Breaking Bread

“I bake because it connects my soul to my hands | and my heart to my mouth.” —Martin PhilipA brilliant | moving meditation on craft and love | and an intimate portrait of baking and our communion with food—complete with seventy-five original recipes and illustrated with dozens of photographs and original hand-drawn illustrations—from the head bread baker of King Arthur Flour.Yearning for creative connection | Martin Philip traded his finance career in New York City for an entry-level baker position at King Arthur Flour in rural Vermont. A true Renaissance man | the opera singer | banjo player | and passionate amateur baker worked his way up | eventually becoming head bread baker. But Philip is not just a talented craftsman; he is a bread shaman. Being a baker isn’t just mastering the chemistry of flour | salt | water | and yeast; it is being an alchemist—perfecting the transformation of simple ingredients into an elegant expression of the soul.Breaking Bread is an intimate tour of Philip’s kitchen | mind | and heart. Through seventy-five original recipes and life stories told with incandescent prose | he shares not only the secrets to creating loaves of unparalleled beauty and flavor but the secrets to a good life. From the butter biscuits | pecan pie | and whiskey bread pudding of his childhood in the Ozarks to French baguettes and focaccias | bagels and muffins | cinnamon buns and ginger scones | Breaking Bread is a guide to wholeheartedly embracing the staff of life.Philip gently guides novice bakers and offers recipes and techniques for the most advanced levels. He also includes a substantial technical section covering the bread-making process | tools | and ingredients. As he illuminates an artisan’s odyssey and a life lived passionately | he reveals how the act of baking offers spiritual connection to our pasts | our families | our culture and communities | and | ultimately | ourselves. Exquisite | sensuous | and delectable | Breaking Bread inspires us to take risks | make bolder choices | live more fully | and bake bread and break it with those we love.Grand Prize Winner of the 2017 New England Book FestivalVermont Book Award Finalists