New World Sourdough by Bryan Ford is full of inspiration. There are detailed instructions and photographs to assist the would be baker succeed. The first portion of the book describes the different tools and ingredients you will need. At the end of the book the author tells you where to obtain these items. The next portion of the book teaches how to actually make your own sourdough starter. Making the starter seems like a long process, Not the amount of time each day but the amount of days to actually get your starter ready to use for baking. Mr. Ford 's family is from Honduras and this influences his baking. Many of his recipes have an ingredient that derives from Mr. Ford's heritage. The book is further separated into two groups Rustic Breads and Enriched Sourdough breads. There are approximately 15 -18 recipes per group. The photographs are beautiful and makes the breads connect with your tastebuds. Bryan Ford has a widely popular blog and Instagram page, I believe this book is coming at the right time since many people are home now and wanting to try new things and not run out to the grocery store. The book is a keeper and well done!
I would like to thank the publisher, the author and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an absolute wonderful book full of sourdough recipes! I cant wait to try them out! Theres a good variety of things to try that arent just the typical sourdough bread.

Most home cooks who dabble in bread making likely default to flour, water, yeast, salt. I was one of them. When I thought of sourdough, the first thing that came to mind was San Francisco style bread and beyond the idea of fermentation I knew very little. New World Sourdough has changed my perspective. This book clearly demonstrates that the possibilities for a sourdough starter are endless. Everything from simple rustic breads to tortillas, and even desert breads can be created from this simple concoction.
Part 1 of this book is on techniques and I confess I felt a bit intimidated when I first read through It. It was only after I built my starter, using Bryan Ford’s instructions, that I realized how easy it really is. I now feel part chef, part scientist. However, I suspect many readers who are sourdough newbies will feel the same hesitation at first. While a few extra pictures and further breakdown of steps may have been beneficial here, I encourage readers to go for it!
Part 2 contains a wide range of recipes. Instructions are well broken down for novices like me. Photographs are bold and beautiful. Recipe selection contains several classics and extend to unique varieties that exhibit the author’s creativity. Bryan Ford’s passion, style and culture are clearly demonstrated in this book, well balanced by sourdough basics. I recommend this book to anyone interested in bread making.

Every five years or so, usually after the winter holidays, I grow a sourdough starter from the instructions in the Panera bread book. It’s not hard; it just takes an odd list of ingredients, including unwashed organic red grapes and whole milk yogurt, and about ten minutes effort over two days. The challenge lies in maintaining the greedy little creature and baking enough to make its maintenance worthwhile. I am not usually up to the challenge. Therefore, some time before the next winter holidays, I discover that there is a mildewed sourdough starter taking up valuable real estate in my refrigerator. So I clear out the container and go on with my life. A few years will pass before I decide that having a sourdough starter is a good idea, and the cycle begins all over again.

I brought this checkered past to my reading of New World Sourdough. What I wanted to learn from this cookbook more than anything was how to keep up with the care and feeding of a sourdough starter without it getting too overwhelming or out of control. And, in the very first chapter, I learned the two “secrets” to managing that issue: bake often and discard some of mature starter before feeding. So I walked away from the book happy.

The book itself was written in three parts: the first part was all about the basics; the second part had recipes for unenriched breads; the third part had recipes for enriched breads. The basic first part discussed growing and maintaining a sourdough starter, building and maintaining a levain, shaping, proofing, baking, and other information essential to bread baking. Each of the recipes assumed a mature sourdough starter was available, but referenced back to this first part for other necessary basic instructions. Due to my experience with the Panera sourdough experiments, I was surprised by how simple the growing the initial sourdough starter was. All it took was rye flour and water exposed to a day’s worth of wild yeasts, and four days of measuring, discarding, and feeding. As advertised in the publisher’s blurb, there were really no hard and fast rules for knowing when the starter was mature enough to use in baking; however, there were plentiful descriptions of what the various stages (including maturity) should look, feel, and smell like.

Both parts of recipes were structured the same. Each recipe began with a header note that gave a folksy anecdote about the origin of the recipe (or something to that effect). The header was followed by specific instructions about building the levain for that specific recipe, then mixing instructions, shaping instructions (if necessary), baking instructions, and any additional required instructions. In general, the recipe steps were very clear and concise. I also appreciated that each recipe was accompanied by at least one full color photograph of the final product.

Despite the similarities in the recipe execution, the variety of recipes in this book was quite impressive: from a basic pan rústico to pineapple cream filled beignets, and everything in between. In fact, I was so inspired by the variety that, after I finished reading the book, I placed orders for rye flour and for all purpose flour on Amazon. Hopefully, my orders will arrive soon so that I can grow a mature starter in time to use the Memorial Day weekend to experiment with it.

I received this book as a digital advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I have yet to prepare any recipes from this book, but if I do, I will either update my blog or update this review with the results.

Sourdough. It is the hottest word other than Coronavirus right now. Bryan Ford does a wonderful job of explaining the craft of sourdough, how to start one, and how to use it to make a variety of tasty breads. The pictures are fantastic. The recipe directions are clear, even for someone relatively new to the world of bread making. My birote came out perfectly. I can see this becoming an instant best seller. Some of the ingredients are a little hard to source right now, so hopefully that changes as the world starts to open back up.

This book was really surprising to me. I had never heard of the author before so I didn’t know who he was. It turns out he is from Honduras and included several recipes from there. I lived in Honduras for several years for my work and was thrilled to have sourdough versions of the breads that I loved from there. Plus the tortillas made with coconut milk was a favorite of mine. I’m so happy to find so many distinct recipes not just from Latin America but also Europe, the Caribbean, and the United States. I bake a lot of bread, about half being with sourdough, and sometimes you want to change it up and try something different. Well this book has so many different recipes that I’m going to be trying! I’ve already started following on Instagram and the author’s blog. The flavors in the recipes are very different and creative. I’m just so excited about it!
The book itself is based on the premise that good things come to those who wait. So having time to make these recipes are essential because they all take planning, long rises, and more than one day. Which is fine if you have a weekend for it or are stuck quarantined at home. My schedule is pretty flexible so I don’t have an issue with the timing but you do have to read thru the recipe first to see how much time is going to be required since there isn’t a side note to let you know how long it takes.
Also I think this book could be a little intimidating to someone who has never baked bread or baked with sourdough before. On the individual recipes there are not detailed instructions given for each step. Rather it references the beginning chapters/sections of the book for you to look up the technique on how to proceed with that step. So at first glance the recipes look short and simple but they are not. Not to say that the recipes are hard, it’s just about practicing technique.
Some of the techniques are different than what I’m used to. For example for non enriched breads it recommends a squeezing technique of the dough instead of kneading, as well as using your hands to even do the initial mixing of the ingredients. I don’t like to be a messy baker so I‘m all about using a wooden spoon to initially mix the ingredients or using my favorite a Danish dough whisk. A lot of these doughs are like glue on your hands. I prefer to use my stand mixer after combining the ingredients and only finish kneading the dough by hand. But no instructions for using a mixer are given.
Also in the table of contents the page numbers are not given for each recipe so you have to flip thru the pages to find it or if you know the specific name of the recipe you can look it up in the index among all the other topics listed there.
For recipes, I give the book 5 stars. Breath of fresh air looking at these unique recipes!
For ease of following the recipes and the book layout 4 stars.
Total: 4.5 stars

I like the design of this book, and also the photographs are excellent. I love the recipe and instructions on how to make a starter. I have to try it.

Recipes for all those different kinds of bread look great. I have to try them out. I was especially drawn to the Coffee bread and can't wait to try to make one myself.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this! All opinions are my own.

I'm very interested in learning the techniques to make my own sourdough at home and this book is very good and it explains everything step-by-step with photos and tips. It also has lots of different recipes you can make using the sourdough that you've learned. Great book! The author even recreated a different version of "pao de queijo" (brazilian cheese bread) and as a Brazilian I'm actually excited to try his recipe.

Grounded in Bryan Ford’s Honduran roots, as well as his life in the Bronx and New Orleans, “New World Sourdough” is the book about bread that we didn’t know that we needed. This bread-making book focuses on communicating natural leavening techniques simply without compromising the amount of information that is shared. As a person who recently embarked on trying to make sourdough using tips from the Internet, I can unequivocally say that the informative but brief instructions laid out in the section of the book that Ford dedicates to technique was more helpful than any of the other resources that I found.

Recipes found in the pages of the book vary, from basic to exotic, all using reasonable ingredients and equipment that most of us have around our homes (no banneton baskets or lames here). In each recipe, Ford tells us not just what to do, but why we’re doing it (ex: folding the bread during the proofing process to build strength). The photography throughout this cookbook and sourdough manual is beautiful and simple, rather than “styled.” The only complaint that some readers may have is that Ford really insists that you use a scale to measure ingredients.

Bryan Ford’s “New World Sourdough” is, simply put, the cookbook about sourdough that the world needs right now. As naturally-leavened bread becomes trendy, it’s refreshing to encounter Ford’s simple yet delightful cookbook, which will be a welcome addition to your bookshelf for years to come.

A very beautiful book for bread lovers. Recipes are well explained and can be achieved easily. I was happy to have access to this book during the pandemic when I started making my own bread.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

This is one of the most accessible sourdough cookbooks that I have read. Bryan's explanation makes it easy for the most amateur baker to undertake baking with sourdough and succeed.

He breaks the steps down into easy steps based on what the overall goal for those are. He keeps it interesting with stories at the beginning explaining why he chose the recipe he chose and how it relates to NOLA, his upbringing, or his culture.

Almost every recipe in the book is something that I was excited to read about and try baking in my own kitchen. I can't wait to get baking!

Wonderfull book with great pictures and recipes. I am trying it out and every day i get better and better!

I have been following Bryan Ford on instagram, so I was delighted to get a copy of his book. I am a self taught sourdough bread baker and was always delighted by his creations. The book is very thoughtful and opens with information about different flour types. All the recipes are straightforward, and what I most appreciate is that they are not long and complicated so this book is very good for a beginner baker but has enough diversity for all level of bakers. I baked a bread using his recipe and was happy with my results. I think it is a keeper.

This is a great book for those getting into baking bread. Part 1 is my favorite! You can easily find recopies online these days but an in-depth explanation of the items, ingredients, and process is harder to find. I also appreciate the depth this book goes into on making and maintaining a starter. I would buy the book just for this section. And this book goes into way more they just classic sourdough we are used to. English muffins! Pretzel Buns!! Bagels!!! Need I say more?

New World Sourdough was fun. It includes techniques, plenty of information and several recipes I'd love to try. For those who are wary of sourdough and how to make sourdough starters and such, this book has you covered.

I haven't had a chance to actually try the recipes yet, because it seems a kitchen scale is a pivotal ingredient and I haven't been able to get my hands on one in quarantine, but his steps seem straightforward and easy to follow, and the pictures are lovely. I also really like that there's a variety of recipes so it's not just one sourdough, but several options that all look and sound amazing. I'm excited to give it a shot.

This book is really lovely, it is full of really good info and tips on how to make sourdough - which is actually a very long process - the book is well worth purchasing for those of us who love all things organic and homemade- i loved it and will definitely be investing in a hard copy of the book.

Useful and well written book! I think this is the perfect time for this to come out, when everyone and their sisters are making sourdough. I appreciated the knowledge of this title which I don’t get from cookbooks on all types of bread, so I appreciate that this is JUST about sourdough!

I had a sourdough starter many years ago that performed well and wanted to make a new starter for use now, this book explains how. Great for the beginner as well as a more advanced baker. Beautifully illustrated. Love the variety of recipes.

Terrific guide to the world of sourdough bread the art of baking from starter on.Wonderful photos recipes step by step guide that I will be following.I cannot already smell the wonderful aroma of bread baking, #netgalley#Quatro