William Alexander: 52 Loaves

[abecedarian]

Subtitled, One Man's Relentless Pursuit of Truth, Meaning, and a Perfect Crust

Did you know bread can be funny? I thought I was the only one who couldn't get bread dough to slide off a peel with a simple flick of the wrist. Turns out, William Alexander can relate. In fact, his breadmaking journey mirrors mine in many ways. I haven't taken bread classes in Paris, toured bakeries in Morocco, or baked bread for 3 dozen French monks for a week, but I've certainly experienced many of the same sort of bread flops and mountain top experiences. This is not a recipe book, but he's got me staring at the ripening apples in my back yard and thinking seriously of trying to make my own levain after I dust off the kitchen scale and buy a yard of cheesecloth. I doubt I'll ever get to that French monastery, but I think I can bake a decent loaf or two for my family. Highly recommended.

Alexander has a website and blog to support this book, with a nice question and answer feature. I had a question this morning and he's already replied. So, he's minding the shop there. www.williamalexander.com

 

[sparkchaser]

Sounds interesting.

Have you read Six Thousand Years of Bread: Its Holy and Unholy History by Heinrich E. Jacob? An ex-gf of mine who is a pastry chef called it the best book on bread she has ever read.

 

[abecedarian]

Sounds interesting.

Have you read Six Thousand Years of Bread: Its Holy and Unholy History by Heinrich E. Jacob? An ex-gf of mine who is a pastry chef called it the best book on bread she has ever read.

No, but I just saw this book in Alexander's Amazon store..looks like something I'd like. Alexander talked about the history of bread, but not much, only as it pertains to his own journey. I plan to investigate Six Thousand Years too.

Alexander and I have read many of the same books. He managed to get his own backyard Earth Oven...I'm still building the courage to suggest it to Mr. Abc:whistling::lol::whistling: