Local Breads: Sourdough and Whole-Grain Recipes from Europe’s Best Artisan Bakers by Daniel Leader with Lauren Chattman (Norton, $35)
The autumn is the perfect time to bake bread. The days are cooler and nothing fills a house with joy quite like the aroma of fresh bread from the oven. With that in mind, the next step is to find a comprehensive cookbook that features recipes that are both delicious and healthy.
Daniel Leader, owner of the Bread Alone bakery in Woodstock, New York, and author of the incredibly popular cookbook, Bread Alone: Bold Fresh Loaves from Your Own Hands, a collection that, incidentally, won an International Association of Culinary Professionals Cookbook Award in 1993, presents his new collection. Simply put, Local Breads focuses on European artisans who bake bread. In addition to dozens of exciting recipes, Leader shares many of the colorful stories of the people behind the recipes he selected along with a list of equipment and ingredients needed to try many of the regional favorites such as a fairly simple Italian Ricotta Bread, a delightful Rosemary Filone made from dough tenderized with olive oil, and a hearty Auvergne Rye Baguette with Bacon.
In compiling his collection, Leader traveled throughout Europe in search of unique artisan breads that reflected both place and tradition. Many of the recipes he found were passed down from generation to generation and that is one of the main reasons why his book makes for such fascinating reading.
Leader provides step-by-step recipes, the best ways for making and using European starts and sourdoughs, the most frequently asked questions about break making, and even a helpful section for ordering and finding high quality baking ingredients and equipment.