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Living Bread: Tradition and Innovation in Artisan Bread Making: A Baking Book
2020 James Beard Award Winner
The major new cookbook by the pioneer from Bread Alone, who revolutionized American artisan bread baking, with 60 recipes inspired by bakers around the world.
At twenty-two, Daniel Leader stumbled across the intoxicating perfume of bread baking in the back room of a Parisian boulangerie, and he has loved and devoted himself to making quality bread ever since. He went on to create Bread Alone, the now-iconic bakery that has become one of the most beloved artisan bread companies in the country. Today, professional bakers and bread enthusiasts from all over the world flock to Bread Alone's headquarters in the Catskills to learn Dan's signature techniques and baking philosophy.
But though Leader is a towering figure in bread baking, he still considers himself a student of the craft, and his curiosity is boundless. In this groundbreaking book, he offers a comprehensive picture of bread baking today for the enthusiastic home baker. With inspiration from a community of millers, farmers, bakers, and scientists, Living Bread provides a fascinating look into the way artisan bread baking has evolved and continues to change--from wheat farming practices and advances in milling, to sourdough starters and the mechanics of mixing dough. Influenced by art and science in equal measure, Leader presents exciting twists on classics such as Curry Tomato Ciabatta, Vegan Brioche, and Chocolate Sourdough Babka, as well as traditional recipes. Sprinkled with anecdotes and evocative photos from Leader's own travels and encounters with artisans who have influenced him, Living Bread is a love letter, and a cutting-edge guide, to the practice of making "good bread."
The major new cookbook by the pioneer from Bread Alone, who revolutionized American artisan bread baking, with 60 recipes inspired by bakers around the world.
At twenty-two, Daniel Leader stumbled across the intoxicating perfume of bread baking in the back room of a Parisian boulangerie, and he has loved and devoted himself to making quality bread ever since. He went on to create Bread Alone, the now-iconic bakery that has become one of the most beloved artisan bread companies in the country. Today, professional bakers and bread enthusiasts from all over the world flock to Bread Alone's headquarters in the Catskills to learn Dan's signature techniques and baking philosophy.
But though Leader is a towering figure in bread baking, he still considers himself a student of the craft, and his curiosity is boundless. In this groundbreaking book, he offers a comprehensive picture of bread baking today for the enthusiastic home baker. With inspiration from a community of millers, farmers, bakers, and scientists, Living Bread provides a fascinating look into the way artisan bread baking has evolved and continues to change--from wheat farming practices and advances in milling, to sourdough starters and the mechanics of mixing dough. Influenced by art and science in equal measure, Leader presents exciting twists on classics such as Curry Tomato Ciabatta, Vegan Brioche, and Chocolate Sourdough Babka, as well as traditional recipes. Sprinkled with anecdotes and evocative photos from Leader's own travels and encounters with artisans who have influenced him, Living Bread is a love letter, and a cutting-edge guide, to the practice of making "good bread."
368 pages, Hardcover
Published October 1, 2019
84 people are currently reading
298 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 28, 2019
As a lady in some commercial says "Holy Crow!". I hardly know where to start.
Daniel Leader has written a history book, a professional textbook and an intense bread recipe book with Living Bread: Tradition and Innovation in Artisan Bread Making . . . and it weighs in at over 3.5 pounds! Yes, I weighed it.
The recipes are in both bakers percentages and metric weight. The photo's are beautiful and the stories, the history, are fascinating. The teaching, incomparable.
Daniel Leader is one of the most accessible cookbook authors I've read. I had a question from one of his past books and he wrote me back with the answer. I am a fan. It is absolutely clear that everything about bread and it's ingredients are his passion. There is so much interesting information in Living Bread: Tradition and Innovation in Artisan Bread Making but I am absolutely intimidated by it. And I love to make fresh bread! Sadly, I only found a few recipes that I feel I am capable of making or have the actual time to devote to it. I would very much like to take a bread tour of the European boulangeries he lists in the back of the book, though.
If there is a dedicated bread connoisseur or baker on your gift list, this is the gift you want to give.
4 stars
Daniel Leader has written a history book, a professional textbook and an intense bread recipe book with Living Bread: Tradition and Innovation in Artisan Bread Making . . . and it weighs in at over 3.5 pounds! Yes, I weighed it.
The recipes are in both bakers percentages and metric weight. The photo's are beautiful and the stories, the history, are fascinating. The teaching, incomparable.
Daniel Leader is one of the most accessible cookbook authors I've read. I had a question from one of his past books and he wrote me back with the answer. I am a fan. It is absolutely clear that everything about bread and it's ingredients are his passion. There is so much interesting information in Living Bread: Tradition and Innovation in Artisan Bread Making but I am absolutely intimidated by it. And I love to make fresh bread! Sadly, I only found a few recipes that I feel I am capable of making or have the actual time to devote to it. I would very much like to take a bread tour of the European boulangeries he lists in the back of the book, though.
If there is a dedicated bread connoisseur or baker on your gift list, this is the gift you want to give.
4 stars
May 30, 2020
This book was recommended in a bread baking discussion group. Not familiar with Dan Leader, obtained a copy from the local library. The book contains good information (I have a better understanding of flour rating systems now) for those just starting out or who have have been bread baking for a little while. The author includes stories about his bread baking journey, also featuring stories of other bread bakers in Europe, which is interesting.
His recipe format is easy to follow and some of the ingredients may not be readily available depending on where you live (he does provide a resource list for ordering).
Have made two recipes so far, with success. Just an FYI, some recipes require an investment of time, however, this may help with flavor development.
His recipe format is easy to follow and some of the ingredients may not be readily available depending on where you live (he does provide a resource list for ordering).
Have made two recipes so far, with success. Just an FYI, some recipes require an investment of time, however, this may help with flavor development.
December 30, 2019
This is a great book from which I learned several things about baking bread. Great discussion of sourdough techniques.
It is way over the top for me, however. If I left something to rise or cure for 16 hours, as some recipes suggest, it would still be there three or four days later — since I moved on to something else. My bread machine will have to suffice for now. For the more serious bread baker, I think this is an excellent book.
It is way over the top for me, however. If I left something to rise or cure for 16 hours, as some recipes suggest, it would still be there three or four days later — since I moved on to something else. My bread machine will have to suffice for now. For the more serious bread baker, I think this is an excellent book.
December 17, 2024
This is not a recipe book.
This is a book about humanity, mankind's ability to invent and innovate, the history of bread, a travel guide, and a artist's felt love for his beautiful craft.
I will never look at bread the same way again.
I read this book in one sitting at the corner of the bookstore (I'm not even a cook!) because Leader draws you in with stories of passion and love from other bread artisans all around the world. He anchors their stories and the recipes in 10,000 years' of traditions and origin stories, showing that bread connects us all and that we are both but a drop in a larger story, yet significant in our aliveness.
His love for his craft spills forth in every word and picture, and it is a light of hope that we are all made for this.
How he managed to make me want to both weep and explore the world at the same time from a cookbook beats me.
But this being my 1st ever cookbook, I do know I have been spoiled for good.
This is a book about humanity, mankind's ability to invent and innovate, the history of bread, a travel guide, and a artist's felt love for his beautiful craft.
I will never look at bread the same way again.
I read this book in one sitting at the corner of the bookstore (I'm not even a cook!) because Leader draws you in with stories of passion and love from other bread artisans all around the world. He anchors their stories and the recipes in 10,000 years' of traditions and origin stories, showing that bread connects us all and that we are both but a drop in a larger story, yet significant in our aliveness.
His love for his craft spills forth in every word and picture, and it is a light of hope that we are all made for this.
How he managed to make me want to both weep and explore the world at the same time from a cookbook beats me.
But this being my 1st ever cookbook, I do know I have been spoiled for good.
December 25, 2024
Easily the most readable bread book I have read due partly to the brief but very well-done bios of the bread and its originating baker. More importantly for me, the book has none of the competitiveness and self-promotion that characterize other books; instead , it really is all about the bread as interpreted by bakers around the world, and how bread-making can alter or transform lives. Though quite technical, it’s not dogmatic. Caveat: very accessible, but probably not a great choice for a new baker.
May 15, 2020
As an avid and excellent bread baker I have to say this is the most insanely ridiculous baking book of all time. I'm pretty sure the average recipe time is 345 days - okay it's really more like 18 hours, but seriously, way to take something as simple as bread and make it more complex than a shuttle launch. And shocker the bread from these overly complicated recipes is subpar at best.
October 28, 2021
Enjoyed this in-depth look at every aspect of bread making. Wonderful photos, recipes and resources. Truly an educational tool for bread bakers. Only negative- the author states that a professional level mixer is required. Not something every homeowner has.
December 7, 2023
I loved the photos in this book and the stories behind the bread. This seemed to be more of to level book than for the at home baker. It was a bit over my head to be honest and some ingredients too difficult to acquire.
February 21, 2020
Complicated and in depth stories about bread making !
March 1, 2020
Apparently the innovation is just in the title, and even the format and the photos are more of the same as in 20 other books on the same theme.
May 19, 2020
A very interesting and different kind of bread book. I am now starting to bake through the recipes. A worthy addition to a serious bread library.
May 26, 2021
An excellent resource for the dedicated baker with beautifully done illustrations as well as step-by-step instructions for some recipes.
June 4, 2023
Leader feels very particular about bread baking for someone who just wants to make bread at home. However there is so much to learn from him even if you are just baking for your family.
January 8, 2024
Beautiful book with much detail on the history of artisan bread making along with recipes. Definitely not a guide for a beginner bread bakers, but facinating for what it is.
May 4, 2025
Great bread making guide but more for the advanced baker.
November 26, 2025
Positively gorgeous tour of European bread baking and profiling of its artisans
June 25, 2020
It's rather unfortunate that there is not the usual permission given to include brief quotations for review purposes for this book. Because on page 4 (the copyright page), there is the most brilliant note instructing readers to follow the recipes to the letter (I had to reword that phrase to comply with the note that none of the contents are to be reproduced without permission. I'm contemplating asking for permission, but apparently, I have to specify exactly what I want to reproduce, with the page number).
If you don't yet have your own copy of this really quite excellent book, I urge you to look at page 4 on
Google Books: 'Living Bread: Tradition and Innovation in Artisan Bread Making' by Daniel Leader, Lauren Chattman, beginning at the paragraph on the top right of the page, just below the Ashley Tucker's name. Because it is truly brilliant. The only surprise is that the paragraph doesn't include "may contain shellfish and/or treenuts".
Aside from the slight arrogance of Daniel Leader requiring his readers to follow his recipes, precisely observing every detail, as well as the rather ridiculous instruction that (instead of simply mixing by hand) a good quality stand mixer is required for virtually all the recipes, this book is quite wonderful. Leader even goes so far as to say that a stand mixer is an essential piece of equipment for bread baking. Ha. As if. Unless the book is written for people who do not have the use of their hands, this is just faulty thinking.
Several of the recipes look fantastic, particularly the ones for Buckwheat Méteil, Pane ai Fichi, and Oooh!! Pain au Sarrasin avec Miel! With sunflower seeds! They also look to be quite achievable without the aid of an electric mixer....
Included in the detailed explanation of ingredients for bread making, there is a fantastic section entitled "Protein levels . Understanding flour across borders" on the differences between various wheat flours from country to country, and within a country as well.
Surprisingly, there is very little detail about scoring. In fact, there is just one paragraph, indicating that scoring enables the baker to choose where and in which direction the bread will expand when first in the oven. However, Leader gives pretty much zero instruction about what to do (up? crosswise? deep? what angle?), except to say to use a sharp razor blade in a holder, a serrated knife, or a paring knife. He also adds that Didier Rosada used a credit card to score fougasse for the book's photo shoot for Pompe a l'Huile.
The book is full of wonderful, detailed profiles of various bakers. Particularly striking is the remarkable story of Claudio Grossi "riotously diverse" wheat fields, in "Profile: Preserving biodiversity in Parma", of how Grano del Miracolo wheat, as well as several other old wheat varieties is once again grown in Italy.
Of course, there is an extensive section on sourdough. Alas, Leader suggests using copious amounts of flour to create the starters, calling for 200 grams each of flour and water on Day 1. Then Day 2 calls for just 100 grams of the previous day's mixture!
It's nice that Leader offers ways to use the leftovers but why call for using so much flour? It's not as if it's easy to find, or inexpensive!
It isn't until Chapter 10, near the end of the book that Leader suggests it's okay to use some of the discard into whatever bread is being made and suggests that it should not exceed 20 percent of the flour weight for the recipe. But the question remains: Why is this not mentioned before?! It should be added as a note at the end or beginning of the sourdough starter recipe.
Also, there are only 4 recipes listed in the section entitled "Using Leftover Starter". Shocking.
Equally shocking is the inclusion of a source for grapeseed flour at the end of the book, but no recipe included that calls for grapeseed flour - aside from the mere mention of Denise Polzelbauer's wine crackers that call for grapeseed flour in "Profile: The Barefoot Baker". What a shame that there is no recipe for these crackers!
++++++++++++++++++++++
Bookmarked: Laminated Honey Rye, Menir au Ble Noir, Pain Brie, Pain de Campagne Utopiste, Pane di Altamura, Pane Giallo, Roggenmischteig Merhkorn brot, Buckwheat Méteil, Pane ai Fichi, Pain au Sarrasin avec Miel
If you don't yet have your own copy of this really quite excellent book, I urge you to look at page 4 on
Google Books: 'Living Bread: Tradition and Innovation in Artisan Bread Making' by Daniel Leader, Lauren Chattman, beginning at the paragraph on the top right of the page, just below the Ashley Tucker's name. Because it is truly brilliant. The only surprise is that the paragraph doesn't include "may contain shellfish and/or treenuts".
Aside from the slight arrogance of Daniel Leader requiring his readers to follow his recipes, precisely observing every detail, as well as the rather ridiculous instruction that (instead of simply mixing by hand) a good quality stand mixer is required for virtually all the recipes, this book is quite wonderful. Leader even goes so far as to say that a stand mixer is an essential piece of equipment for bread baking. Ha. As if. Unless the book is written for people who do not have the use of their hands, this is just faulty thinking.
Several of the recipes look fantastic, particularly the ones for Buckwheat Méteil, Pane ai Fichi, and Oooh!! Pain au Sarrasin avec Miel! With sunflower seeds! They also look to be quite achievable without the aid of an electric mixer....
Included in the detailed explanation of ingredients for bread making, there is a fantastic section entitled "Protein levels . Understanding flour across borders" on the differences between various wheat flours from country to country, and within a country as well.
Surprisingly, there is very little detail about scoring. In fact, there is just one paragraph, indicating that scoring enables the baker to choose where and in which direction the bread will expand when first in the oven. However, Leader gives pretty much zero instruction about what to do (up? crosswise? deep? what angle?), except to say to use a sharp razor blade in a holder, a serrated knife, or a paring knife. He also adds that Didier Rosada used a credit card to score fougasse for the book's photo shoot for Pompe a l'Huile.
The book is full of wonderful, detailed profiles of various bakers. Particularly striking is the remarkable story of Claudio Grossi "riotously diverse" wheat fields, in "Profile: Preserving biodiversity in Parma", of how Grano del Miracolo wheat, as well as several other old wheat varieties is once again grown in Italy.
Of course, there is an extensive section on sourdough. Alas, Leader suggests using copious amounts of flour to create the starters, calling for 200 grams each of flour and water on Day 1. Then Day 2 calls for just 100 grams of the previous day's mixture!
It's nice that Leader offers ways to use the leftovers but why call for using so much flour? It's not as if it's easy to find, or inexpensive!
It isn't until Chapter 10, near the end of the book that Leader suggests it's okay to use some of the discard into whatever bread is being made and suggests that it should not exceed 20 percent of the flour weight for the recipe. But the question remains: Why is this not mentioned before?! It should be added as a note at the end or beginning of the sourdough starter recipe.
Also, there are only 4 recipes listed in the section entitled "Using Leftover Starter". Shocking.
Equally shocking is the inclusion of a source for grapeseed flour at the end of the book, but no recipe included that calls for grapeseed flour - aside from the mere mention of Denise Polzelbauer's wine crackers that call for grapeseed flour in "Profile: The Barefoot Baker". What a shame that there is no recipe for these crackers!
++++++++++++++++++++++
Bookmarked: Laminated Honey Rye, Menir au Ble Noir, Pain Brie, Pain de Campagne Utopiste, Pane di Altamura, Pane Giallo, Roggenmischteig Merhkorn brot, Buckwheat Méteil, Pane ai Fichi, Pain au Sarrasin avec Miel
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews