Breaking Bread: A Baker's Journey Home in 75 Recipes

I am what they call a "serious" home baker. I have been buying bread books for more than thirty years (Nancy Silverton's Breads of the La Brea Bakery is what got me making my own starter back in the 90’s,) I have taken classes, I have access to hundreds of recipes either on paper or online, I even like developing my own, in other words I need a new bread book as much as a carpenter ant needs a saw. Yet when I learned that Martin was working on one, I knew I would buy it.
I had met Martin at a grain event, I was familiar with parts of his story and curious to hear the rest of it and, most of all, I had seen him bake: I remember his fingers barely touching the bubbly dough in front of him before baguettes emerged fully shaped. I had been awed.
So I got the book and after baking from it for a while, I am giving it five stars. Let me tell you why.
I like the weaving together together of people, events and recipes. I come from a French family where food was definitely the glue that held us all together, sometimes the only way we knew how to express love. I read the book as an invitation to retrace my own journey. One star.
Right off the bat, looking at the table of contents, I liked how diverse the recipes were. Although bakers might not like to acknowledge it, they don’t live by bread alone. Flowing from the story as it does, each non-bread recipe (for lemon-blackberry jam, for raita, for tapenade, for coconut curry soup, etc.) seems like an organic addition, the opposite of didactic. Two stars.
Because I am running out of shelf space, I got the kindle version of the book (which I read on my tablet.) I normally don’t like cooking or baking from an e-book (I find it hugely frustrating) but this one is the exception, maybe because the recipes are so clearly put forward and the formulas so simply presented that there is no risk of confusion or error. The big plus is of course portability. Since I always have my tablet (and my two hands) with me, I can make most of the recipes anywhere, even at our camp in the summer. Three stars.
Interesting as the life story is, no one wants to read through it again every time they need to check a piece of information. A thorough recap of the technical stuff has wisely been put in its own separate section in the second half of the book (with the caveat that the section must be read and understood for the recipes to work as intended.) Four stars.
The recipes I have made so far are wonderfully reliable. Follow the instructions and you’ll be a happy baker. My first inkling of this came when I made the Poolish Bagels. As former New Yorkers now living on the other coast, we have a natural craving for bagels. Nothing of what passes for bagels in our area comes even close. I made the recipe. To my surprise the hydration is such that the dough is perfectly manageable even without a mixer (development relies mostly on folds) and the bagels are excellent. I had a similar experience with the baguette formulas (although I must admit to my chagrin that no baguette has yet sprung ready-shaped from my hands.) Whatever professional detours Martin Philip took to get to bread, he didn’t come to be head baker at King Arthur Flour bakery by chance. He is a darn good baker and his recipes are excellent. He is also a compelling writer. Five stars!

I must say that this book is not what I expected, meaning another bread book. I was enthralled from the first words by the author. His prose is enchanting, bringing me to tears and laughter at the same time. Reading about his family life, the people and forces that shaped him as a baker, was marvelous. I can’t wait to try the recipes, but am currently camping in Germany without an oven. Interesting, charming, lovely, delicious, beautiful all describe the writer and his book. I did not put this book down until I had read the entire thing. You will love your experience with the writer, and I hope you take as much joy from it as I did. Please write more books, your writing style is simply marvelous, and brings in the reader to become part of the story. I want more please!

This book is arranged by the cities he lived in. The recipes are very disjointed. While there is some useful information mostly on scoring bread if you are looking for a basic bread cookbook look elsewhere.

Loved this book - I read it mainly for the biographical story, and loved the narrative, but the recipes are amazing also.

This is a wonderful book
- It has beautiful stories and photos for those that have some time to go through the book.
- For those who are interested mainly in the recipes, these are are all very well put together with clear instructions. There are basic bread recipes for the beginner, but for the more advanced baker there are definitely some more challenging recipes to follow.
- The book contains a technical/fundamentals section at the end of the book which is extremely helpful with regards to explaining ground principles in bread baking. For example how to create and maintain a sourdough starter, the difference between Poolish and a Bigga, Folding Techniques, Temperature Control etc.

While it was interesting to see how a real pro bakes, its value to me as a home baker and hobbyist was minimal. I wouldn't begin to know where to acquire much of the ingredients he takes for granted and I will never have the luxury of choosing what kind of oven to use.

The author uses types of bread to recall his journey out of poverty. Good for a memoir, not helpful in technique and craft.

I’m a longtime home baker and a fledgling professional baker. This book expanded my awareness of both worlds. As a cookbook, it’s a bit unwieldy, but its recipes are fascinating, an invitation to creativity. As a reference book, it’s excellent. His explanations are both poetic and simple - written with the reader in mind. Best, probably, is the thorough Resources section at the back of the book - it’ll help a baker level up his/her home setup with ease.

This book is so beautifully written. I have not tried any of the recipes yet, but there are many that have caught my eye. What I am really enjoying about this book right now is reading Martin Phillip's story. The cover says it all - A Baker's Journey in 75 Recipes.

This book really opened my eyes to the art of breadbaking. After 50 plus years of merely reading recipes and combining ingredients I learned the importance of the time it takes for fermenting and proofing based on the temperature of my dough and the kitchen. Now I recognize the right moisture level of my dough. Study this book and you will be amazed at the wholesome bread you will bake.