With praise from Dorie Greenspan, Jim Lahey, and David Lebovitz, the definitive bread-baking book for a new generation. But this book isnt just about baking bread its about what to do with the slices and heels and nubs from those many loaves youll bake.

Alexandra Stafford grew up eating her mothers peasant bread at nearly every mealthe recipe for which was a closely-guarded family secret. When her blog, Alexandras Kitchen, began to grow in popularity, readers started asking how to make the bread theyd heard so much about; the bread they had seen peeking into photos. Finally, Alexandras mother relented, and the recipe went up on the internet. It has since inspired many who had deemed bread-baking an impossibility to give it a try, and their results have exceeded expectations. The secret is in its simplicity: the no-knead dough comes together in fewer than five minutes, rises in an hour, and after a second short rise, bakes in