In Search of the Perfect Loaf: A Home Baker's Odyssey

In Search of the Perfect Loaf: A Home Baker's Odyssey

"An invaluable guide for beginning bakers."— The New York Times  An irresistible account of bread, bread baking, and one home baker’s journey to master his craft In 2009, journalist Samuel Fromartz was offered the assignment of a lifetime: to travel to France to work in a boulangerie. So began his quest to hone not just his homemade baguette—which later beat out professional bakeries to win the “Best Baguette of D.C.”—but his knowledge of bread, from seed to table. For the next four years, Fromartz traveled across the United States and Europe, perfecting his sourdough in California, his whole grain rye in Berlin, and his country wheat in the South of France. Along the way, he met historians, millers, farmers, wheat geneticists, sourdough biochemists, and everyone in between, learning about the history of breadmaking, the science of fermentation, and more. The result is an informative yet personal account of bread and breadbaking, complete with detailed recipes, tips, and beautiful photographs. Entertaining and inspiring, this book will be a touchstone for a new generation of bakers and a must-read for anyone who wants to take a deeper look at this deceptively ordinary, exceptionally delicious staple: handmade bread. WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CULINARY PROFESSIONALS' AWARD FOR LITERARY WRITING  NAMED ONE OF THE BEST FOOD BOOKS OF 2014 BY  THE ATLANTIC  AND  NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC “Terrific…. Fromartz is much more than an obsessive cook. He’s also a fine reporter and writer. And Perfect Loaf is much more than a book about baking bread….What Fromartz is really writing about is how a deeper understanding of something leads to a deeper appreciation of it. He is showing us the world through a slice of bread.” – Los Angeles Times   “[An] engaging and informative book…about, among many things, the return of artisan baking in France and its rise in the United States, the cultivation of wheat here and abroad, the magic and mystery of sourdough starters, and by no means least, the education of a baker.” – Washington Post   “Terrific to read….This is the book for beginning and would-be bread bakers, with information on flours, sourdough making, loaf formation, and oven rejiggering anyone needs.” – The Atlantic , “The Best Food Books of 2014”   “A flavorful delight….Fromartz’s ‘Odyssey’ is just that; he has stoked every coal when it comes to bread. Though this isn’t a cookbook by any means, he does include nine recipes…all graded by difficulty and annotated so that it’s like having an expert at your side. Does he find the perfect loaf? He finds a lot more than that.” – Kansas City Star   “This is no mere cookbook, but a journey…[Fromartz’s] evolution lays out a compelling path for anyone with flour, water, salt and yeast and an appetite for the perfect loaf of bread.” – Minneapolis Star-Tribune   “[Fromartz] educates readers through a journeyman narrative, with a handful of recipes from an ‘easy-to-make baguette’ inspired by travels in France, to pain de compagne from California bakers and German Roggenweizenbrot he learned in Berlin.….If you don’t know much about how or why handcrafted bread is vastly different from what’s sold in bakeries and grocery stores, start with this book.’ – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette   “ In Search of the Perfect Loaf asks and answers some essential questions….I hope his book leads other people to go on their own search for the perfect loaf.” –Jim Lahey, The Wall Street Journal   “A memoir, recipe book, and ultimately, a meditation on reviving diversity and flavor in a food too many take for granted.” –The Plate, National Geographic , “Best Books of 2014”   “[Fromartz] mixes practical advice and age-old wisdom and leavens the combination with interesting characters and irresistible writing. What arises is an absolute must-have book for the bread baker on your list…But it is also a page-turning read for anyone with a vicarious curiosity about how this miracle food is made. –Barry Estabrook, Civil Eats, “10 Book Recommendations for Conscientious Eaters”   “Thoroughly researched and engagingly written….This impressive work falls somewhere between a cookbook, an exploration of bread-baking techniques, and a history of bread....Even those who think they know bread will find something to gain here….Highly recommended.”   – Library Journal, starred review   “[A] fun and informative memoir [that] provides a fascinating miniature course on the techniques involved in making different varieties…baking methods used by our ancestors…and even a little history on grains and practices dating back to the Fertile Crescent.” – Publishers Weekly   “A consummate celebration of the deceptively simple loaf of bread…Besides imparting a history of grains and their places in culture over the past 105,000 years (when grain consumption appears to have begun), Fromartz includes step-by-step recipes for nurturing dough starters and for baking