Recipes for freshly milled flours and adapting traditional recipes to use freshly milled flours. Good luck with your proposal. I hope it works out for you! 😊
Cookbook proposal? Everything thus far. Yeasted and quick breads, sourdough and ethnic breads as well. Pictures to elaborate on techniques. A glossary of ingredients and terms.
A lot of food bloggers go on to write cookbooks, as I’m sure you know. Some seem to do well, because they have large fan bases. So you’ve got that going for you. And you already have some (actually many) great recipes. So, it’s about the hook, I think. Some ideas: Chapters beyond basic sourdough. A play on whole grain. A chapter on rye and its alternatives (basic, dark deli, chocolate-cherry and some more). An extensive chapter on sourdough discard uses (that’s definitely something that would be new). Loaf pan breads (how to make sourdough breads in a loaf pan, many styles, for sandwiches), maybe not needing yet another (larger) Dutch oven. These are my first thoughts. Good luck!
A book on the science of baking each variety of bread . . . which demonstrates the techniques and ingredients to use for success and also illustrates the point at every step where you can alter what you do . . . for the better or the worse . . . (with a shift in techniques and ingredients) and an explanation of why. For example, with an enriched bread . . more or less water or eggs or oils or different types of flour . . . starter versus yeast . . . different kinds of yeast . . . hand kneading versus KA versus Ankarsrum . . . overnight chilling versus proofing drawer. I have purchased over 1,000 cookbooks . . . do not need any more recipes . . . need to learn what makes a recipe great. Take the reader inside your head and guide our hands.
Exactly! I also want to learn how to manipulate recipes and what the expected results may be when changing flour types/mix or altering/adding liquid percentages. While experimenting is a good teacher a guide explaining what to expect would help expedite the process and be highly welcomed.
Neil, your sentiments echo my primary complaints about most bread books (from any era, in any language). Formulation matters much less than process in breadmaking; hence, experience matters. I've begun my Substack as an attempt to address the very issues you mention. My goal is to help further understanding of the relationship(s) between the starting raw material and the process parameters involved.
Would love a more interactive format to hybridize the way traditional recipe books vs. cooking videos can be used together. Something like QR codes in a print book directly alongside the recipe photos to provide even more helpful visualization of how the dough or whatnot is supposed to look or behave at each stage. (As opposed to having to put down the book to open a google search to see if the recipe author ever made a helpful video to begin with) If it’s digital format then simply including clickable links to the videos. It’s been wishful thinking on my part to find more recipe books that allow more immersion. I like learning by watching & seeing examples but also find tons of value in having the actual recipe and it’s notes open in front of me as I work.
Call it “Show Us Your Fucked Loaves” and go through trouble shooting for the common issues in baking. Also: home bakers could use a clear method for evaluating locally grown and milled flour for their baking. I learned early on that bakers who blame their flour for their mistakes are looking for a scapegoat - I need a Harold McGee of grain, milling and bread and I don’t think I’m the only one. Unless there already is one and I missed it….
I have taken several classes on the Teachable Platform and find it so useful. The two classes I took were on herbs, but I can see where this platform would be great for bread baking classes. The videos are put up and students can just watch when needed. There are also recorded zoom sessions that are easy to access if you missed the live session. Some of the videos in the classes I took are just short 2 minute sessions, so you can learn in tiny bits and look for the video that addresses a specific question or technique. For example: I have attended serveral of your zoom classes, but now I have no idea where the recorded session is located. I suppose you sent it to my email and it's now lost.
Janice - If you are looking for videos for the classes you took, you can email me and we can track them down. In most cases, I sent download links, which means you should already have the video on your computer somewhere.
Oh Andrew! That is indeed an exciting secret project that understandably you don’t want to discuss too much until it’s for sure. I had wondered if you’d ever consider doing one. I think with how much enthusiasm the genre continues to have and the community you’ve built here, it’ll be a raging success! I hope the publishers don’t f$&k this up. If anyone has the qualifications and audience to write a bread book, it is you.
I do think you should include recipes based on newsletter favorite recipes, because although I like working off of print outs for baking, I would love having a nice copy of all your best recipes for reference. Also for gifting, to introduce people to all your stuff in a nice volume. Hm I guess I like the broad themes you try to teach and talk about on the newsletter, and I don’t know if it would be a coherent way of making a cookbook for the general masses, but for me it would be a wonderful encapsulation of you as a bread maker and baking teacher and the spirit of the newsletter to have chapters focusing on (many similar to what Nancy suggested): basic daily recipes (the Loaf, focaccia, baguette, with variations), lean breads with distinct flavors or techniques like rye or a porridge, pizza, other flatbreads, enriched breads and rolls with emphasis on tangzhong, whole grain elevating recipes including high extraction and non-bread whole grain recipes, holiday breads and traditional cultural breads, discard recipes, and practical technique or sciencey essays peppered along the way (with Johanna’s cool illustrations?!). Also I think a very unique thing you do with many of your recipes is to give a yeast version and a separate sourdough-only or plus-sourdough version, and that would be double the work but even if you do for just some subset of recipes you’ve already got the formulas for both, I think adding that option to recipes would be very unique in the world of baking books I’ve come across.
Best wishes for the process and finding the right home for it!!
If we’re going for completely fantastical, I’d also add a chapter of exclusive recipes from bakery friends of yours of their customer favorite recipes, or copycat recipes of your favorite breads/baked items from bakeries you’ve visited across the country/world. Also a theme of the newsletter with guest posts but I imagine a little trickier to pull off in a book.
Sorry one more comment to echo Nancy - definitely loaf pan recipes as part of the repertoire, but also maybe a general guideline of how to convert free loaf recipes into loaf pan equivalents and a couple of options of how to bake off. I have converted the Loaf to pan loaves very successfully using the nested Dutch oven method.
I have many bread books. I also bake many kinds of bread - sourdough, enriched, sweet, savory. I think there is a real gap in the market for really excellent sweet breads. There are many recipes out there for cinnamon raisin or what have you but the underlying bread is blah. White bread with stuff in it. Perhaps because I now have six grandchildren who like the sweeter stuff (not to mention my husband), this has become an ongoing quest. Give use some great sourdough or other base breads that lend themselves to sweet additions.
Sweet breads are the best. Not too sweet and fun to bake. Hard to find good quality sweet breads for purchase. They are fresher and better at home. They smell wonderful!
Upvoting the ideas on 1) a sourdough discard chapter and 2) advice for different types of flour (fresh milled, whole grains, etc.). I don't need another cookbook with lots of basics. I'd love one that featured more diversity of grains and techniques!
A variety of recipes across categories. For instance, those utilizing starters, same-day (or no-starter) recipes, quick breads. As someone who loves to bake but doesn’t have time every week to tackle a longer project (and can’t always make a multi-day project happen because of work, biz travel, family commitments), I really appreciate the one-day recipes.
Lots of focus on technique, plus tips and tricks. Obviously lots of photos! Love someone’s suggestion about a set of recipes from your industry contacts (like you’ve shared here).
Left-field thought. When I was single and lived on my own, my fave cookbook was a Judith Jones cookbook on cooking for one. Maybe some recipes that are good for people who live by themselves (half-loaf, smaller serving, make a batch and freeze half for later, etc)?
Recipes for freshly milled flours and adapting traditional recipes to use freshly milled flours. Good luck with your proposal. I hope it works out for you! 😊
Cookbook proposal? Everything thus far. Yeasted and quick breads, sourdough and ethnic breads as well. Pictures to elaborate on techniques. A glossary of ingredients and terms.
A lot of food bloggers go on to write cookbooks, as I’m sure you know. Some seem to do well, because they have large fan bases. So you’ve got that going for you. And you already have some (actually many) great recipes. So, it’s about the hook, I think. Some ideas: Chapters beyond basic sourdough. A play on whole grain. A chapter on rye and its alternatives (basic, dark deli, chocolate-cherry and some more). An extensive chapter on sourdough discard uses (that’s definitely something that would be new). Loaf pan breads (how to make sourdough breads in a loaf pan, many styles, for sandwiches), maybe not needing yet another (larger) Dutch oven. These are my first thoughts. Good luck!
A book on the science of baking each variety of bread . . . which demonstrates the techniques and ingredients to use for success and also illustrates the point at every step where you can alter what you do . . . for the better or the worse . . . (with a shift in techniques and ingredients) and an explanation of why. For example, with an enriched bread . . more or less water or eggs or oils or different types of flour . . . starter versus yeast . . . different kinds of yeast . . . hand kneading versus KA versus Ankarsrum . . . overnight chilling versus proofing drawer. I have purchased over 1,000 cookbooks . . . do not need any more recipes . . . need to learn what makes a recipe great. Take the reader inside your head and guide our hands.
Great answer Neil
Kind of a Modernist Bread for us mortals?
Exactly! I also want to learn how to manipulate recipes and what the expected results may be when changing flour types/mix or altering/adding liquid percentages. While experimenting is a good teacher a guide explaining what to expect would help expedite the process and be highly welcomed.
"How To Bake Bread: The Five Families Of Bread" by Michael Kalanty sort of does this.
Thanks for the info . . .
Neil, your sentiments echo my primary complaints about most bread books (from any era, in any language). Formulation matters much less than process in breadmaking; hence, experience matters. I've begun my Substack as an attempt to address the very issues you mention. My goal is to help further understanding of the relationship(s) between the starting raw material and the process parameters involved.
Would love a more interactive format to hybridize the way traditional recipe books vs. cooking videos can be used together. Something like QR codes in a print book directly alongside the recipe photos to provide even more helpful visualization of how the dough or whatnot is supposed to look or behave at each stage. (As opposed to having to put down the book to open a google search to see if the recipe author ever made a helpful video to begin with) If it’s digital format then simply including clickable links to the videos. It’s been wishful thinking on my part to find more recipe books that allow more immersion. I like learning by watching & seeing examples but also find tons of value in having the actual recipe and it’s notes open in front of me as I work.
A great idea! Different learning approaches reaches more people.
Easy for me to say, but a book where I learn something new. I don't need the basics, I want to be challenged. Distil what you've done already!
Call it “Show Us Your Fucked Loaves” and go through trouble shooting for the common issues in baking. Also: home bakers could use a clear method for evaluating locally grown and milled flour for their baking. I learned early on that bakers who blame their flour for their mistakes are looking for a scapegoat - I need a Harold McGee of grain, milling and bread and I don’t think I’m the only one. Unless there already is one and I missed it….
Adjustments for different climates - so I know if I’m tweaking it the right way for being in a hot, dry, high elevation environment. ;)
Not just for bread, but "Pie In The Sky" does a great job of this for many baked goods.
Thanks for the re-direct! I always feel like I’m just making it up as I go.
https://www.amazon.com/Pie-Successful-Baking-High-Altitudes/dp/0060522585/ref=sr_1_2
I have taken several classes on the Teachable Platform and find it so useful. The two classes I took were on herbs, but I can see where this platform would be great for bread baking classes. The videos are put up and students can just watch when needed. There are also recorded zoom sessions that are easy to access if you missed the live session. Some of the videos in the classes I took are just short 2 minute sessions, so you can learn in tiny bits and look for the video that addresses a specific question or technique. For example: I have attended serveral of your zoom classes, but now I have no idea where the recorded session is located. I suppose you sent it to my email and it's now lost.
Janice - If you are looking for videos for the classes you took, you can email me and we can track them down. In most cases, I sent download links, which means you should already have the video on your computer somewhere.
Oh Andrew! That is indeed an exciting secret project that understandably you don’t want to discuss too much until it’s for sure. I had wondered if you’d ever consider doing one. I think with how much enthusiasm the genre continues to have and the community you’ve built here, it’ll be a raging success! I hope the publishers don’t f$&k this up. If anyone has the qualifications and audience to write a bread book, it is you.
I do think you should include recipes based on newsletter favorite recipes, because although I like working off of print outs for baking, I would love having a nice copy of all your best recipes for reference. Also for gifting, to introduce people to all your stuff in a nice volume. Hm I guess I like the broad themes you try to teach and talk about on the newsletter, and I don’t know if it would be a coherent way of making a cookbook for the general masses, but for me it would be a wonderful encapsulation of you as a bread maker and baking teacher and the spirit of the newsletter to have chapters focusing on (many similar to what Nancy suggested): basic daily recipes (the Loaf, focaccia, baguette, with variations), lean breads with distinct flavors or techniques like rye or a porridge, pizza, other flatbreads, enriched breads and rolls with emphasis on tangzhong, whole grain elevating recipes including high extraction and non-bread whole grain recipes, holiday breads and traditional cultural breads, discard recipes, and practical technique or sciencey essays peppered along the way (with Johanna’s cool illustrations?!). Also I think a very unique thing you do with many of your recipes is to give a yeast version and a separate sourdough-only or plus-sourdough version, and that would be double the work but even if you do for just some subset of recipes you’ve already got the formulas for both, I think adding that option to recipes would be very unique in the world of baking books I’ve come across.
Best wishes for the process and finding the right home for it!!
If we’re going for completely fantastical, I’d also add a chapter of exclusive recipes from bakery friends of yours of their customer favorite recipes, or copycat recipes of your favorite breads/baked items from bakeries you’ve visited across the country/world. Also a theme of the newsletter with guest posts but I imagine a little trickier to pull off in a book.
Thanks for the riffs on my suggestions. Great ideas!
I should have just said “see Nancy’s comment, I agree with everything” - you said it better and more cogently haha!
Yes to this! I was thinking about exactly the same. Like Pete Reinhart’s Pizza Quest but for bread.
Sorry one more comment to echo Nancy - definitely loaf pan recipes as part of the repertoire, but also maybe a general guideline of how to convert free loaf recipes into loaf pan equivalents and a couple of options of how to bake off. I have converted the Loaf to pan loaves very successfully using the nested Dutch oven method.
Everything here is a great suggestion.
I would love more ideas for sourdough discard
I have many bread books. I also bake many kinds of bread - sourdough, enriched, sweet, savory. I think there is a real gap in the market for really excellent sweet breads. There are many recipes out there for cinnamon raisin or what have you but the underlying bread is blah. White bread with stuff in it. Perhaps because I now have six grandchildren who like the sweeter stuff (not to mention my husband), this has become an ongoing quest. Give use some great sourdough or other base breads that lend themselves to sweet additions.
Sweet breads are the best. Not too sweet and fun to bake. Hard to find good quality sweet breads for purchase. They are fresher and better at home. They smell wonderful!
Upvoting the ideas on 1) a sourdough discard chapter and 2) advice for different types of flour (fresh milled, whole grains, etc.). I don't need another cookbook with lots of basics. I'd love one that featured more diversity of grains and techniques!
Thank you, That’s true, I just need to look at all my downloads and get them organized!
A variety of recipes across categories. For instance, those utilizing starters, same-day (or no-starter) recipes, quick breads. As someone who loves to bake but doesn’t have time every week to tackle a longer project (and can’t always make a multi-day project happen because of work, biz travel, family commitments), I really appreciate the one-day recipes.
Lots of focus on technique, plus tips and tricks. Obviously lots of photos! Love someone’s suggestion about a set of recipes from your industry contacts (like you’ve shared here).
Left-field thought. When I was single and lived on my own, my fave cookbook was a Judith Jones cookbook on cooking for one. Maybe some recipes that are good for people who live by themselves (half-loaf, smaller serving, make a batch and freeze half for later, etc)?
Julie - I hope you enjoy today's post!
WHOOP!!!!