A love letter to Sift by Nicola Lamb with a giveaway
July 23, 2025 by JennyEnter our worldwide giveaway to win one of four copies of Sift: The Elements of Great Baking by Nicola Lamb. Two copies set out for the UK and two copies worldwide outside of the UK.
If you are a baker, you most likely know about Nicola Lamb and her amazing book Sift. This book has won numerous awards including a James Beard book award for Baking, an André Simon Award for debut cookbook, a Guild of Food Writers and the Food and Friends Gouden Kookboek 2024 award for the Dutch translation of the book. It was also named the Sunday Times Food Book of the Year and, among other accolades, featured in the Washington Post and New York Times annual “best cookbooks” round-ups. It was number two on our Best Books of 2024 and was on several Best Selling Books of 2024 lists. It has been translated into five languages.
She trained in some of London and New York’s top bakeries, including Dominique Ansel, Ottolenghi, Happy Endings, and Little Bread Pedlar, and is the author of ‘Kitchen Projects’, a top food and drink newsletter on Substack, praised as an ‘incredible resource’ by The Observer. I have subscribed as Nicola is a wealth of information. Nicola did a baking series at Happy Foodie on Baking Basics and those can be found here. We added those specific links to the Note section of those recipes.
Sift: The Elements of Great Baking is a masterclass between two covers. The first 115 pages covers ingredients in detail including “a peek inside the kernel of wheat” to which flour is best for particular applications. Recipes are broken down in the time required to complete them – i.e., an afternoon, a day to a weekend. The breadth of information here is spectacular – from a guide to cutting pastries to how fermentation affects color. Making this the ideal book for a novice baker – all without being overwhelming – as well as for the experienced baker who wishes to perfect their skills. Please note the link to Corrections and Updates in the first notes of each book – also we have updated each recipe with the errata.
I made two recipes from Sift: the Miso walnut double-thick chocolate-chip cookies and the Veg galette. The Veg galette was approachable – from the flaky crust preparation to the creation of the savory ricotta filling. I made mine with thin sliced baby red potatoes and it turned out perfectly. That filling is everything – creamy, savory and the lemon notes just made it over the top. I doubled the recipe and the two galettes disappeared in no time.
The Miso walnut double-thick chocolate-chip cookies are inspired by the infamous Levain cookie complete with craggy edges, crispy bits and bobs and a slightly gooey center. The miso walnuts are a nice addition but this recipe can be made sans the nuts. You may also incorporate other additions. A friend recently told me she was going to add pretzels instead of nuts when she makes this recipe. I did multiply the recipe and I made the cookies slightly smaller – I adjusted the bake time accordingly.
You will have to forgive my photography above. Last weekend while I was baking, we had thunderstorms accompanied with cloudy weather which lasted most of the afternoons. I was able to take the galette photos in between the raindrops. But after the cookies were made, the tempest did not allow me to get a photo with any natural light.
There are seven online recipes for you to try:
- Roasted strawberry Victoria sponge
- Earl Grey scones
- Miso walnut double-thick chocolate-chip cookies
- Plum and mascarpone karpatka
- Lemon Basque cheesecake with sticky lemons
- Baked lemon custard brûlée
- Secret chocolate cake
This debut title from Nicola will surely be a classic volume that bakers will cherish and use for years to come. When I met the author at the James Beard awards, I asked if she was starting on a second book to which she replied, “I need to recover from the first one.” I am hoping for a fast recovery.
Special thanks to the publishers for providing four copies of this title in our promotion. Two copies slated for UK Members and two copies open worldwide outside of the UK. Entry options include answering the following question in the comments section of this blog post.
Which recipe in the index would you like to try first?
Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest before posting or your entry won’t be counted. For more information on this process, please see our step-by-step help post. Once you log in and enter your member name you will be directed to the next entry option – the blog comment. After that, there are additional options that you can complete for more entries. Be sure to check your spam filters to receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on September 10th, 2025.
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