A friend told me about the challah recipe here. It's a marvel, and it's just about fool proof, with great shaping illustrations. I'd buy it again for this recipe alone. This book has become one of my staples. The professional baking tips are very useful, but I have to complain about any baking book that sends you to your friendly local bakery to plead for special ingredients, as this one does. Also, this book is big on baking with steam, which isn't a great idea for your slightly klutzy home baker (like me). But those recipes work pretty well without steam, in my opinion. Okay, so I cheat a little with these recipes--yet the breads still come out yummy! Don't count on this book for desserts, though. It's a BREAD book, and a very good one, particularly for people who want to understand the process and learn to do it right.