Before you Start

Certain bits of kit and techniques appear in this book over and over again. To save you from having to read the same detail each time, I’ve collected them together in the following sections on techniques, equipment and ingredients. Please read these notes before setting out on a recipe or you’ll forever be saying things like “eh, what does that word mean?” or “hang on, what am I baking this dough on?”

Please also read a recipe from start to finish well before you’re thinking of baking it. That’s good advice for any recipe but particularly for this book, in which you’ll find that the short stages of some recipes are spread over several days.