The Bread Machine Bible: More Than 100 Recipes for Delicious Home Baking with Your Bread Machine Book

There are much better bread books out there. This is the first book I bought when I started making sourdough. I loved Leader's stories behind each type of bread and his research. But after many, many trials, my starter and levains never worked well. And the loaves I made were very hit-or-miss. Some turned out ok, good flavor, but not enough rise, and some were complete duds. I then started noticing typos, missing info, etc... and googled reviews of Leader's book, and realized there are serious errors in his recipes! So many complaints online that confirmed my problems with it. I am a beginner at this, and it was very disappointing to realize the book was at fault! I gave up for a year.
Then I started watching videos by other bakers, and attempted a starter again----and was successful!! So exciting. And I found Emilie Raffa's Artisan Sourdough Made Easy. A fabulous book for beginners!! No, it is not really easy to make sourdough, but if you follow the correct instructions, it is possible to make incredible bread! I have made several really good loaves now. This is really the best way to make bread-- with a natural fermented yeast, not store bought yeast. I am still learning, but now I know it is possible! So I cannot recommend Local Breads for the recipes, just the info and stories. My next book will be Tartine by Chad Robertson.