Graham MercerBread Handbooks Get the 3 books · $27
Three handbooks by a retired corner baker

Real bread from a $2 bag of flour. And the reasons it works.

Three plain-spoken handbooks: how to bake a crackling loaf from ordinary flour, how to read a bread label and a flour bag before you spend a penny, and how to run a sourdough starter and fix any loaf that goes wrong.

Get the 3 books · $27 See what's inside

Instant PDF downloadSecure checkout3 books, 249 pages

Don't Buy That Bread — cover Slow Bread — cover The $2 Loaf — cover

Sound familiar?

Dense, gummy, or flat. And nobody told you why.

You followed the steps. The loaf still came out like a brick, and the recipe had no page for that.

"Quick" bread that ate your whole afternoon.

The clock in the recipe was somebody else's kitchen. Yours runs colder, or warmer, and the dough knows it.

Sticky dough you can't shape.

So you added flour. Then more flour. Now it's dry and dense and you're not sure which mistake you made.

Standing in the bread aisle, not trusting a label.

"Multigrain", "artisan", "no artificial preservatives". Seven dollars for a loaf that never molds. Something feels off and you can't say what.

A cupboard of gear that didn't help.

Bread machine, Dutch oven, banneton, lame, spray bottle. Still no crust worth listening to.

A starter that behaves like a part-time job.

Feed it, wait, guess when bulk is done, cut into the loaf and find a gummy line at the bottom.

Flour confusion.

All-purpose, bread, strong, T55, 00, heritage, stone-ground. Which one, and does the protein number on the bag matter?

No steam, no crackle.

Ice cubes, foil pans, a bowl of water. Which one works and why.

None of that is a character flaw. It's missing instruction.
A recipe shows you one loaf on one day. These books teach you to read the dough, the label, and the failed loaf, so the next one is yours.

The three books

The $2 Loaf — cover
Book 1 · For the kitchen

The $2 Loaf

Real Bread From Ordinary Flour, No Gadgets, No Guesswork

"A loaf tells you what happened. Learn to listen before you change the recipe."

This is the book I wish someone had handed me at nineteen. Four ingredients, a bowl, a tin, an oven. I show you how to read the dough instead of the clock, how to use 2 grams of yeast instead of 8 and why it tastes better, and I give you a five-loaf drill so your first month ends with a loaf you can repeat on a Tuesday night. No starter, no machine. That comes later, if you want it.

Inside

  1. IFour Ingredients, One Honest Loaf
  2. IIFlour Is Not a Label
  3. IIIYeast, Salt, and Water
  4. IVRead the Dough Before the Clock
  5. VBread Takes Time, Not Your Day
  6. VIShape the Dough You Have
  7. VIIHeat, Steam, and Crackle
  8. VIIIOne Dough, Many Sunday Rolls
  9. IXThe Five-Loaf Beginner Drill
  10. XKeep the Bread Worth Making
  11. XIWhen the Loaf Misbehaves
  12. XIIYour Weekly Bread System
The poke and the jiggleBaker's percentagesFive-loaf beginner drill

93 pages · PDF

Don't Buy That Bread — cover
Book 2 · For the shop

Don't Buy That Bread

A Baker's Guide to Labels, Flour, Gadgets and What a Loaf Really Costs

"The price is on the front. The truth is usually on the back."

No baking in this one. This is the book for the shop. Sixty seconds on the back of the packet and you know what you're paying for. A loaf that refuses to mold, twelve brand names from one bakery, what a certification can and cannot prove. Then the flour bag: protein, extraction, "enriched", what each costs per loaf. Then the Gadget Court, where the bread machine, the air fryer, the Dutch oven and the grain mill each get a verdict and a free alternative. No health claims. Just how to decide.

Inside

  1. 1The Price Is on the Front
  2. 2Sixty Seconds on the Back
  3. 3The Loaf That Refuses to Mold
  4. 4One Bakery, Twelve Names
  5. 5What a Certification Can Prove
  6. 6The Flour Ledger
  7. 7The Expensive Grain Question
  8. 8Price the Loaf, Not the Story
  9. 9The Gadget Court
  10. 10Cola, Cans, and Faster Dough
  11. 11Bread Without Flour
  12. 12The Fan Is Not a Baker
  13. 13The One-Minute Shelf Test
One-minute shelf testThe flour ledgerThe gadget court

96 pages · PDF

Slow Bread — cover
Book 3 · For the starter

Slow Bread

Sourdough, Long Fermentation and the Rescue of Every Loaf That Goes Wrong

"The dough tells you what it needs. Your job is to notice before the oven does."

My grandfather mixed our starter in 1962 and it has never once needed a schedule that ruined a weekend. This book gives you a starter you can trust, ten minutes in the fridge instead of a daily chore, and the one idea that fixes most sourdough trouble: temperature owns the clock. Wet dough, strong shape. What changes when the grain changes. And a chapter on reading the failed loaf, so a gummy crumb or a flat top tells you exactly what to do next time.

Inside

  1. 1A Starter You Can Trust
  2. 2Ten Minutes in the Fridge
  3. 3Temperature Owns the Clock
  4. 4Stop Bulk at the Right Rise
  5. 5Wet Dough, Strong Shape
  6. 6The Fridge Makes Room
  7. 7When the Grain Changes
  8. 8Heat, Steam, and the Crust
  9. 9Read the Failed Loaf
Temperature owns the clockThe float testRead the failed loaf

60 pages · PDF

Why three books, not one fat one

Because you don't need all of it on the same day. Book 1 is for the kitchen, the week you decide to bake. Book 2 is for the shop, the day you stand in the aisle or open the online basket. Book 3 is for the month you get a starter and want it to fit your life instead of running it. They don't repeat each other. The $2 Loaf never touches sourdough. Don't Buy That Bread never gives you a recipe. Slow Bread assumes you can already shape a roll. Read them in that order, or read the one your week needs.

1 · The $2 LoafStraight yeast, no gear. Read the dough, not the clock.
2 · Don't Buy That BreadLabels, flour bags, gadgets, and the cost of a loaf.
3 · Slow BreadStarter, temperature-led timing, and the failed-loaf clinic.

Look inside

Real pages from the books. Tables, baker's percentages, and the plain paragraphs in between.

Graham Mercer in his kitchen

Who is Graham Mercer?

I ran the same corner bakery for a little over twenty years. Same ovens, same starter, same four-o'clock alarm. I retired at 43 because my knees asked me to, not because I stopped liking the work. I still bake every morning. I still judge a bakery by the sound its crust makes when it cools.

What I believe is simple. Good bread was never meant to be a luxury. A $2 bag of ordinary flour and a bit of patience will outbake most of what sits on the specialty shelf, and I have spent a lot of mornings proving it. I don't sell flour, gadgets, or starter kits. I don't have a smartphone full of apps. I have a wheat patch at the allotment, a wife who says I left the oven on overnight, and three children who still call me the dough whisperer. These books are what I'd tell you across the counter if we had the time.

Graham Mercer · Miller & Baker

What you get

The bundle

Graham Mercer · Bread Handbooks

$27one-time
  • 3 PDF handbooks, 249 pages
  • Instant download after payment
  • Copy sent to your email
  • Read on any device, or print
Get the 3 books · $27
100% money-back guarantee7-day, 100% money-back guarantee. Read them. If they aren't for you, use the support form within 7 days and I refund the full amount. You keep the PDFs.
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Questions

I've never baked bread. Is this for me?

Yes. Start with The $2 Loaf. It assumes nothing except a bowl, a tin and an oven, and it gives you a five-loaf drill for your first month.

I've baked for years. Anything in here for me?

Book 2 and Book 3 are where most experienced bakers spend their time: the flour ledger, the gadget verdicts, temperature-led bulk fermentation, and the failed-loaf chapter.

How do I get the files?

After payment you land on a page with three download buttons, one per book. A copy of the links goes to your email as well.

What format are they?

PDF. They open on a phone, tablet, laptop, or any e-reader that takes PDFs. You can print them.

Do I need a stand mixer, Dutch oven, or bread machine?

No. Every method in Book 1 and Book 3 works with a bowl, your hands, a tin or tray, and an oven. Book 2 tells you which gadgets ever earn their price.

Do I need a sourdough starter first?

No. Book 1 is straight yeast. Book 3 shows you how to build a starter from flour and water when you're ready.

Is there any medical or health advice in the books?

No. Book 2 covers what labels and certifications actually say. Anything about your health belongs with your doctor, and the books say so.

What's the refund policy?

7 days, full refund, no questions. Use the support form and say you'd like a refund.

Who is Graham Mercer?

A retired corner baker. Twenty-odd years at the counter, a starter from 1962, and strong opinions about scoring. His story is further up the page.

Is it a subscription?

No. One payment, $27, the books are yours.

Bake the loaf. Read the label. Fix the one that went wrong.

Three handbooks, 249 pages, $27. Seven days to change your mind.

Get the 3 books · $27