books

Some here like FWSY,  I checked it out from the library, and it did not appeal to me at all -  his instructions on starter refreshing are extremely wasteful, and I think many have reported that his time estimates are far off .  

To me, Reinhart has written some great books, and if you are looking to go a step further, the best one is Bread by Jeffrey Hamelman.  There is a great intro section,  the recipes are extremely simple and well laid out, and his videos are fantastic.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpG5tcmg0uM    He does not have a lot on sourdough, but he does cover a few sourdough loaves, and a wide variety of other breads. 

If you want something focused solely on sourdough, you might want to try Vanessa Kimbell, I have the Kindle version and find I don't absorb as much from that format as a paper book, so while I think it is much less comprehensive than Bread, it could in part be the difference in formats.

Here's a comparable series of videos by Forkish to see if you like his methods:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWqTac5vy0cfmXcQgnMAZl6z69kpmUzBI

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Of the three, Reinhart, Forkish and Robertson,... Reinhart is the best teacher, in my opinion.  But Robertson is the best artisan, at least as portrayed by his books.  I have both of Robertson's bread books "Tartine Bread" and "Tartine No. 3", the latter is more whole grain and specialty grain.

Robertson's books require more study by the reader/student.  But as "art books" they are also just as much at home on the coffee table to impress visitors as they are in the kitchen.  The photography of Robertson's bread books far exceeds the others.  Robertson does get sidetracked into stories about travel and foreign bakeries, but then Reinhart gets sidetracked a lot too.

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Reinhart's "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" pretty much replaces his "Crust and Crumb."  If you are into whole wheat, then his "Whole Grain Breads" is a must.   His "Bread Revolution" mainly deals with sprouted grain flour, which is kind of expensive unless you make it yourself.

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All three authors have the Kindle format of their books go on sale a couple times per year, usually for $3.99 or less.  I have BBA, C&C, Whole Grain Breads, FWSY, Tartine Bread, and Tartine No. 3 all on both Kindle and hard copy. 

You can subscribe to bookbub.com and get a daily or weekly email, and check the "cooking" category to get notified when a Kindle edition is on sale, or check these links on a regular basis which is sorted by price:

https://www.amazon.com/Peter-Reinhart/e/B001H6W6I0?sort=price-asc-rank&tag=froglallabout-20

https://www.amazon.com/Ken-Forkish/e/B008DI1O60?sort=price-asc-rank&tag=froglallabout-20

https://www.amazon.com/Chad-Robertson/e/B001JS68WQ?sort=price-asc-rank&tag=froglallabout-20

Kimbell's "Sourdough School" occasionally goes on sale in Kindle format:

https://www.amazon.com/Vanessa-Kimbell/e/B004SYAJUK?sort=price-asc-rank&tag=froglallabout-20

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I forget if Bertinet uses sourdough, but he has had two of his ebooks go on sale for $.99, which is an excellent deal:

https://www.amazon.com/Richard-Bertinet/e/B002SIFTDK?sort=price-asc-rank&tag=froglallabout-20

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Rose Levy Beranbaum's "The Bread Bible" goes on sale for $2.99 occasionally, and is worth it:

https://www.amazon.com/Rose-Levy-Beranbaum/e/B000APEDSA?sort=price-asc-rank&tag=froglallabout-20

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I don't remember seeing Hamelman's ebook on sale, but here's a link for him.

https://www.amazon.com/Jeffrey-Hamelman/e/B001IGOBYQ?sort=price-asc-rank&tag=froglallabout-20

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(The &tag=froglallabout-20 thing gives webmaster Floyd a commission if you buy anything.)

(bleh)

Daniel Leader's Local Breads is the object of a love-hate relationship with many bakers.  The breads, themselves, are wonderful and his text is entertaining.  Things tend to come apart in the recipe details, though.  They bear signs of too much copy/paste activity and not enough editing and proofreading.  Here's a lengthy TFL thread that addresses some of the issues. 

I am glad to have it in my library of bread books and still bake from it occasionally.  However, I approach each formula with caution to ensure that the quantities make sense and/or make adjustments as needed.  It's also useful to google specific recipes to find what others have said about them.

Paul

Tartine.