Let's Make Bread!: A Comic Book Cookbook Paperback – May 14, 2024

I enjoy this book very very much. It’s very easy to understand of the recipe.

I really like the art! The comic book format works well. I like the many variations on the same basic recipe.I was disappointed to read "Don't use iodized salt unless you want your bread to taste like iodine!" in the ingredients section. This is simply false. There are studies showing this is false. You can't taste the iodine in bread. A typical 1 kilogram loaf of bread will have about 10 grams of salt and (at most) 450 micrograms of iodine. The resulting 450 parts per billion of iodine is undetectable.Telling beginners they need to go out and buy a special salt to make bread is just wrong.It makes me wonder what else is wrong?

If you event wanted to learn to make artisan breads, Ken Forkish is the Master of bread making. My husband has cooked thought all of his bread and pizza books. If it is worth learning, it would benefit to purchase this and his other books

I adore these comic cookbooks that seem to be on the rise! They’re wonderful for imparting a lot of knowledge packed into a small amount of pages. The illustrations are especially helpful here, where you can actually see how to make the levain (sourdough starter), fold and proof the dough, etc. I will always champion this format, because I believe it makes certain subjects accessible to people that otherwise would not have picked up a “regular” book on said subject, for whatever reason (ADHD is the first one that comes to my mind, having it myself).Baking can be very intimidating, especially bread baking, but in this comic, the team of Ken Forkish (James Beard award-winning baker) and illustrator Sarah Becan break down the process into manageable steps that are easy to follow. I personally am not quite in the stage of life where I could devote a lot of time to this process (when I do a hobby, I go ALL IN, folks—think ADHD hyperfocus, so I can only have one at a time), but I really feel that I *could* bake sourdough bread after reading this, and that’s huge, since in the past I’ve immediately dismissed the idea due to being intimidated. I think that other people will feel the same, and I hope that this comic inspires a new generation of bakers! Also….bacon bread….mmmm….If you enjoy this format, Becan has also illustrated two other comics in this vein, entitled “Let’s Make Ramen!” and “Let’s Make Dumplings!”, which I will be checking out soon (my husband *loves* Asian food), Ken Forkish is well-known for his book, “Flour Water Salt Yeast”, and he also has published other books on both bread and pizza. I will be reading his “The Elements of Pizza”—I love pizza and want to gain Forkish’s insights on making it at home.Please keep making more of these, Ten Speed Comics! Accessibility is so important, and what you’re doing is amazing.

The first section of this volume explains the elements of bread making, including the ingredients and how they interact. It also explains the authors' preferred method of making bread. Those who are familiar with bread-making may find the method - which is largely no-knead breads, which are turned and folded a relatively minor amount, but not actually kneaded - to be somewhat unusual, but the method is in keeping with standard bread-making practices. The rest of the volume contains a variety of recipes, starting with a basic recipe and the multiple variations on each basic recipe. Be sure to check the recipe you want to follow before you start, as not all of the equipment listed is necessary for every recipe. Likewise, be sure you follow the instructions about how to use a food scale if you're not used to it, as the recipes are all given by weight, with no reference to volume measurements.If you like step-by-step directions and are new to bread-making, this is a great introduction. If you're an experienced baker, you may find that comic-book format, while readable, to be too detailed, as recipes stretch over as much as 10 pages. A summary recipe in a more standard format at the end of each recipe, or a compilation of such at the end of the volume, would be beneficial for those who prefer a 1-2 page format; as someone who has been baking bread for over 4 decades, I prefer to be able to see the entire recipe, including the ingredients and directions, in 1-2 pages that I can keep open for reference, without needing to turn pages to complete the recipe. That's a stylistic preference rather than a comment on the quality of the recipes, which seems quite good.I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Let’s Make Bread is a beautiful comic book that both educates and entertains. I was familiar with Ken Forkish’s works before picking this up and was excited to see what the Let’s Make Bread Comic Book Cookbook would be like. This feels much more digestible (pun intended!) than typical cookbooks and the illustrations allow for an easy to follow step-by-step guide. I especially love this format for teaching young children how to bake. I plan to pick-up the other comic books illustrated by Sarah Becan with my kiddos.I’ve been baking bread for about a year, and by no means consider myself an expert, but I was excited with how much there was to take in with this comic book. There are 11+ recipes and a great education related to grains and sourdough. I did not know that the French word for sourdough is ‘Levain’ and I think I like that term much better! I love the information on where to buy heirloom grains. I was excited to see a shout-out to Janie’s Mill, where I get all of my flour from.Thank you to NetGalley, Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press, Ten Speed Graphic, the author Ken Forkish and illustrator Sarah Becan for this highly enjoyable ARC!