New Year, New News

An update from the flour mines

Hey all, happy 2024! I just wanted to pop in briefly to say that I am still toiling away on the book here deep in the flour mines, and doing my best not to panic about running out of time to get everything into it I want. (There’s SO MUCH!)

Writing a book is hard, and I am realizing that I need as much uninterrupted desk and bench time as possible to actually get all the words worded and all the formulas formulated. So when my pal

Amy Halloran

—the one-and-only Flour Ambassador—offered out of the blue to take the helm here at Wordloaf for the next few months, I could not have been more grateful for her generosity, relieved for my sanity, or excited for you all.

Amy is one of my favorite people and is infinitely thoughtful and knowledgeable about all things bread, baking, and grain, and there is no one better suited to take the wheel here. When we first discussed some of her ideas for essays and interviews, I was wildly enthusiastic about them all. There were even a couple of items which were already on my own to-do list, further proof that the idea was a great one.

She’ll start sharing things here sometime next week and will be running the mill at least through the end of February, maybe longer. Regular Wordloaf features like the Monday Mix and Friday Bread Basket will remain on hiatus until I return in full, but I do plan to share some posts of my own now and again, most likely in the form of excerpts and formulas from the book, beginning later this month.

I asked Amy to (re)introduce herself to you all and talk a little about what she has in store for us. More soon from both of us. Please welcome her here, and say hi! in the comments if you like.

Thank you SO MUCH to Amy, and to all of you for bearing with me while I birth this giant bread baby of mine.

—Andrew

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Dear Wordloafers,

When Andrew announced he was taking time off to work on his book, I offered to play substitute teacher for this big bread classroom.

A card from a game, featuring paper dolls of a baker, clerk, and bread delivery men.

I have a 1936 bakery game from General Mills to share, and a profile of the Bread Bakers Guild of America — an organization that serves the craft of artisan baking at a professional and home level. I have a few interviews planned, but I won’t name names until I’ve got them officially lined up.

Who am I to sub for Mr. Janjigian? I am a bread writing friend — he’s let me post here before, about a Pi man named Charles Gidney, and a 1911 pamphlet that pushed bakery bread over homemade. I have my own newsletter, Dear Bread, and I’m working on a book about the local history of factory bread.

I met Andrew at The Kneading Conference in 2012, as I was researching my book about regional flour, The New Bread Basket. I liked him and his teaching style immediately. How could he know so much, and not lord it over anyone? Over the years we’ve become flour pen pals, and I love having his brain at my ready. When I have something I need to know, I fire off a question and if he doesn’t know the answer, he knows who does. When I need to brainstorm, he’s all ears. Writers need to find our own virtual water coolers, and I’m so glad Andrew is at mine! And I’m glad to give Andrew a chance to focus on his manuscript.

Yours, Amy