80 easy-to-follow recipes and loads of know-how, troubleshooting guidance, and bread science intel for baking your best naturally leavened loaves—from sourdough whisperer Tara Jensen

Yes, you can make crusty, tender, bakery-quality sourdough bread—even if you’ve never baked before! Especially when you have a teacher like Tara Jensen (who taught both dessert guru Claire Saffitz and Southern-cooking evangelist Sean Brock) by your side. Tara’s friendly approach to technique and inspired flavors in more than eighty recipes for sourdough, rye, and whole grain bread will enrich both beginners and advanced bakers as they learn about the craft.

With Tara’s guidance and supportive voice, she shares important lessons that cover all the technical bases—from learning about flour to exploring wild yeast fermentation and developing your (doughy) intuition. From there, Tara dives deep into the worlds of sourdough, rye, and desem, showing the true diversity of bread through recipes like Miche, Chocolate Beer Bread, and Mountain Rye. There’s even an extra credit chapter on making extra-flavorful Overnight Waffles, Cheesy Cheddar Crackers, and Sourdough Chocolate-Chip Cookies. With Tara by your side, artisanal bread at home is totally achievable . . . and fun!