Bread & Butter: Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes to Fill Your Bread Baske

The story:I originally purchased this book in May 2019 and slammed the heck out of it. On reflection, the review was not helpful. So I’ve decided that it was time to re-evaluate the book, give constructive observation and see whether my opinion has changed ÜThe book:Comprising of 160 pages in a red and white hardcover with a dust jacket in vibrant colours of pink, cerise and white to the front and the back being of primary colour blocks depicting croissants and a variety of other baked goods. Measuring H24cmx W19.5cmx D1.75cm.The contents page is followed by a Forward by David Lebovitz (professional chef, author and blogger). Ms McKenna’s introduction fills two pages. The Ingredient Assistance pages, of which there are three, starts off with various flour types. Teff, Millet and Oat flour you can get in the larger supermarkets. I can’t say I’ve ever seen Potato Starch, Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour or Garbanzo-fava bean flour being sold there, but I know you can buy Potato Starch and Bob’s Red Mill on-line; they’re both in my pantry. Garbanzo-fava bean flour was easy enough to find on-line when I looked.Sweeteners covers vegan sugar, coconut sugar and agave nectar; the last two are common place in the UK. However, the vegan sugars mentioned are not readily available in supermarkets but of course you can find them on Amazon UK (other online retailers available) albeit kilo for kilo very expensive e.g.:Turbinado sugar starts at £7.21 per 100gSucanat starts at £12.99 per kiloRapadura starts at £7.38 per kiloEvaporated Cane Sugar starts at £6.98 per kiloThe Fats cover coconut oil and walnut oil and there is also a flour swopping guide. The three pages dedicated to The Help Desk are in a Q&A format.The chapters are as follows:The Waking Hours covers; biscuits, bagels, croissant, pain au chocolat, socca, French toast and muffins.Breads covers; rye, cinnamon & raisin, brown, pumpernickel, sandwich, sesame, wrap bread, cornbread, carrot bread and rolls.Sandwiches covers; sandwich makingPizza & Focaccia covers; pizza dough, sauce and biscuits and focaccia in two styles.This is for The Kids; exactly what it statesForeign Affairs covers; samosas, empanadas, scallion pancakes, latkes, tortillas, flatbreads and Ethiopian bread.Puff Pastry & Beyond covers puff pastry dough. Then you’re shown how to make a pot pie, a couple of tarts, crostata and turnovers using said dough.Snacks covers; breadsticks, pretzels, chips and crackers.Dips & Dressings covers; Caesar, mayo, béchamel etc.Sweets the Bonus Round covers; rolls, puddings, pretzels, babka and cookies.Being American of course the measurements are all in cups. There is no conversion chart within the book. The gram equivalent is alongside and the ubiquitous table and tea spoons are also present.Some of the ingredients are not readily available in UK supermarkets or specialist stores.The verdict:The price of the book has increased by £3.51 since May 2019; I did not think it good value then and definitely think this is excessively expensive today at £22.50.In the Ingredient Assistance page regarding flours:Blanched Almond Flour, Brown Rice Flour and Masa Harina are not listed, yet are used in the recipes.Masa Harina, something I’ve never heard of, turns out to be the traditional flour used to make tortillas, tamales and other Mexican foods. Literally translated from Spanish, it means ‘dough flour’ because the flour is made from dried masa, a dough from specially treated corn ©howstuffworks.comThen regarding fats: Canola Oil and Olive Oil are not listed yet are used in the recipes. Canola Oil is deemed to be one of the worst oils to consume, being pro-inflammatory, (i.e. high in Omega 6), which can cause havoc for those with joint issues such as Arthritis.Sweet Potato and Sage pull-apart rolls requires the use of canned sweet potato puree; can’t find it in the shops, even online UK suppliers can only offer Cut Sweet Potato in Syrup and a 29oz (822gm) tin costs £24.00! No, that’s not a typing error.So for those who are strapped for time, you may think twice before making this recipe. For those that do have the time, you can of course substitute with fresh sweet potatoes.Chocolate Babka calls for Enjoy Life semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips. Found it on eBay UK, 10oz (283gm) at £15.56! But no doubt there are other entirely suitable alternatives available.Ms McKenna uses things like Yukon Gold Potato and Idaho potato, but gives no indication what these particular potatoes are like, to enable those who don’t live that side of the pond, the ability to source local equivalents.American references abound for example: cilantro leaves, I know what they are, but some people don’t, so in brackets (coriander leaves) would be helpful. The same applies to arugula (rocket), zucchini (courgette), eggplant (aubergine), navy beans (haricot), garbanzo (chickpeas), fava beans (broad beans), baking soda (bi-carbonate of soda).In a recipe that requires peas there follows in brackets (frozen will do). Now is that use from frozen or should they be defrosted first. This guidance is not given, which would be helpful for those who need it.One recipe calls for a ‘can of white beans drained’ what ones, does it matter. For me, I would get whatever I could get, but for novice cooks they might panic.There are ‘recipes’ for sandwiches, really? Nonsensical, or does she deem her readers stupid. Ms McKenna seemingly thinks we need recipes to show us how to use the puff pastry we’ve just made, ah confirmed, she does think we’re stupid (!) There are also recipes for Caesar dressing, mayonnaise, kale and artichoke dip, hummus and béchamel sauce; why? This is supposedly a gluten-free and vegan recipe book for baked goods, or did I misunderstand the title.The illusive 7x4x3 pan... what to say; cannot find one and won’t be looking to China, as another reviewer did. In any event the loaves do the rising and spilling thing even in a larger sized loaf pan, so no more wasting time with that one.Maybe I’ve been spoilt over the years, but the majority of cookery books I own give you a list of the potentially useful ingredients required to produce the recipes. Being a vegan and cook from scratch kind-a gal, I tend to have most ingredients and have not had difficulty sourcing the weird and wonderful. However this book has pushed my buttons in this regard.It is not the most user friendly publication. Writing a recipe book is not easy, because you have to adopt the ‘strike the match method’ style of writing and when you’re able to cook recipes with your eyes closed for so long, it is easy to miss the basics.I also think the book was meant solely for the US market, as I would like to believe that Ms McKenna would have made the necessary interpretations for those who live outside of the USA.Bypass this book and search out something more worthwhile.Edited 12.12.2020

Very good book. Consice recipes. Comprehensive ingredients list. Love it

love love love! a favorite, ever single recipe is delicious and easy,also easy to find and understand ingredients!!!!!!!LOVE!

Die Rezepte sind alle sehr gut. Wir waren in Ihrem Geschäft in New York und waren schon dort von der Qualität überzeugt. Und die Rezepte entsprechen der Qualität im Laden. Sehr zu empfehlen.

Great book. Just wish there were more recipes.