Immediately knew this was going to be a great read, a few pages in. Quarter of the way in, marked this down to purchase a physical copy. I would not recommend these recipes for beginners to try, but rather for those with more experience. I cannot wait to give these a go.

An absolutely GORGEOUS and chock-full cookbook of Polish baking! The recipes are explained succinctly, and the photographs and layout are stunning. (Fantastic work on the part of the photographer in particular!) Cannot wait to buy my own print copy and recommend for purchase at my library.

This was a great cookbook. Very easy-to-follow recipes. I can't wait to try these recipes. I would highly recommend this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

This is the perfect baking guide for someone like me. My parents were both from Poland, and growing up all we ate was Polish food at home. My mom was also quite the baker, her babka and kolaczki were known throughout the neighborhood. “Dobre Dobre: Baking from Poland and Beyond” by Laurel Kratochvila brings back many of those memories and adds a few more to repertoire of Polish breads and desserts.

To start, Ms. Kratochvila gets you through the basics: how to work with yeasted dough and sourdough. Not only are things explained fully, but also the step-by-step illustrations on forming the dough are a godsend. Now we can start baking. Part One is chleb, breads, which includes bagels, bialys, and other traditional Polish and Jewish staples. Each recipe includes a brief history/introduction, some tips, plus detailed ingredient lists and instructions. I especially appreciate that the total time required is laid out for each step at the start of the recipe, saving yourself from any nasty surprises along the way. Every single recipe is also gorgeously photographed, so you know exactly what it should look like. I think my favorite from this section has to be one of the rye breads, a Polish tradition.

Part Two is drozdze, yeasted breads, and this is where Ms. Kratochvila blew me away. She started the section with five different dough recipes, five slightly different basics, that could be used again and again to make many different breads, cakes, etc. I had never thought of Polish baking in this way, now I know what I need to master. The Polish crescent rolls, both plain and filled, bring back so many memories and are some of my favorites. But the babka, the plum sheet cake, the apple fritters, and of course the paczki all bring me back to my mother’s baking at home.

Part Three is ciastka, cakes. Once again, we start with two basic doughs that will be used throughout this section. Of course the highlight of this section is szarlotka, a very traditional Polish apple cake, but we also have Polish crumb cake, the “Warsaw cake”, and many others.

Part Four is cziasteczka, cookies. We start with yet one more dough to learn, but many of the recipes use the previous doughs as a starting point. The shortbread “machine cookies” that Ms. Kratochvila describes were a constant in our home, using the meat grinder to produce an unbroken log of shortbread with a very distinctive shape, the picture could have come directly from my childhood! And chrustciki, never called faworki at my house, are still my all-time favorite Polish cookie. I have a different recipe for kolaczki then this book, using melted vanilla ice cream in the dough, but the Chicago-style kolaczki is another classic.

Part Five is ptysie etc., specialty desserts. One more dough recipe, choux, and a heck of a lot of meringues. Meringues are not my thing, but we also have Polish cheesecake, different from what you’re probably used to seeing, another favorite.

And finally we have Part Six, extras. These are mostly fillings that are called for throughout the other sections, along with toppings.

Once again, this is a cookbook that I will purchase the day it comes out. Ms. Kratochvila captures the heart of Polish baking, the versatility of using what’s available and fresh, the goodness of using natural ingredients. Both the old-style goods and the newer interpretations are wonderful and show that this is a culture that respects its traditions but yet keeps moving forward. Excellent addition to any kitchen. And yes, Poland does have the best dill pickles.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Chronicle Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

This book is beautifully simple and provides a selection of recipes for all Polish staples. The recipes are easy to follow and clear while the photography is stunning. I love that the names of the dishes are in Polish and English and measurements are in milligrams and cups. I enjoyed it so much that I plan to order it and cook my way through it. Dobre, Dobre is truly one great baking book.

Great baking book for bread lovers! Endless recipes and great photos to be able to get an idea of how to do things and what they should look like. Very thorough instructions!

If you enjoy cookbooks that blend delicious recipes with rich historical and cultural context, Dobre Dobre is sure to delight you. The author embarks on a meaningful journey to reconnect with her roots during a trip to Europe. It's in Poland, among the familiar scents and flavors of traditional bakeries, that she feels a deep sense of homecoming.
In this beautifully crafted book, she dives into her Polish-Jewish heritage, collaborating with bakers, historians, and researchers to compile a collection of recipes that tell a story of immigration, multiculturalism, resilience, and tradition.
With stunning photography of breads, cakes and cookies, this cookbook brings Polish baking history to life, helping readers understand the past and its influence on the present.

I love baking, but I love baking things that are new to me even more. Dobre Dobre was an entirely new experience in baking that I have never done before.

To get started, DOBRE DOBRE gave an excellent overview over the ingredients, special tools, and history of Polish baking that was really great to know going into this cookbook. The section on working with different doughs really shed light into an area of baking that was new for me. It was clear, organized, and really supports the reader who is new to this method of baking.

The measurements are both in volume and weight, which allows both metric and imperial bakers to use the book. Each recipe comes with a brief introduction of the food, which feels really nice and adds a bit of charm to the cookbook. The baking instructions are written in paragraph form and unnumbered, which felt a bit stressful at first, but I quickly fell into the swing of the recipe once I got started.

There is a huge range of different recipes in this book, and it's easy to find something new and exciting to try for any meal.

The design of the book is clean and simple, with the written recipes a solid white background. Opposite of most recipes is a photo of the food, which are all beautifully photographed. It feels very pleasing to the eye.

The first recipe I tried was the Plummy Yeasted Tray Cake and it was delicious! The instructions were easy to follow and the ingredients were easy to source. Let me tell you- we all had to pause a moment to savor this cake because it was outstanding!

Overall, DOBRE DOBRE is a vivid, diverse, and exquisite cookbook that any baker would enjoy.

Great book! I married into a Polish family and love to bake. These recipes look delicious and are easy to follow. I enjoy the little history notes as well. My husband was happy to see this and excited for me to bake some new recipes. I will definitely be buying the print book

As someone who has a heritage that includes Polish influences, this cookbook was like a glimpse into my grandmother's mental cookbook. You know the one. The delicious meals that Grandma made out of a bit of this and a bit of that, with never a recipe in sight. Those recipes and means that vanished when Grandma left us.

The step-by-step instructions with pictures had me in a swoon. I would buy this book just for the step-by-step instructions and pictures in the sourdough section alone!

My best friend is of Polish descent so this book is something dear to my heart. I’ll be honest this isn’t going to be a book for someone that’s new to baking. The recipes are complex but written in an easy to follow way. They are worth the time to learn how to make these delicacies.

I loved this book. Having polish heritage and enjoying polish dishes I was very interested to learn about things that have net been passed down in my own family recipes. I have a long list now to try. Thank you for sharing your stories and the history of item. Loved reading this cookbook which often gets overlooked as a reading category

Within the pages of Dobre Dobre, you will find an amazing assortment of European baked goods, each one accompanied by an introductory story about the origin of the dish or a memory the author has of enjoying the dish. Normally I like to make a list of the handful of recipes I want to attempt in my own kitchen, but there are so many recipes to choose from- delicious breads and cakes and pastries, that it will be hard to narrow my choices down and I am just going to bookmark every recipe! The first ones I plan on trying are the Lekach (honey cake), the 'Szarlotka' I & II (Shortbread apple cake and Jewish apple pie) and the coconut macaroons.

*digital ARC from netgalley but definitely on my need-to-own physical cookbook list!

I enjoyed reading about how Laurel found herself moving to Prague from Boston, and then to Poland because she didn’t like the way Czech pickles tasted! She trained as a baker in Paris, got married, moved to Berlin and started her bakery.

She begins the first chapter with explanations on working with the doughs – preferments, rising, shaping, baking, checking for doneness, then cooling and storing the bread. There are step-by-step photos for the various doughs, and I really find that helpful.

Measurements are given in both grams and ounces (metric and Imperial).

The recipes that intrigue me the most in this cookbook include:

Lithuanian Black Bread
Plummy Yeasted Tray Cake
Fritter-Style Apple Pancakes
Chanterelle and Smoky Cheese Danishes
Jewish Apple Pie
Molded Walnut Cookies
Krakower Raisin Cheesecake

The Jewish baking recipes in this book of course include Bialys, Challah, Hamantaschen, Babka and Lekach.

The accompanying food photographs are plentiful and beautiful.

Gorgeous book, recipes seem to have a mix of skill levels, which means for me, as a novice baker, that I can use this book for a long time while I work up my skill levels. Can’t wait to test some of these out! Will be preordering a physical copy.

Thank you Netgalley, Chronicle Books, and Laurel Kratochvila for sending me this advanced review copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book is so beautiful!

I don't have much experience with Polish food, but this book taught me so much. The photography is stunning, and was making my mouth water as I was flipping through the pages. The step by step photos for some of the recipes is something I wish more cookbooks had.

The explanation of the ingredients and their differences was really helpful, and I loved the tips scattered throughout the book. There are detailed directions at the beginning of each section too.

The directions are fairly clear and easy to understand. I think an advanced beginner could tackle any of these recipes with no issues.

I don't think I've ever seen this wide variety of breads and baked goods in one book. There were so many different kinds of bread, and they all looked so delicious. There is everything from rustic bread, to rolls, to bagels. Don't even get me started on the pastries. My stomach was growling the whole time while browsing that section. The cakes and cookies looked divine, and I think I heard angels singing in the background.

This cookbook is a must buy if you enjoy baking. It's so very well rounded, and there was a great balance of sweet and savory treats. I bed this would be an amazing resource for your holiday baking as well. Surprise you friends and family with unique treats they have never had before.

My father was Polish. My mother wasn’t and we ate almost no Polish food in my house. Even so, I joined a Polish recipe group on Facebook and when I this book was offered to me, I knew I wanted to review it.

This book is full of recipes to intrigue Polish cooks and wannabes. The author explains that she had moved to Prague from the Boston area and was in search of a good half-sour pickle. (I know the problem, myself. My father’s and my favorite kind of pickle is hard to find where I live now.) She was advised to go to Poland and while there she fell in love with their baking.

With these Chapters, there must be several recipes that you’ll want to try:
Chleb: Breads, Rolls, & Bagels
Drozdze: Yeasted Buns & Breads
Ciastka: Slab Cakes, Layer Cakes & Bundts
Ciasteczka: Cookies, Small-Bites & Wafers
Ptysie, Bezy & Serniki: Meringues & Cheesecakes
Extras: Fillings, Creams, & Toppings

I know there are quite a few recipes that I want to try. And the gorgeous photos make everything look so delicious. The problem will be where to start. And yes, I will be telling people in my Polish recipe group about this book.