I bought the book because the author claims to be an authority on the science of sourdough, its digestibility and nutritional benefits. The book is informative, but...
On page 203, it states “Extensive research was completed to write this book, however, there is not room to list the hundreds of studies used. For those interested, all source material and references listed are linked to the original studies at sourdough.co.uk.”
The text DOES NOT include a list of references, which would have only added a few more pages and would have gone a long way towards legitimizing its claims, allowing readers to look up the references to evaluate the studies for themselves. Furthermore, the information IS NOT on the author’s website as the book promises, UNLESS it is behind a paywall only available to people who have further subscribed to one of her classes. This is not acceptable. If I were the publisher (Kyle Books), I wouldn’t allow an author to do this.
I am not just disappointed, I am pissed. And I wouldn’t have written this negative review had the author addressed my concerns on social media.
The Sourdough School: The Ground-Breaking Guide to Making Gut-Friendly Bread Hardcover – Illustrated, 4 September 2018
by
Vanessa Kimbell
(Author),
Richard Hart
(Foreword)
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Product details
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 208 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1909487937
- ISBN-13 : 978-1909487932
-
Best Sellers Rank:
1,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 1 in Baking
- 9 in Diets & Healthy Eating
- 25 in National & International Cookery
- Customer reviews:
Product description
Review
"In this book Vanessa gives you the tools you need to be a successful baker. If you take this knowledge and focus, you will be rewarded with beautiful, freshly-baked bread. Making sourdough is addictive, and there is nothing better than pulling a handmade loaf out of the oven."
--Richard Hart
--Richard Hart
About the Author
Vanessa Kimbell runs The Sourdough School, where she teaches sourdough breadmaking classes to students from around the world. A regular BBC radio journalist, she is a third generation baker of Italian descent and trained in several French bakeries
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Most helpful customer reviews on Amazon.com
Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars
102 reviews

Donna
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointed
10 October 2018 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
168 people found this helpful

Tracey Salazar
2.0 out of 5 stars
perhaps good if you attend Kimbell's workshop in person
20 November 2018 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
I've been trying to learn to make sourdough bread on my own for a while. Read a number of books including The Bread Baker's Apprentice and Artisan Sourdough Made Simple. There's nothing simple about sourdough, and I fully understand this is a discipline that takes many tries (and many failures) in order to really understand what's happening let alone get a loaf of bread that will make all the time (and flour!) worth it.
I've also been following The Sourdough School on instagram for some time. I like Vanessa Kimbell's personality. But I think she should have hired a good editor as well as a great number of test-reader/bakers (who've never attended her class or follow her online) to do her recipes from the beginning. It is patently clear she did neither of these.
As has been said before, there are grammatical (and technical) errors that make following incredibly difficult. There is page flipping back and forth multiple times within a single process to double and triple check you know what she's talking about--and even then you're never really certain. Terminology is inadequately defined, and steps are unclear.
I imagine this is likely a helpful handbook if you've attended one of Vanessa Kimbell's workshops in person, with the ability to ask questions in real-time for clarification. Otherwise, this is not a book for a sourdough beginner. And I do hope a second edition is forthcoming after feedback from all these would-be-bakers who are thoroughly confused, like myself, even after baking her "basic" recipe more than 5 times.
I've also been following The Sourdough School on instagram for some time. I like Vanessa Kimbell's personality. But I think she should have hired a good editor as well as a great number of test-reader/bakers (who've never attended her class or follow her online) to do her recipes from the beginning. It is patently clear she did neither of these.
As has been said before, there are grammatical (and technical) errors that make following incredibly difficult. There is page flipping back and forth multiple times within a single process to double and triple check you know what she's talking about--and even then you're never really certain. Terminology is inadequately defined, and steps are unclear.
I imagine this is likely a helpful handbook if you've attended one of Vanessa Kimbell's workshops in person, with the ability to ask questions in real-time for clarification. Otherwise, this is not a book for a sourdough beginner. And I do hope a second edition is forthcoming after feedback from all these would-be-bakers who are thoroughly confused, like myself, even after baking her "basic" recipe more than 5 times.
85 people found this helpful

Mary James
2.0 out of 5 stars
Book returned.
8 October 2018 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
Beautiful book , complicated recipes with too much back and forth following recipes. Returned. For the author, spend less time on fancy photos and more time writing recipes that follow more easily. Encourage you to have people try to follow your recipes using just your book, not easy.
67 people found this helpful

Dave
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good one!
16 April 2019 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
$6.99 for the Kindle edition. Wow! What a deal. The pictures alone are worth it.
I understand why some reviewers are a bit disappointed. If you're not already an old hand at sourdough artisan breads, you may prefer Peter Reinhart's or Ken Forkish's teaching style, and book organization. I would recommend them, over this book, if you are a beginner.
But if you're already doing sourdough/artisan, this book will expand your knowledge.
In Sourdough School, almost all recipes call for a significant portion of all-purpose or white bread flour. So, if you want 100% or near 100% whole grain recipes, get Reinhart's "Whole Grain Breads" or Chad Robertson's "Tartine Book #3".
But, whether beginner, intermediate, or expert, as long as it's only $6.99.... GET THIS EBOOK.
I understand why some reviewers are a bit disappointed. If you're not already an old hand at sourdough artisan breads, you may prefer Peter Reinhart's or Ken Forkish's teaching style, and book organization. I would recommend them, over this book, if you are a beginner.
But if you're already doing sourdough/artisan, this book will expand your knowledge.
In Sourdough School, almost all recipes call for a significant portion of all-purpose or white bread flour. So, if you want 100% or near 100% whole grain recipes, get Reinhart's "Whole Grain Breads" or Chad Robertson's "Tartine Book #3".
But, whether beginner, intermediate, or expert, as long as it's only $6.99.... GET THIS EBOOK.
25 people found this helpful

Jim
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good book but has a problem
2 May 2020 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
I like this book because of the information it provides. I have been baking sourdough bread for a few years with varying degrees of success. Sometimes I get a wonderful loaf with a thin crisp crust and a light airy crumb. Most of the time I get one with a thick hard crust and a wet crumb. The crust shatters when you cut it and the crumb is inedible. The baking information she has is different from mine. Hopefully that will solve the problem.
There is one problem I see. She has done the same thing I see time and again in sourdough recipes. She has ignored the effect of the leaven on the hydration percent of the dough. On page 114 the recipe says the hydration percent is 73 %. It is if you ignore the flour and water in the leaven. It is 76% if you don't.
If you want a 70% hydration dough and use 700 grams of water and 1000 grams of flour,
700/1000 = 70%. But if you have 200 grams of leaven with a 50:50 ratio. The real numbers are
(700 + 100) / (1000 + 100) = 800/1100 = 73%.
I think I read that Chad Robertson of Tartine Bakery also ignores this.
There is one problem I see. She has done the same thing I see time and again in sourdough recipes. She has ignored the effect of the leaven on the hydration percent of the dough. On page 114 the recipe says the hydration percent is 73 %. It is if you ignore the flour and water in the leaven. It is 76% if you don't.
If you want a 70% hydration dough and use 700 grams of water and 1000 grams of flour,
700/1000 = 70%. But if you have 200 grams of leaven with a 50:50 ratio. The real numbers are
(700 + 100) / (1000 + 100) = 800/1100 = 73%.
I think I read that Chad Robertson of Tartine Bakery also ignores this.
11 people found this helpful