Holiday Gift Guide: Bread Baking

It’s surprisingly easy to bake great bread at home, you just need to have the right tools. I like using Jim Lehey’s no-work, no-knead technique which only requires about 5 minutes of time before letting the slow-rise fermentation do the rest of the work. Mix together the ingredients, let the dough rise overnight, then bake in a dutch oven and you’ll be rewarded with bakery quality bread at home.

Lehey’s My Bread cookbook accompanied by a cast iron dutch oven makes a great gift for any cook or baker in your family. The book is simple enough for the novice but thorough enough that even an experienced baker will learn something new. To make the gift really special, include an instant read thermometer to help ensure the bread is cooked to the optimal temperature.

Lodge L8DOL3 Pre-Seasoned Cast-Iron Dutch Oven with Dual Handles, 5-Quart