Title:	Make Ahead Bread
	Author:	Donna Currie
	Published:	2014, Taunton Press
	No. of Pages:	208
	Cover Price:	$19.95 Paperback, $13.79 Kindle

---

Donna Currie has published not only a great bread book, Make Ahead Bread, but a bread book for today’s busy lifestyle wherein the bread dough which is made one day can sit in the fridge for another day (24-48 hours later) to be baked. This is a great idea, since it’s nice to be able to bake early in the morning when it’s not so hot, or just as guests are coming so that the house smells heavenly. While many of us who are professional cooks have known that this is possible with our freshly baked breads, and have done it, this book sets out guidelines, and has recipes where this practice has been tested and retested.

This is also a beautiful cookbook with beautiful pictures of mouthwatering breads (and spreads for them, incidentally). It is not your everyday bread cookbook. Currie obviously has an imagination, and a knack for developing recipes for new and innovative breads that will appeal to almost everyone interested in baking. At the beginning of each recipe, there are hints and explanations that tend to make even the most inexperienced more knowledgeable. In fact, there is something to learn for everyone. Currie gives detailed information on breadmaking basics such as flour, kneading, measuring, helpful appliances, yeast, etc. Even on a day you don’t plan to bake, this is a good book to sit down with and read – Currie’s writing style will appeal to everyone – it is concise, to-the-point, and easily readable.

While some of the recipes are easy and quick to put together, there are also some that take several days, so bakers everywhere can break their breadmaking up in small portions and still end up with gourmet-bakery-style breads without using a lot of hands-on time.

There is a recipe for everyone’s favorite French pastry, Chocolate Croissants (mine are in the process as we speak-prep day 2), as well as several luscious pastries. Basics, such as pizza dough with variations and sourdough, as well as Feta, Rosemary, Sun-Dried Tomato Turnovers, and a luscious (don’t ask me how I know) Bacon, Tomato, and Cheddar loaf, and a perfect Light and Dark Marble Rye loaf.

The bottom line: I love this book. Although I hate to admit that I have cheated and dumped dough ingredients in my automatic bread machine and proceeded after the dough is made to save time, the recipes are developed so that kitchen time is minimal. This book is highly recommended for anyone who loves to bake.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this excellent book.

This book may be purchased at Amazon:

Make Ahead Bread: 100 Recipes for Melt-in-Your-Mouth Fresh Bread Every Day, Paperback
Make Ahead Bread: 100 Recipes for Bake-It-When-You-Want-It Yeast Breads, Kindle