Let me tell you about my friend Emilie.
She’s drop dead gorgeous, creative and smart, but still manages to be one of the most grounded people I know. We met years ago through our blogs and have been firm friends ever since, despite living on opposite sides of the world. Together we’ve shared an amazing sourdough journey – our starters Priscilla and Dillon are related – and between us we’ve baked hundreds (literally!) of loaves in our little home kitchens.
I love her to bits. I mailed her some dried starter years ago, and since then her bread baking skills have taken off at an exponential rate. Every time we chat, I learn something new from her, which is why I’m beyond excited that her book on sourdough has just been released…
It magically appeared in my iPad Kindle reader on Tuesday (I’d had it pre-ordered). I started reading her introduction, got to this section…and began to tear up. Here’s what she wrote…
You see, Em gets it. The magic of sourdough baking is in the sharing.
It’s in the mailing of a packet of starter halfway around the globe, or baking a loaf for an elderly neighbour, or exchanging ideas with sourdough obsessed friends on Twitter. And it’s also about sharing knowledge, so that others too can learn to bake delicious loaves at home. That small pot of bubbling flour and water has the capacity to empower and connect, and to build a sense of community in an age when gentle camaraderie is sorely lacking. The opportunity to “break bread” with family, friends and neighbours, both in real life and virtually, can be truly soul restoring.
And that’s why I’m so excited that Emilie has written this book! You see, she isn’t just a brilliant bread baker, she’s also incredibly real and down to earth. Many sourdough bread books are written by professionals working in commercial environments and as such, they’re not targeted towards “regular” folks baking in their home kitchens.
On the other hand, my darling friend has tested her recipes in a tiny fifty year old domestic oven with a gerry-rigged latch, retrofitted to hold the door closed. She has proofed dough in her non-airconditioned kitchen through sweltering heatwaves and New York winters. She has learned how to produce fabulous bread on days when it’s too hot to preheat the oven, coddled a sleepy starter back to life, and figured out a baking schedule that fits easily into a busy lifestyle. She knows the problems you’re likely to run into when you’re a novice baker, because she’s been through them.
. . . . .
An hour after the book arrived, I pulled Priscilla out of the fridge and began feeding her up. The first recipe I tried was the High Hydration Sourdough, and the results were superb…
I was very chuffed with the blistered crust (highly valued by artisan bakers) and well developed sourdough flavour…
. . . . .
Inspired, I mixed up a batch of Em’s focaccia dough that evening. I was intrigued – it was completely different to any recipe I’d tried before.
The following morning, I assembled her Stuffed Croque Monsieur with Ricotta and Swiss. I texted her to (jokingly) complain that she had me trashing my kitchen at 6.45am…
Somewhat ambitiously, I made a double batch of the recipe and then attempted to fit it all into a half sheet pan. Peering nervously through the oven door, I watched as it rose…and browned and bubbled to perfection. It was, without doubt, one of the best breads I’ve ever baked…
Everyone should buy this book, if for this one recipe alone…
. . . . .
If you’ve never baked before, Artisan Sourdough Made Simple will teach you everything you need to know – how to grow your own starter from scratch, how to bake a variety of different loaves, what to do with your leftovers, and much more. Emilie’s prose is chatty and approachable, and her instructions are clear and succinct. There is a photo of every loaf, plus clever hints to help you achieve perfect results from your very first bake.
And if you already have a Priscilla starter in your kitchen, please buy this book. Not just because we’re all mentioned in it (although how exciting is that!) or because it’s great to support a member of our baking community, but because secretly (shh) Em wrote this book just for us. Hmm. Ok, that’s not really true, but it certainly feels that way! ♥
PS. The hard copy looks magnificent (Emilie has a video on her blog), but I bought the Kindle version as I was too impatient to wait for delivery. The e-book cost me less than US$10 and reads brilliantly on my iPad – the font is sharp and the text is fully hyperlinked, which makes it simple to navigate between sections.
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