Books by Kate Downham – Homesteading Cookbooks and Self Sufficiency Guides

Kate Downham has been growing, preserving, and cooking real food since 2007. She is the author of four books on homestead skills: A Year in an Off-Grid Kitchen, Natural Small Batch Cheesemaking, Backyard Dairy Goats, and Sourdough Without Fail.

Living off-grid with her family of nine in the Tasmanian forest, Kate milks her own goats, makes all their cheese, mills all her own grain, and bakes fresh sourdough bread daily. She has been writing at The Nourishing Hearthfire blog since 2016, where she shares her family’s homestead successes, failures, recipes, and how-to guides.

Learn the skills that helped our ancestors to thrive in harsh times with this homesteading cookbook and manual for essential homestead kitchen skills

When the panic buying, empty shelves, and restrictive rations hit in March 2020, it was not a problem for Kate Downham and her family, because she knew these skills, and knew how to feed her family without the supermarket system. With the help of this book, you can learn these skills too.

Learn traditional methods of preserving pork without electricity. Make your own cheese, butter, and other dairy essentials. Learn sourdough bread recipes that take only 5 minutes of hands-on time to make. Preserve fruit and vegetables in many ways – from failproof fermenting through to jams, chutneys, pickles, and water bath canning.

Learn one skill at a time while also finding recipe inspiration in seasonal local recipes that are designed to be cooked in everyday homestead life. These recipes have been tested in many different kitchens, and will work on wood stoves as well as conventional electric and gas cookers. Many variations and ingredient substitutions are included to help you make the recipes with whatever ingredients are on hand at the time, along with useful indexes to help make use of seasonal abundance.

“This beautiful and informative book is like a match made in heaven of Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions cookbook and Jessica Prentice’s Full Moon Feast, with a twist of survival handbook. Woven amid all the clear and practical recipes to nourish your body is homage to nature’s beauty, which will nourish your soul.

Downham invites you into her simple existence in her simply beautiful world. Built on a foundation of permacul-ture principles, she has created an autonomous life that is fueled by grass-fed animal fat and dedicated to reliance on nutrient-dense foods. Her seasonally appropriate eating suggestions entice us into this way of living with her “resilient recipes” that are simple to follow, use local and staple foods, nourish good health and energy, and delight the taste buds.

This beautiful cookbook and practical homesteading guide gets a big thumbs up!”
Weston A Price Foundation

“I love the intuitive approach to real food and seasonal eating in Kate Downham’s A Year in an Off-Grid Kitchen. Recipes are thoughtful, nutrient-dense and, above all else, approachable.”
Jenny McGruther, Nourished Kitchen

“An excellent addition to every homestead library.”
Leigh Tate, 5 Acres and a Dream

“Full of homestead wisdom, healthy recipes, and helpful tips, Kate’s book is a great resource even if you aren’t off-grid or just one day aspire to be. The seasonal organization coupled with discussing skills and methods at just the right time makes this a great guide to learning to live more in tune with nature and with less reliance on modern conveniences and contraptions.”
John Moody, author of The Frugal Homesteader

“Way more than a cookbook! An essential guide for making your own food from homestead to table. The book is full of straightforward, practical, doable recipes and techniques specific to the needs of a homestead kitchen.

Mouth-watering pictures capture the beauty and simplicity of the dishes. They look like something I can imagine on my own table, and give motivation to try the recipe myself. The organization of the book by season gives it a kind of follow along quality that makes it fun and gives a feeling of connectedness to the author and other homesteaders. I imagine others are probably cooking the same seasonal dishes or working hard to preserve the surplus of a seasonal harvest.

Definitely recommend to anyone who dreams of providing all their own food someday!”
Amy Arnett, Permies.com staff reviewer

“While there are plenty of sources out there-you can watch endless sourdough-making videos on YouTube, take fermentation classes, and Google ‘elderberry recipes’ ’til the cows come home-it’s the rare source that cuts through all the noise and delivers practical, time-tested techniques based on a real, honest-to-goodness life of homesteading. A Year in an Off-Grid Kitchen is that rare source.”
Lisa Brunette, Brunette Gardens

Bake with 100% whole grain fresh milled flour with over 75 recipes for 100% Whole Grain Sourdough Bread, Pizza, and Pastries for Any Kitchen

Discover the joy of sourdough baking without the frustration. Whether you’re a complete beginner who’s never made a loaf or a seasoned home baker ready to take sourdough to the next level, Sourdough Without Fail is your foolproof guide to crafting delicious, nutritious breads, crispy pizzas, and flaky pastries using 100% whole grains.

Packed with over 75 easy, adaptable recipes, this cookbook breaks the boundaries of traditional sourdough, showing you how to work with what you have in your kitchen – no fancy equipment required.

These wholesome recipes prioritise flavour, nutrition, and simplicity. Bake better – every time – with full instructions that demystify the process and empower you to create bakery-quality results at home.

In Sourdough Without Fail, you’ll learn:

Foolproof Sourdough for All Levels: Created for absolute beginners to experienced bakers, from a no- fail beginner recipe with step-by-step photos, through to inspirational recipes for anyone. From simple everyday loaves to advanced pastries and perfect pizza, all designed to work in real-life conditions.

100% Whole Grains: Every recipe uses 100% whole grain flours, no white flour, no yeast, and no white sugar, prioritising flavour, nutrition, and digestibility through slow fermentation techniques.

75+ Versatile Recipes: Covers everyday essentials like sandwich bread, rustic hearth loaves, and pizza dough, plus creative options such as flaky pastries, crackers, pasta, pancakes, tortillas, cinnamon rolls, and even cakes – all adaptable to your schedule and kitchen setup.

No Fancy Equipment Required: Work with basic tools you already own. No need for a stand mixer or any single-purpose kitchen gear.

Practical Tools for Success: Starter maintenance guides, flexible scheduling, and endless variations to fit busy lifestyles.

Homestead Inspiration: Written by an author who bakes every day using home-milled grains, empowering cooks to create bakery-quality results with simple, nourishing, real food ingredients.

Multiple Batch Sizes: Handy ingredients tables will help you out, whether you’re baking just one loaf, or need to feed a crowd.

Never Waste Starter Again: Real-life feeding schedules, simple recipes for using up discard, and clear instructions to help you perfectly store your starter for later. Learn to nurture your sourdough starter to create the best possible bread, without finicky instructions or waste.

“A work of art. Great pictures and detailed recipes, amazing. Such a great resource of inspiration.”
Hendrik Kleinwaechter, author of The Sourdough Framework

“Sourdough Without Fail is like your security blanket companion while you begin to understand the art of leavening bread and using whole grains. With simple steps, clear guidance and literally foolproof techniques, this book wraps you up and keeps you warm, while turning the most hesitant beginner into a confident sourdough baker.”
Marc Vetri, author of Mastering Bread

“This book is absolutely wholesome. I have been trying to make my own sourdough starter for a while now, but I’m an absolute beginner and many recipes and instructions out there for some reason assume you already know half of the steps. This book does no such thing. It is the most thorough, in-depth guide to sourdough bread I’ve read so far. Not only does the book explain the science behind sourdough and how it all comes together, but it takes you through everything step by step. There are troubleshooting section you can read through if your dough comes out wrong to figure out what you should do differently next time. There are guides to make your sourdough journey fit your lifestyle and I love that about this book.“
Rosaline’s Rolls and Scrolls

“The recipes introduce a range of techniques because whole grains can require specific approaches. However, Downham includes options for ‘easy’ loaves that demystify the process of long fermentation and offers flexible sample schedules to help the reader fit baking into a busy life. There are even recipes for different seasons because temperature is so important for fermentation. I found the ingredient tables particularly useful for adapting recipes to one loaf or many – it’s great that both imperial and metric measurements are included.”
CannyCat

“If you’re ready to turn your kitchen into a bubbling laboratory of flour and wild yeast, Sourdough Without Fail by Kate Downham is like that cool, earthy friend who hands you a mason jar and tells you, “You’ve got this!” This book is a breath of fresh air for the beginner who wants to skip the complex chemistry sets and focus on the fun, rhythmic hobby of baking from scratch. Downham’s low-tech approach is incredibly encouraging, making the daunting task of starting a culture feel like a simple weekend adventure.”
Tami, Back to the Enjoyment of Reading

“This book is incredibly in depth and detailed. You can either simply follow the recipes or read it from cover to cover to become a sourdough magician”
Sam Stoddard

“Kate Downham takes what can often feel like a complex and unpredictable process and makes it accessible through clear instructions and a focus on consistency.

The book stands out for its emphasis on reliability. Rather than overwhelming readers with overly technical detail, it provides straightforward methods that help build confidence in the kitchen. The inclusion of a wide range of recipes from breads to pizzas to pastries adds versatility and ensures that readers can apply their skills across different types of baking.”
Katie Meyers

“This was not only a recipe book, but a step-by-step guide to various different ways of making sourdough products from your starter.
It goes into extreme detail, almost as someone is here with you making the sourdough recipes and showing you step by step how to do it properly.”
Sarah

“This is an excellent starting guide for sourdough baking. Over the years, I’ve maintained several starters and experimented with different recipes, but Downham presents the science behind sourdough in a way that’s clear and approachable. The inclusion of both imperial and metric measurements, along with helpful photographs, makes the book especially accessible for home bakers.

I only wish I’d had this resource when I first began my sourdough journey. Even for more experienced bakers, the book offers plenty of value with a range of recipes that go beyond the classic sourdough loaf.”
Nicole Lovestoread

“This is an excellent assortment of recipes. I appreciate the layout of the book. It’s easy to follow, the photos are not too many and not too few.”
Jennifer Pearson

“A terrific resource loaded with photos and helpful instructions for making sourdough bread, pastries, and pizza. I have two left thumbs in the kitchen and with this gorgeous guide, even I can succeed with sourdough.”
Literary Redhead

Learn to make great cheese the natural, flexible, and adaptable way

Making home dairy products was an essential skill in the past, and a skill that continues to create resilience, reduce food costs, and provide healthy food in the face of supply disruptions and uncertainty.

Wherever you are, you can make delicious cheeses in your home kitchen, starting with just one litre (one quart) of milk, and less time than you may think, with recipes and techniques that can be scaled up or down. Natural Small Batch Cheesemaking is perfect for homesteaders, farmers, and anyone who appreciates good cheese.

Topics covered include:

•Milk: Working with different types of milk and seasonal conditions, best practises for storing and handling milk.
•Rennet: Homemade rennet recipes, plus how to source and work with high quality purchased rennet.
•Homemade cheese cultures.
•Budget-friendly cheesemaking equipment: Getting started with gear you already have, making your own equipment, pressing cheese without a cheese press, and how to achieve great results at home.
•Cheesemaking in detail: All the steps of cheesemaking explained, both the “why” and the “how”, learn to change recipes around to suit your lifestyle and tastes and make your own unique cheeses.
•Aging cheeses – how to age cheeses at home, on or off the grid.
•How to use leftover whey.
•Easy-to-follow recipes for small batch cheeses, plus other dairy products including yoghurt, kefir, sour cream, butter, and ice cream.
•Troubleshooting: What to do when things don’t go according to plan.
•Cheesemaking for survival and self-reliance: Techniques for making dairy self-sufficiency more flexible, adaptable, affordable, and achievable, from a successful off-grid cheesemaker.

“For those who have wanted to make cheese at home but didn’t know where to start, this book is for you. From rennet to cultures to equipment, Kate Downham supplies you with everything you need to know to make outstanding natural cheese!”
Sally Fallon Morell, president, The Weston A. Price Foundation and cheesemaker, P A Bowen Farmstead

“This is precisely the cheesemaking book I wish had existed when I started my cheesemaking journey years ago. Most books just give you a quick list of steps, with no real instruction, and it always leaves you wondering, why? Kate starts with the “whys” of cheesemaking, explaining each step and its purpose right from the start, giving you a solid cheesemaking foundation before diving into recipes.”
Ashley Adamant, Practical Self Reliance

“This book was so satisfying to my inner permie-nerd; Kate’s zeal for natural cheeses is infectious as she guides you through in-depth overview of natural cheesemaking. Kate’s book will leave you dreaming of making your own cheesy homestead delicacies.This book is well though-out and presented. As someone who is new to cheese making, it shares a wealth of knowledge but in a way that was captivating and encouraging. Kate’s experience and expertise is only eclipsed by her passion and loved for natural small batch cheesemaking. This book has something for every cheese-lover; from absolute beginner to well ‘aged’ professional. “
Ashley Cottonwood, staff reviewer at Permies.com

“One of the things I love about this book is that Kate manages to gear it toward both beginning and experienced cheesemakers. The first several chapters cover the concepts and fundamentals of making cheese. Don’t miss these! Even if you’ve been making cheese for years and years, these chapters are loaded with many, many tidbits plus practical wisdom. I’ve been making cheese for the past decade, but I learned more useful information from Kate’s book than I have anywhere else.

The recipes are very well written; easy to understand and easy to follow. Once you’re comfortable with the recipe, there are “quick-glance method for experienced cheesemakers” in the chapter margins. Very handy! The appendices include an extensive troubleshooting section and how to adapt ingredients to larger quantities of milk. I can honestly say this book is a “must have” for every homesteader who loves and wants to make cheese.”
Leigh Tate, 5 Acres And A Dream

“I’ve now tried a few different books on natural cheesemaking, and this one is by far the best. The author doesn’t just list steps for you to do – she actually explains why each step is necessary, and what will happen if you do it differently. I’ve learned more about cheesemaking from reading a couple of her simplest recipes than I have from reading entire books from other authors. She also makes cheesemaking more approachable than anyone else I’ve read – she uses natural, easy-to-make starters, instead of industrially-produced cultures, and gives recipes that fit the milk production of a small homestead (and the busy life of a small homesteader). Cheesemaking feels much more flexible and forgiving after reading this book, and simultaneously, I have a much more precise understanding of why and how things are happening. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to get into natural cheesemaking!!“
Amazon customer reviews

“I’m new to cheesemaking and I really love that this author took the time to list out the importance and reasoning behind each step so I can really LEARN how to do it rather than just learn how to follow a recipe.“
Amazon customer reviews

Work with nature to raise dairy goats in any yard

Backyard Dairy Goats is a book focusing on raising dairy goats in a way that respects their nature, on any amount of land.

Backyard dairying can be done by anyone. It doesn’t have to be a dream that may happen one day in the distant future, it can happen now, and this book will show you how.

Topics covered include:

•Everything you need to know about goats – their behaviour, how to feed them, handle them, what they need to thrive, and so on.

•Natural goat health, how to prevent and fix most issues without a vet.

•Learning from observation, and goat behaviour in the wild to provide the right foods for goats to thrive.

•A permaculture approach, looking at the whole backyard ecosystem and the many interactions between goats, animals, garden, people, and trees.

•Goat dairy as a homemade staple food, for health, survival and self reliance. Recipes included!

•Small batch natural cheesemaking.

“I really enjoyed this book and as I’m getting dairy goats, I found it very helpful and it’s written by a homesteader who raises dairy goats. What sets it apart is it’s written by someone who has hands on experience with dairy goats raising them holistically as nature intended with goat welfare and husbandry as a primary focus as opposed to books that are how-to indoctrinations written from the standpoint and practices of the industrial dairy/livestock complex.”
Amazon customer reviews

“I love this book, and highly recommend it! It’s great comprehensive information, written in a very down to earth, practical style, organized in a way that makes sense. I’m new to goat stewardship, and this book has been a huge help, to me, as well as helping to calm many of my husband’s fears, too.”
Amazon customer reviews

“Great facts and descriptive tips, loved all the natural suggestions, property tips, care and even yummy recipes to make with goats milk”
Amazon customer reviews

“Probably one of the best books I’ve looked into when raising goats”
Amazon customer reviews

“This little book is packed with information from about goats from baby to nursing mama and even how to whether a goat, and ailments and how to check for them and prevent them and treat them. I love the holistic look on goats and how they fit into different sized homestead and how to incorporate them into your permaculture system, rather than just keep them isolated.”
Amazon customer reviews

“”Backyard” and “natural approach” are excellent reasons to buy this book! Most people think you need a lot of land to keep goats, in fact, one of the most common beginner questions is about acreage. Kate Downham, dispels that myth and shows you how you can keep dairy goats in your backyard. You’ll learn everything a prospective goat keeper needs to know to have healthy, happy goats.

I also love her natural approach, explaining goats as part of your backyard ecosystem. She explains how to use minerals and feeding techniques to avoid common goat health problems plus the major goat diseases. Goats with proper mineral intake rarely have health problems.”
Amazon customer reviews

“This book is a great source of information about natural goat raising, and can be read by those who are completely new to raising goats, or by those who already have goats, but want to take a more natural approach.

I do not yet have goats, but thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, as it gave me a very informative insight into what things to expect when raising them. The author addresses common goat keeping issues and offers plenty of advice and natural solutions to simple health problems, which has come from her own experience with natural goat keeping.

I found all of it very useful and easy to read, from learning about herd dynamics, right down to what to look for when purchasing goats. I know this will be a book that I will refer to often.”
Amazon customer reviews