Here’s the story (which is not to say that it is an excuse.) There were staffing changes at my publisher, and my corrections just fell through the cracks and didn’t make it into the book. Most concerned the bread…as you found out. My editor believed that water, which comes from the tap, should not be included in the Ingredients list. I argued that because it is measured, it does. With all of the backing and forthing, guess what? The water disappeared from the bread recipes altogether. Great!

When I discovered that the changes did not get into the book, I posted them online at http://www.rickrodgers.com. Hundreds of people have used these corrections, but I don’t consider myself off the hook. Thankfully, my body of work speaks for itself, and I do try to write useful, good cookbooks.

There are new editions of both Christmas 101 and Thanksgiving 101 coming out in Fall 2007 and all of the recipes have been reviewed and fixed where needed. (The toffee now says to stir constantly during cooking at medium heat to help with the butter separation issue.)

I hope this solves the mystery. Again, this isn’t a excuse, but an explanation.