I have pretty much never really baked bread. (bread machine boy here)
i have been looking at some of the books out there and see several that call themselves
the bread bible.
Which one would be a good place for a beginner??
If you want to do just bread I would recommend The Bread Bakers Apprentice (http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Bakers-Apprentice-Mastering-Extraordinary/dp/1580082688/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266460192&sr=8-1)by Peter Reinhart. It is great for a beginner - lots of pictures & instruction.
If you want to a general baking cookbook - bread, cookies, muffins, pies, etc I would recommend King Arthur Flour Baking Companion.
(http://www.amazon.com/King-Arthur-Flour-Bakers-Companion/dp/0881505811/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266460300&sr=1-1anion)
The BBA is a good book. deb has you pointed the right direction. Have fun. :)
In the meantime, you can try Hab's Cuban Bread recipe. It's gooooood.
Hi Up in Smoke :)
I have the William Sonoma Bread Cookbook which is not a huge book but has all the basic recipes and clear instructions.
I love it,
Carolyn
This site have been very useful for me.
Baking 911 (http://www.baking911.com/bread/101_intro.htm)
I stumbled across this blog that has many bread recipes
http://ayearinbread.earthandhearth.com/ (http://ayearinbread.earthandhearth.com/)
It's called "A Year in Bread"
Carolyn