Best baking books – cakes, bread, patisserie and more

Best baking books at a glance

• Best new all rounder baking book: Sift by Nicola Lamb, £21.07
• Best for desserts: I'll Bring Dessert by Benjamina Ebuehi, £17.51
• Best for sourdough: Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson and Elizabeth Prueitt, £20.76
• Best for patisserie: Everyone Can Bake by Dominique Ansel, £14.99
• Best for limited equipment: One Tin Bakes by Edd Kimber, £14.79
• Best comprehensive guide: The Pastry Chef's Guide by Ravneet Gill, £18.99
• Best coffee table baking book: The Irish Bakery by Cherie Dunham, £27
• Best for new twists on classics: The New Way to Cake by Benjamina Ebuehi, £16.99
• Best for bread bakers: Crumb by Richard Bertinet, £22.35
• Best for Instagram-worthy bakes: Baking with Kim-Joy by Kim-Joy, £12.14
• Best for chocolate: Cocoa by Sue Quinn, £25
• Best bargain buy: Bread Ahead e-book, £5
• Best for families: Nadiya Bakes by Nadiya Hussain, £20.01
• Best story behind the book: Rising Hope by Luminary Bakery, £12.28
• Best American baking book: What's for Dessert? by Claire Saffitz, £20.85
• Best for global inspiration: Chetna's Easy Baking by Chetna Makan, £20
• Best for on-trend bread recipes: The Dusty Knuckle by Daisy Terry, Rebecca Oliver & Max Tobias, £17.85

Best baking books to buy 2024

Sift by Nicola Lamb

• Available from Amazon (£21.07), Waterstones (£25)

Best all rounder new baking book

We have made many of Lamb’s recipes and each one has been a complete success. Her book is divided into two halves, with the first focussing on the science of baking, and the second full of delicious bakes. They range from twists on classics, such as a roasted strawberry Victoria sponge, to brand-new innovations such as a citrus, olive oil and cream cheese dome. It is the perfect gift for the best baker you know.

Must-try recipe: miso-walnut double chocolate chip cookies

Available from:
Amazon (£21.07)
Waterstones (£25)

I'll Bring Dessert by Benjamina Ebuehi

• Available from Amazon (£17.51), Waterstones (£25)

Best for desserts

Here’s one for those who feel a meal is not complete unless they’ve had something sweet. Split into chapters such as ‘Something Fruity’ and ‘Something Chocolatey’, it is a book to refer to when you have a craving but lack inspiration. All of Benjamina’s books have interesting uses of herbs and spices. Standout recipes include a cherry slab pie and white chocolate, tahini, sumac and strawberry trifle.

Must-try recipe: miso and nutmeg custard pie

Available from:
Amazon (£17.51)
Waterstones (£25)

Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson and Elizabeth Prueitt

• Available from Amazon (£20.76), Waterstones (£30)

Best for sourdough

This is the original sourdough guidebook. Many of the best bakers in the world attribute at least some of their knowledge to Chad Robertson and the Tartine bakery, so you know you’re learning from the best. It has excellent instructions that are clear and concise, but also has novel-like storytelling that means you read it cover to cover. It also makes a beautiful coffee table book.

Must-try recipe: golden raisin, fennel seed and orange zest bread

Available from:
Amazon (£20.76), Waterstones (£30)

Everyone Can Bake by Dominique Ansel

• Available from Amazon (£14.99), WHSmith (£28.20)

Best for patisserie

The second book from acclaimed pastry chef (and inventor of legendary croissant-doughnut hybrid, the cronut) Dominique Ansel, Everyone Can Bake breaks down the art of patisserie into manageable building blocks, chapter by chapter. It’s split into four sections: bases (think cakes, tarts and cookies), fillings (mousses, jams and pastry creams) and finishings (meringues and chocolate glazes), plus one on assembly and technique. The idea is that, once you’ve mastered some of the basic recipes in each section, you can put them together in endless different ways to create impressive desserts, cakes and bakes worthy of a patisserie window. You’ll master everything from basic banana bread to showstopping mousse cakes, pavlovas and more.

Must-try recipe: peach brown sugar charlotte

Available from:
Amazon (£14.99)
WHSmith (£28.20)

One Tin Bakes by Edd Kimber

• Available from Amazon (£14.79), Waterstones (£22.99)

Best for limited equipment

It is a rare joy to leaf through a cookbook and find you want to make every single recipe in it. Such is the case with Edd Kimber’s clever book. Perfect for anyone who loves to bake, the recipes are all made in just one tin – a 23 x 33cm brownie tin, to be precise. Covering cakes, cookies, brownies, pies, tarts and desserts, there’s a bake for every occasion, from simple favourites like classic birthday cake and tiramisu, to unique bakes, including tahini chocolate chip cookie bars, grapefruit meringue pie and pistachio crème brûlée tart with honey-roasted apricots. We also love his newer book, Small Batch Bakes, for more of the irresistible flavour combinations, but all shrunk to make smaller quantities.

Must-try recipe: chocolate & cardamom carrot cake with brown butter cream cheese frosting

Available from:
Amazon (£14.79)
Waterstones (£22.99)

The Pastry Chef’s Guide by Ravneet Gill

• Available from Amazon (£11.95), Waterstones (£18.99), Foyles (£18.99)

Best comprehensive guide

After working as a pastry chef in some of London’s top restaurants, Ravneet Gill has written her first book, in which she shares secrets for achieving perfect pastry. Ideal for home cooks, this is a complete guide to baking, which includes an enlightening theory section as well as recipes. It’s divided into handy chapters, including sugar, custard, chocolate, cakes and biscuits.

Must-try recipe: salted chocolate & caramel tart

Available from:
Amazon (£11.99)
Waterstones (£18.99)
Foyles (£18.99)

The Irish Bakery by Cherie Dunham

• Available from Montgomery Press (£27)

Best coffee table baking book

We fell in love with the gorgeous full-page photography in this book. But, while it's beautiful to flick through, it shouldn't just stay on the coffee table – it's full of must-make recipes. A deep-dive into Irish baking, there are over 80 recipes for both traditional bakes that have been passed down through the generations, as well as new ideas for contemporary flavour twists. The bread section is particularly strong, including recipes for treacle & linseed bread, barmbrack and honeyed oaten bread. Spotlights on Irish producers and artisans sit alongside the recipes for a rich understanding of Ireland's baking culture.

Must-try recipe: sticky date & Guinness pudding with warm whisky sauce

Available from:
Montgomery Press (£27)

The New Way to Cake by Benjamina Ebuehi

Best for new twists on classics

This modern collection from 2016 Great British Bake Off quarter-finalist Benjamina is a breath of fresh air, putting a new spin on classics with the addition of fragrant spices, citrus and floral flavours. Find recipes such as masala chai carrot cake, hot chocolate & halva pudding and earl grey & blueberry teacakes. Her follow up book in 2022, A Good Day to Bake, continues this theme with yet more unique inspiration.

Must-try recipe: honey loaf with sweet dukkah

Crumb by Richard Bertinet

• Available from Amazon (£22.35), Waterstones (£28)

Best for bread bakers

Bread genius Richard Bertinet makes baking easy with his step-by-step recipes. Once you’ve mastered the essential loaves, try your hand at brioches, plaits, crumpets and flatbreads, and experiment with different ferments. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, there’s plenty to try, from a stunning plum tart to a Russian plait stuffed with chocolate crème pâtissière. A beautiful book guaranteed to improve your baking technique.

Must-try recipe: sourdough pizza

Available from:
Amazon (£22.35)
Waterstones (£26)

Baking with Kim-Joy by Kim-Joy

• Available from Waterstones (£18), Amazon (£10.99)

Best for Instagram-worthy bakes

The 2018 Bake Off finalist Kim-Joy won over the nation with her fun and quirky bakes, and now you can make them yourself with her first book. If you’re a dab hand with a piping bag and enjoy bakes with lots of detail, you’ll love this book. There are showstopping cakes in inventive flavours, from ginger, pecan & salted caramel to blueberry cake with orange curd, plus cookies, breads and a ‘little bakes’ chapter – animal designs feature heavily here (especially cats). We love the 'pigfiteroles' in mud (little pigs sitting in choux pastry buns), and the 'purrmaid' (cat mermaids, of course) macarons.

Must-try recipe: lavender & lemon 'pandaleines'

Available from:
Waterstones (£18)
Amazon (£10.99)

Cocoa by Sue Quinn

• Available from Waterstones (£25), Amazon (£8.30)

Best for chocolate

This book is perfect for chocolate lovers. As well as the story of chocolate – from bean to bar – and its history, there’s plenty of information, from how to perfectly melt it to the best way to taste it. Heavenly cakes sit among tarts, mousses and cookies, with plenty of innovative ideas, including a duck fat caramel & chocolate bay leaf tart. There’s even a handful of savoury recipes (realise your childhood dream of eating chocolate for dinner) with chocolate adding richness to chilli, game dishes and even pasta.

Must-try recipe: chocolate milk cake with pecan praline cream

Available from:
Waterstones (£25)
Amazon (£8.30)

Bread Ahead online baking recipe e-book

• Available from Bread Ahead (£5)

Best bargain buy

A very exciting launch from renowned London bakery Bread Ahead, this e-book is an accessible collection of some of the bakery’s most-loved recipes. Learn how to make 18 different bakes, including Bread Ahead’s legendary doughnuts – affectionately dubbed ‘pillows of joy’ – and its fluffy focaccia & almond amaretti biscuits.

Must-try recipe: cinnamon buns

Available from:
Bread Ahead (£5)

Nadiya Bakes by Nadiya Hussain

• Available from Amazon (£17.97), Waterstones (£22)

Best for families

Accompanying her BBC Two series of the same name, Nadiya Bakes features over 100 recipes, from celebration cakes, biscuits, traybakes, tarts and pies to showstopping desserts, breads and savoury bakes. Nadiya puts her signature creative twists on classic recipes (sheekh kebab toad-in-the-hole and croissant bread & butter pudding) and provides plenty of inventive shortcuts so anyone can easily achieve delicious and impressive bakes at home.

Must-try recipe: strawberry & clotted cream shortcake cupcakes

Available from:
Amazon (£17.97)
Waterstones (£22)

Rising Hope by Luminary Bakery

• Available from Amazon (£12.49), Waterstones (£20)

Best story behind the book

Luminary Bakery is a London-based social enterprise that supports disadvantaged women, including those who have been homeless or experienced abuse, by offering courses, employment and work experience in its bakeries. Its first book combines inspiring stories from some of these women alongside beautifully illustrated sweet and savoury recipes.

Must-try recipe: Honeycomb cheesecake blondies

Available from:
Amazon (£12.49)
Waterstones (£20)

What's for Dessert? by Claire Saffitz

• Available from Amazon (£19.57), Waterstones (£26)

Best American baking book

If you read pastry expert Claire Saffitz’s first cookbook, Dessert Person, you might have high hopes for this one. Full of creative flavour combinations, she uses her advanced knowledge to break down showstopping recipes, such as marbled mint chocolate mousse and boozy orange soufflés, to make them achievable at home. This retro-looking cookbook looks good enough to eat.

Must-try recipe: Pineapple & quince tart

Available from:
Amazon (£19.57)
Waterstones (£26)

Chetna's Easy Baking by Chetna Makan

• Available from Amazon (£8.78), Waterstones (£20)

Perfect for loved ones with overflowing spice cupboards, this collection of sweet and savoury bakes from Chetna Makan includes her pear, chocolate, star anise & hazelnut tarte tatin; rainbow chard masala pasties; and chilli naan pizzas (that’s one the kids will love). There’s inspiration for impressive desserts, too – banoffee chocolate pavlova, coffee cream profiteroles and vegan saffron cheesecake.

Must-try recipe: Mango & lime meringue pie

Available from:
Amazon (£8.78)
Waterstones (£20)

The Dusty Knuckle by Daisy Terry, Rebecca Oliver & Max Tobias

• Available from Amazon (£15.17), Waterstones (£22)

Best for on-trend bread recipes

The Dusty Knuckle bakeries in Dalston and Harringay are famous for their enormous sandwiches packed with creative fillings, such as pickled beetroot, whipped feta, za’atar & slaw. Learn to make them (we’ll be starting with the egg, chilli & cheese), as well as fabulous breads and pastries.

Must-try recipe: Seedy soft tin loaf

Available from:
Amazon (£15.17)
Waterstones (£22)

More baking inspiration

For more baking inspiration, check out our recipe collections online. We've got everything you need from easy bakes for novices, indulgent brownie recipes, impressive birthday cake ideas, creamy cheesecake recipes and much more. Check out our reviews for all the best baking kit you'll need to get started:

Best stand mixers
Best spatulas
Best baking gifts
Best cake tins
Kids baking essentials

If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at [email protected].