Going with the Grain: A Wandering Bread Lover Takes a Bite Out of Life

by Susan Seligson

"My lifelong love affair with bread has less to do with crust, crumb, and the vagaries of sourdough cultures and more to do with bread as a reflection of people's varied beliefs, daily lives, and blood memories....Bread tells the most essential human stories."

So begins Susan Seligson's personal and often humorous journey to discover the secrets of the baker's trade and the place bread has in the lives of those who consume it. Part travelogue, part cultural history, with a handful of recipes thrown in for good measure, it is an exploration of the customs, traditions, and rituals around the creating and eating of this most basic and enduring form of sustenance.
Bread is the stuff of life. Governments have been overthrown and religious rituals created because of it. Fry bread, matzo, ksra, nan, all are as resonant of their specific culture as any artifact. In Going with the Grain , Seligson wanders the streets of the Casbah in Fès, Morocco, to unlock the secrets of the thousand-year-old communal bakeries there. In Saratoga Springs, New York, she finds a bread maker so committed to making the ultimate loaf, he built a unique sixty-ton hearth and uses only certified biodynamically grown wheat. Seligson knelt in the Jordanian desert beside a woman turning flat breads over glowing embers and plumbed the mysteries of Wonder Bread in an aseptic American factory.
As satisfying as a slice of good bread with butter, Going with the Grain is for the armchair traveler and armchair baker alike.

Genres: Nonfiction, Food, Travel, Cooking

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed parts of this book more than others. Each chapter discusses a different part of the world and the bread of the area, with a recipe included at the end.

We start off in Morocco, where the author tried to follow the trail of unbaked breads leaving private homes to be baked in public ovens. She says there are never any mix-ups, that the proper bread gets back to the proper person every time, and I wondered with her how that could be. She divulges the secret towards the end of the chapter, and of course it made sense.

Next she visits an artesan bread maker in New York, and in the same chapter another in Oregon. There was a world of difference between the lifestyles of the two bakers, but they both felt the same reverence for bread. Interesting to see people with such passion for something making it their life's work!

I enjoyed the visit to Lebanon in another chapter, but I was not thrilled with the tour of the Wonder Bread factory....sorry, bakery. Such industrial sized any thing makes me cringe.

As for the rest of the book, I confess I mostly skimmed. I am not sure why I lost interest, but I did. I will try to go back someday and read the skimmed parts properly. Maybe I just need to let the dough raise a bit more.

[Greta · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like to read about others' travels in foreign lands, local cuisine and culture, and bread. So naturally, I thought mixing these all together would add up to a really enjoyable read. Sadly, however, it didn't. While I learned a bit about the cultural history and some snippets of life in the different places the author traveled to, I found the bread thread to be a thin excuse to hold this book together. It appeared to me that Susan was being paid to travel to exotic places under the guise of researching the local bread but in fact she didn't seem to actually enjoy her experiences. Maybe she was just doing it for the money. Something in her tone was critical, judgmental, or just plain snarky when she was writing about the people or places or food she encountered. I understand that man cannot live on bread alone, but this woman's book would have benefited if she loved to bake bread herself. And she admitted up front that she really doesn't bake at all. There was something lacking in the book. Or maybe there was just too much of her in it and too little of her real love of bread. Or traveling. Or foreign places too, for that matter.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally polished off one of the older books on my TBR pile! Honestly, I selected it more for the travel narrative aspect then for learning more about bread itself, although she does do a terrific job of using that as a framework for the various visits.

What to expect... aside from a couple of entries where the focus is fairly squarely on the baking experience itself, I would classify this book as much travel narrative as nonfiction subject matter focused. The author does a very good job with the travel aspect, and I'm fairly picky about my travel writing as it's my favorite genre! With one exception, that truly helps set the mood for the in-depth look at the baking itself. Moreover, I didn't get the feeling that she was using the book contract to validate a series of junkets at all.
I give her full credit for making each chapter's discussion of the baking process itself thorough without ever seeming deep in the weeds or wonky, even the one visit where the point of it was to investigate bread wonkery; here, the author candidly admits her own feeling of being overwhelmed by detail.

The one exception above? I found her final essay on Paris to be rather fawning, with a self-congratulatory tone as well. Let's leave it there - if you've read enough stories by expats in Paris, you get the idea.

Otherwise, it was a well-presented, interesting read.

[Jennie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars only because what little there was about bread was interesting. The rest of the book was either boring or obnoxious. The author was either snarky or rude. There was far too much about her travels and random histories and far too little about the bread in the different places she visited. I was hoping for something like Mort Rosenblum's book Chocolate. Not even close.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wordsmith. Right up there with you know who. I loved this book. I was surprised to see low star ratings. I am so happy I did not take them into consideration when I chose this book off of my shelf. My only gripe and I consider it minor would be when she used French and didn't translate. That didn't happen much until the last chapter. I usually just make some (what I consider) french noises and move on.

I was in no way disappointed with this book. I don't understand what others were expecting. She traveled and experienced the tradition of bread wherever that was. Period.

She is very funny. I laughed quite a few times. I want to eat bread and travel. What more could you want from a book about traveling and eating bread. A+

[Scott]

A mostly fun, quick read and tour of various bread cultures around the world, although it's a bit uneven at times and often goes off on tangents. It's more of a travelogue/memoir, loosely oriented around bread.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Travel to interesting places, meet interesting people, and eat delicious bread. What more could a person want?

[Marcie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the descriptions of the different countries breads and culture-but the author rubbed me the wrong way when she started giving her personal take on life in those countries and the people. Her lack of consideration for anyone but herself really put me off, she sets up an interview with a bread maker in Paris and then gets drunk and can't pay attention to anything he says-but seems to view the situation as no big deal, doesn't even have the good grace to be embarrassed. Laughs it off as a funny event, someone takes time out of their busy day to speak with you after your incessant emails begging for an interview and you can’t be bothered to give him your full attention? Just because they are French doesn’t mean that getting drunk on wine during an interview isn’t going to be offensive or seen as inconsiderate. The chapter in New Mexico is strung through with her constant whining that the people aren’t opening their homes and towns to her and the so she can observe the real bread making process. Multiple times she trespasses in areas that she states were posted as off limits, she seems to think that it is her right to go wherever she takes a fancy ignoring others rights to privacy. I disliked the author but read through the book because I enjoyed the parts where she stopped making herself the story and focused on the bread.

[Lc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed only a certain portions of the book, certain parts were pretty boring. It was an eye opener reading about how different places have their varied bread cultures, how the Parisians 'saved' their traditional bread. Loved the part when the author visited Jordan, met with Omar, a wonderful friend in a strange land, who made it his job to care for his friends, never bothered about how long he knew them...a true friend. And in India, an old beggar's concern after witnessing her husband's accident the night before, reminded me that humans should all the more care for one another.

The author's encounters in Jordan & India remembered me of what I learned today "....Do good to all, especially to the family of believers", although in both settings, none of them were believers.

[Sam Woodfield]

This is a really interesting read I don't think it stands alone as either a travel or food book, but the combination of the 2 works really well. There are 2 problems 1) this book makes you reallty hungry, & 2) I now have a massive travel bug and wnat to visit everywhere visited in the book.

I like the fact that Seligson includes recipes in this book as think that adds an original element to this book. I would recommend this to people interested in food as it gives some interesting fact and insight into this worldwide staple!!

[Kirsty (alkalinekiwi) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this one up at the big Central City library book sale last year on the last day - where you could get 5 books for $1 and I picked up random ones that looked interesting.

This book made me want to go to a bakery and pick up some fancy breads. I enjoyed reading about the places the author traveled to and the kindness of people she met along the way.

I gained new knowledge about bread and considering trying out some of the recipes in this book. Passing this one on to my friend and fellow Goodreads member Donna.

[EngIIrockz · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far, this is a light read that nicely combines travel and foodie journal into one slice. I like the author's non-travel-writer style in that she just says what she thinks without glamour or "gussying" it up. If you agree with her quirky take on things, you'll probably like the book. Taste test a bit of it and see if it's for you.

I enjoyed this for a quick, light read. It makes me want to run to Panera and snarf up some bread!

[Lanette · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was not at all what I was hoping for. Here's what I imagine went down in the author's head: "I really love to travel. How can I get paid to travel? I could write about traveling, but that's already been done. I know, I'll write a book. About bread in other cultures. That hasn't been done before. I'll throw a mention in here and there about bread, but mostly I'll write about my travels..." By the time she got to India, I was so tired of it all I skipped that chapter entirely.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book at first and was excited to read all about my favorite food, but I confess I stopped about 80% through. Learning about bread in different cultures was fascinating (and mouth-watering). That being said, the author's elitism, rude observations, and overall sense of entitlement began to overshadow all of that for me a few chapters in, and I didn't find this readable anymore. I took pictures of all of the recipes, though.

[ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me hungry for the rings of bread from the Turkish bakery around the corner in my neighbourhood.
But in essence this book is not about bread but about the bakers and the philosphy behind their way of life which ranges from protecting the enviroment to inventing bread for the USA military.
So if you are interested in people, traveling and food this book combines it all.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoy baking, you will love this book. Seligson takes the reader around the world looking at the history of bread in individual countries and bestowing upon the reader a local recipe at each stop.

[jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

you better REALLY love bread....it was more of a woman's adventures in investigating the history of bread. Some parts were informative and funny, but overall, I think I would have preferred a different format than a travel journal style.

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book mere days before the U.S. attacked Iraq in 2003 and I idealistically clung to the hope of peace through the cultural connections of bread. During those days the world felt like a kinder, smaller, place in which we all broke bread.

[Lisa Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading, traveling, cooking and eating. Is it any wonder I love this book that combines all of them?!

[Kerith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beware: this delicious book will make you want to bake bread. And eat it. Lots of it.

[Wendi Lau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mrs. Seligson enjoyed and appreciated all the places she travelled and wrote about. I liked her enthusiasm and enjoyment if the bread.

[Wendi Lau · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how much the author enjoyed the people and places she visited. Regional bread recipe at end of every chapter. Neat!

[D Dina Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The individual chapters of this book were fun to read. The general structure was a bit repetitive but I basically enjoyed it.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at bread around the world. Makes me want to go bake :)

[Helga · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love bread. I love reading. I love reading about bread. This was a very engaging read with recipes.