bulk ferment to 90%, which made for a lighter loaf. I will bake this again. I also altered the levain proportions (less starter and adjusted the flour amounts due to this change) to allow for an overnight ferment rather than making the levain the same day as the dough. This works better for my schedule.

• Rustico [sourdough]

  • jenburkholder on May 13, 2023

    The flavor of the bread was lovely, but I really struggled with the texture. Due to the spelt, it was crazy sticky, and refused to come out of the banneton. One loaf completely collapsed and I ended up baking it in a loaf pan (turned out much better than the other!). Also didn’t feel like it held up as well as some of the others in this book. May try again or may not.

  • michelle_v1irp9 on May 24, 2026

    I made one of the best loaves of my life with this recipe. It has a nice open crumb and a chewy crust.

• Polenta [sourdough]

  • Lepa on January 18, 2023

    This is good but not my favorite. I didn't love the gritty bits of polenta in the bread. The texture of the crust was also impacted. This didn't have the wonderful flavor and texture I was expecting from a sourdough loaf.

  • jenburkholder on October 13, 2023

    I loved this one. The toasty, corny flavor made it into the perfect mix of cornbread and sourdough. Only quibble was that I should have let it rise longer, as the texture was a bit dense with the corn. Omitted rosemary.

  • Wokmom on December 06, 2023

    Really really good as written, I used Bob's Red Mill polenta and homegrown rosemary. Toast made from this bread is absolutely superb.

  • LauraMB on August 21, 2024

    My husband and I both enjoyed the flavor of this bread. I liked the texture of the polenta in the crust. My husband did not. My dough temperature was 79 - 82 degrees, and my house was 77 degrees. But this dough took 6.5 hours in bulk fermentation, not the 3.5 hours stated in the recipe for a dough temp of 74 to 76 degrees. My crumb looked like the crumb pictured in the book. I like this bread, however, there are others I prefer in this book.

  • sharon_p42nrc on February 13, 2026

    I thought this was ok but not my favorite, I would prefer anadama bread.

  • anyah_h60oih on March 01, 2026

    Used only AP flour. Taste is amazing, but very under-proofed, needed way more time than what was in the recipe. My own fault, will make again!

  • breadenthusiast on May 01, 2026

    I enjoyed this a lot, the polenta and rosemary combo works well. I underproofed it, will try this recipe again.

• Sun-dried tomato and olive [sourdough]

  • breadenthusiast on May 02, 2026

    Loved this! Flavour is great, and adding a bit of oil makes the texture nice and soft. Will make again.

• Miche

  • twoyolks on December 22, 2024

    This was denser with a tighter crumb than I had hoped for.

• Potato rosemary [sourdough] (Pane di patate)

  • LauraMB on November 10, 2024

    Excellent loaf.

• 100% whole wheat [sourdough]

  • anyah_h60oih on March 09, 2026

    Need some work on proofing, flavor is very good

• Five-grain sourdough

  • jenburkholder on July 09, 2023

    Subbed some bulgur for spelt berries and didn’t bother cracking the buckwheat, but otherwise made according to specs. Nice, balanced flavor, with a tight crumb. Slightly dry when working it and minimal oven spring, could have used more water. Will definitely play around with this one.

• Oat porridge [sourdough]

  • jenburkholder on February 08, 2023

    Final flavor of this loaf was great - really sweet and hearty, good for sandwiches. However, it was TIGHT when assembling, and stayed that way. Despite what he says in the instructions, definitely needed more water. Crumb was ok, but needed more moisture. Will tweak.

  • LauraMB on July 18, 2025

    This bread is delicious. Having read comments on The Perfect Loaf website, I made sure to have adequate hydration. I did not wait to add the oats. I mixed them with the initial dough. Came out perfect. Didn't see the point of waiting. Plus, I have other oat breads that add them during the initial mix. I will be making this bread again. I also find it fits my schedule better to mix the levain the night before. So I tweaked the percentage of starter in the levain and the quantity of flour to achieve the same total levain amount.

• Country Italian [sourdough] (Pane Pugliese)

  • twoyolks on January 20, 2025

    The bread has a really great flavor. At least in my kitchen, I think that the bread could use more kneading, a longer proofing time, and a longer baking time.

• Cracked spelt [sourdough]

  • LauraMB on March 10, 2024

    This is a tasty hearty bread. The cracked grains did not really give me the nubby texture that I expected. But it may have been that my grain mill didn't mill large enough pieces.

• Demi baguettes

  • christineakiyoshi on March 02, 2025

    These came out dense for me but that may be user error.

• My best sourdough (High-hydration white)

  • LauraMB on August 28, 2023

    The taste of this bread is excellent. I made it twice. The first time I used all of the water in the autolyse. It was too much water for my flour. I, subsequently, added none of the second addition of water and made some tweaks. The bread was a little flat but very good. The second time I made it, I did not add all of the water in the autolyse. The bread turned out perfectly and was delicious.

  • IvyManning on March 02, 2025

    Flat as a pancake and a total pain in the arse to boot. I spent ALL DAY on this damn recipe and the water was far too over hydrated to hold any shape. I have been making Tartine sourdough for 15 years and I have a 100% success rate. With this book I'm 0 for 2. For how exacting this guy is...the recipes are very inexact. He's wishy washy about the amount of water to add and gives you very vague pointers on how you should know what to do. I'm getting rid of the this book. It's too much work for too little pay back and I'm beginning to doubt my abilities as a sourdough baker, which is ridiculous because I've taught classes on the topic.

• Everyday sandwich bread

  • sassy_momma on November 27, 2023

    This bread is so good. i left in the fridge over night for the second proof and it worked out great.

• Soft white sandwich bread (Pain de mie)

  • dbuhler on June 11, 2024

    My kitchen was pretty warm, so I may have had too much activity during bulk fermentation. The dough is very difficult to pre-shape and shape. The flavor of these was delicious and I will definitely make them again!

• Honey whole wheat sandwich bread

  • maryhodgeisme on November 07, 2024

    Very nice, hearty whole wheat loaf. I used King Arthur organic whole wheat flour. I don’t have the lava rocks described in recipe for adding steam to the oven - instead I preheated the oven with a cast iron skillet on bottom rack, then when putting loaves in, I added ice cubes to the cast iron. Removed the cast iron after 15 minutes and followed instructions to finish loaves at lower temp. I also proofed overnight in fridge instead of room temp for 90 min, this gave the loaf maybe a bit more sourness than intended, but the honey whole wheat flavor is dominant.

  • Thorium0232 on May 17, 2026

    I made this today as a double batch. The loaf ended up under proofed I probably made a mistake with proofing temperatures. I'll need to try it again to see if I can do a better job with the loaf.

• Sourdough pizza dough

  • shelbstirr on December 31, 2025

    Easy to follow directions, successfully ended up with a pizza! I’m confident it will get even better with practice.

• Roman-style pan pizza (Pizza in teglia)

  • KevinSeattle on March 04, 2026

    This reminds me so much of my favorite pizza place from college. Just waves of nostalgia. Easy to do in a single day, too, if your starter is active.

  • linda_kkp2rf on April 02, 2026

    I make a double recipe of this every week for a large group and they LOVE it (a full sheet pan)! So delicious!!

• Focaccia

  • dbuhler on March 08, 2024

    Divine! I've made the focaccia recipe that's on his website for a couple of years, but I really liked the ratio in this recipe. It seems like the ratio for this recipe was formulated for two 10-in round pans, and I baked in a 9x13 pan and it was probably a bit too much dough because it rose very high and it was difficult to eat the slices that came from the center. I topped mine with rosemary, salt, grape tomatoes, and black olives.

  • aistern on September 12, 2024

    Pretty easy and tasty!

  • Emily Hope on January 08, 2025

    This was OK -- texture was a little chewy and crust a bit tough (I suspect the bread flour and might leave it out if I make again), I prefer my focaccia a bit airier. Also did not have as much flavor as the usual recipes I make, which, although yeasted, call for an overnight rise. None of this stopped my family from inhaling it. Might try again with the overnight proof variation, no bread flour, and might add a bit of white wine (like the Carol Field recipe we like).

  • jenburkholder on July 14, 2025

    Delicious. I used all King Arthur AP flour and ended up not baking day-of - it sat in the fridge for 24 hours, which probably improved the flavor. Rose very well even though I don’t always have luck with my starter. Texture was beautiful.

  • shelbstirr on September 12, 2025

    This recipe works well! I like that it can be made in one day. I’ve made this twice, a half recipe in a cast iron pan and full recipe in a glass 9x13. Can get away with just oil in the cast iron but I should really use parchment paper in the glass baking dish. I prefer the half recipe portion for just me (I think my skillet is 12in, thinner, better for snacking) but in a 9x13 it’s thick enough that it would be good to use for sandwiches.

  • Lynnette on December 29, 2025

    Made this for Christmas Day 2025 @ my Northern Italian in-laws’ home. Everyone loved it. I thought it was a little dense. Next time I’ll do the slow cold proof.

  • sharon_p42nrc on February 13, 2026

    LOVE. Made great Italian sandwiches - made the partial whole wheat in 2 round 10” pans.

  • linda_kkp2rf on April 02, 2026

    This is my favorite sourdough focaccia recipe! Using overnight cold proofing, it becomes as soft a dough as whipped cream and bakes beautifully. Gorgeous top. I often top it with small cherry tomatoes, black Kalamata olives and fresh rosemary. Last time, I made a second one with pesto dollops, olives and tomatoes. Delicious.

• Naan

  • dbuhler on March 17, 2024

    I've never made naan before, so I have no idea how authentic they are, but I do like them. My first few breads had much too much char on them and also stuck to the pan so I let the pan cool down and then reduced the heat significantly. I also added just a touch of oil before each bread to ensure it wouldn't stick. I added garlic to the butter and would definitely do that again. I plan to eat these throughout the week for lunch, so I used the freezer storage instructions for the tortillas in this same book and hope that that will work for these.

• Soft dinner rolls

  • Summerlandsky on April 01, 2024

    These are exceptional and if you have the time they’re worth the effort. You do have to plan ahead with the levain and the tangzhong. Multiple steps means you also have to pay attention. First knead comes together in a mixer. I did have to add a bit more flour as it was too wet even with letting it mix longer. Bulk fermentation also required three stretch and folds. I let them proof overnight to bake for Easter dinner the following evening. I was worried they would overflow the pan because with the extra flour it was pretty tight with 16 in a 9x9 pan. But they never did. Instead they bake up tall and soft. The flaky Maldon salt with the egg wash was the perfect finisher. My family devoured them.

  • dbuhler on April 16, 2024

    These were incredible! I followed the directions to the letter and was rewarded with very soft and very flavorful rolls. Like the other reviewer mentioned, I also had to add a little bit of additional flour but I think that's because I didn't cook my tangzhong long enough. The author has a video were he makes these and mentions a final temp for the tangzhong, so I will write that in my book to see if that is where I went wrong. I made mine all in one day because I planned to freeze them and use a slider buns a few days later. If I do want to eat them fresh for a meal, I'll be sure to do the fridge proof because they took me all day to prepare. I can't wait to make these again!

• Mini herb rolls

  • eliza on May 18, 2026

    These rolls came together quite easily and were fluffy and light. I did the mix in the bread machine which worked well. The author gives many variations in the headnote and so I used one of them…I milled spelt (Arva)for the durum flour. After mixing in the butter and rosemary, I then transferred to a bowl for bulk fermentation. Then refrigerated overnight. The next day, formed into rolls, held in the fridge, then proved and baked 400, 10 min with steam then 7 min no steam. The final rolls were very good, lovely crumb and tasty. I think I under salted, used salted rosemary from last years garden (rinsed) and I would increase rosemary and salt next time. Will also try a different whole grain such as Kamut.

• Potato buns

  • dbuhler on April 08, 2024

    The only change I made on this recipe was that I split the dough into 12 buns instead of the recommended 10 (I watched a video of the author making these buns and they looked huge). Even though I didn't plan to top my buns with anything I still added the egg wash and I now wished I hadn't. The buns got a bit dark in my oven and the egg wash burned. In my haste to make the buns I forgot that I don't really like egg washes on rolls because I don't like the flavor it gives, so next time I will just spritz with water before putting them in the oven. These tasted pretty good. Next time I will try the sweet potato variation.

  • Thorium0232 on May 24, 2026

    I made it in the usa pan hamburger bun tray and cooked it on a baking steel which resulted in the bottoms being browner than I was wanting. Next time I'll probably try it without the baking steel.

• English muffins

  • eliza on March 15, 2023

    This was my first bake from this book; I built my levain overnight, mixed and folded dough the next day, then shaped the muffins followed by a long prove overnight. I did the mix in my bread machine, which worked well. I had to sub rye flour for the spelt; my dough was just a tiny bit too slack (maybe due to the change in flour), however I was able to shape them quite easily. I’m glad I used release spray on the pan for the overnight prove. The combo of cast iron pan followed by oven baking worked well and resulted in delicious English muffins. Will def repeat.

• Bagels

  • michelle_v1irp9 on May 24, 2026

    My go-to bagel recipe. Flavorful and chewy in a good way.

• Sourdough starter crackers

  • eliza on November 04, 2023

    These crackers are on p. 384 (not 380 as listed above). I used discard at 100% hydration and I subbed sifted red fife (Flourist) for the spelt. These are very good crackers, very easy to make, and adaptable to what you have on hand. I topped with tomato powder from Burlap and Barrel which put them over the top. Update: stored in an airtight container these stayed crisp for several days.

• Skillet corn bread

  • eliza on March 24, 2023

    I had lots of discard from another recipe, so used part of it in this. The resulting cornbread was very good, done in 35 minutes. I appreciate the detail in the instructions, even down to the internal temp when cooked. Enjoyed with a casual meal of chicken and carrot salad.

• Italian doughnuts (Bomboloni)

  • dbuhler on July 07, 2025

    These are fantastic and quite fun to make! This was my first brioche type sourdough bread and the instructions were very thorough and easy to follow. The only issue I had was the instructions to use the paddle to mix the dough. This dough was too stiff to use the paddle, so I switched to the dough hook and mixed for a few extra minutes, and that worked perfectly! I made these during an especially warm week, so I did the warm proofs on my counter and the shaped rolls I did in my oven with no light on. I will definitely be making these again!

• Weekend cinnamon rolls

  • Lepa on January 18, 2023

    These were easy to make and just dreamy. The dough had the perfect texture. I used the cream cheese frosting. Highly recommend!

  • dbuhler on January 24, 2026

    These are delicious! I made a 6 hour levain to work better with my schedule, and I did a 5 hour bulk because my dough temp was a bit low. After the fridge rest everything else worked out great. I made the cream cheese frosting and I would definitely do that again! These will definitely be repeated.

• Sunday morning pancakes

  • Lepa on January 18, 2023

    I made the overnight version, using discard. The pancakes had a wonderful taste and texture. I was worried one batch wouldn't be enough for our family of four (with two very hungry boys) so I made 1.5 batches and that was too much. A single batch is actually a good amount of food.

  • eliza on October 01, 2025

    I also really enjoyed these pancakes. Made a half recipe, overnight method, using freshly milled red fife (A and B grains) and all purpose for the flours. Used just-fed starter and included optional yogurt. I also subbed olive oil for butter because I can’t be bothered melting butter. I really love the overnight method for both his pancakes and waffles. For my half recipe, using 1/4 cup batter per pancake, I got 13 pancakes, so I think the yield is off on the original recipe. Will def make these again.

  • sharon_p42nrc on February 13, 2026

    I froze extra pancakes in a zip-lock bag and put them in a toaster oven to reheat as needed- awesome!

• Buttermilk waffles

  • dbuhler on February 08, 2024

    This is a good sourdough waffle. I follow the overnight waffles instructions and mix the batter in the morning and then I cook them up for dinner. The only thing that is keeping me from declaring these the best sourdough waffles is the texture inside the waffle. Once cooked, the exterior is deliciously crispy and remains that way for a long time, however the inside, no matter how long I cook it, still seems wet although completely cooked. It's hard to describe and I'm not sure what is causing this but it seems a little odd to me and it has happened every single time I've made these waffles (multiple times over the past 9 months).

  • eliza on February 27, 2025

    We found these waffles enjoyable. I also used the overnight method with ripe starter and subbed half the flour with red spring wheat flour from Flourist. It’s good to have your buttermilk at room temperature before mixing the dough. Took 3 min in my waffle maker (the Dash mini). I made a half batch to try them, and I’m going to freeze the leftovers as described in the book. My yield for 1/2 recipe was 12 mini waffles. Edit: these froze perfectly. Not having a toaster, I heated them up in a dry cast iron pan. I will definitely do these again.

  • eliza on March 06, 2025

    Made these again, subbing oil for the butter and they were just as good (overnight method). This time I milled red spring wheat (from A&B Grains) for half the flour. Really good waffles.

• Savory waffles

  • AtuG on May 25, 2026

    Hice la versión “in the morning of” y es genial! Es una delicia esto de waffles ?? de masa madre!!

• Sourdough scones

  • LauraMB on May 26, 2025

    I've made this recipe twice. The first time I used the amount of butter called for in the recipe. Despite putting the shaped scones in the fridge before baking, a lot of butter ran out of the scones. The second time, I reduced the butter to one stick. I put the scones in the freezer for 30 minutes before baking and raised the oven temperature to 425 degrees. They came out perfectly. Both times the scones were delicious. I added lemon zest to the second batch.

  • Lepa on October 05, 2025

    The sugar and cherries charred in the oven, which was a bit unpleasant. I would make these again but they weren't my favorite scones.

• Crêpes

  • eliza on April 05, 2025

    I made these using the overnight method. Very easy and tasty crepes; I used discard. I milled just a few grams of red spring wheat (A & B grains) and made up the rest with all purpose, and I cut the fat to about 25 g of neutral veg oil. I make crepes often, and 75 g of butter in the mix just seemed like overkill to me. Also oil is so much easier to incorporate into the batter. I also reduced sugar a touch and used eggs from my sister’s chicks. The resulting crepes were very easy to make and held up well to fillings. The taste was good. Will make again as these are very easy and a good way to use discard. I got a yield of 9 crepes. We had these with plum compote for breakfast.

• Banana bread 2.0

  • jenburkholder on January 13, 2023

    Omitted nuts and used a mix of spelt and AP flour. Very good, but not my favorite banana bread. Good way to use up starter discard - keeps it moist.

  • LauraMB on August 28, 2023

    This is a good, moist banana bread, but it is not my favorite. I prefer more banana.

• Peach and blueberry sourdough crostata

  • janet_x28jp9 on March 24, 2026

    I’ve done peach and blueberry before. Today I did apple and it was very good. In both instances the crust (with sourdough discard) turned out very nicely.

• Tuscan flatbread (Schiacciata)

  • eliza on May 20, 2023

    Made levain overnight. My dough was quite slack… (recipe gave hydration at 67%, but mine seemed wetter); I had to add some extra flour. Baked 425 fan and added steam for first 20 minutes. Needed an extra 5 min added to the oven time to brown the crust. Taste was good, but I wasn’t that happy with the texture; probably user error and will try again at some point.