“Bread Making: Crafting the Perfect Loaf from Crust to Crumb” (Storey Publishing, $16.95) by Lauren Chattman is a guide for beginner bakers that will walk you through simple breads, baking with yeasted preferments, sourdough, yeasted flatbreads, whole grain breads and bread machine baking.

Chattman gives her recommendations on ingredients and equipment, and there are several Q-and-A sections in the book that will answer questions such as “Can I substitute maple syrup for honey in a bread dough recipe?” and “Is it true that cinnamon kills yeast? Or is this just an old wives’ tale?”

In her list of 13 artisan bakeries everyone should visit, Chattman includes two in Maine: The Bread Shack in Auburn, owned by Dara Reimers, who represented the U.S. in the World Cup of Bread; and Portland’s own Standard Baking Company, which Chattman says “produces some of the Northeast’s finest sourdough baguettes, as well as amazing croissants and brioche.”

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