Breadsong: How Baking Changed Our Lives

Product Information

I chose this book because on the surface, it is about anxiety and depression, something I suffered from at a similar age to Kitty. I am always interested in how people cope with a mental health issue especially when you are still in your teens and in full time education. However, there is so much more to this book. Kitty is a strong woman with a wonderfully supportive family who not only allow her to recover in her own way without worrying about her schooling but help her every step of the way. It was a brave move for her father to give up the job of teaching to become a baker in partnership with his daughter. It is clear he knew he had no option. He writes about his amazing journey in this book and Kitty writes about hers. It doesn’t surprise me how much support this family received on their journey including from teachers at Kitty’s school. Serving suggestion Cut thinly, toasted and spread with a scraping of horseradish sauce, some smoked salmon and a couple of thinly sliced cornichons. The book explores the slow movement from Kitty deciding she wanted to bake a loaf of bread - to wanting to make more, and therefore being allowed to use neighbouring ovens - to giving bread away because she was making so much, leading to a subscription service, then a pop-up, and then an actual real bakery and high street shop. Well, I say slow, but it all happened over about 2 years and that's just incredible. I actually finished reading the memoir part of this book a couple of weeks ago - the day I received it in fact. But I had to wait until I had baked a couple of the recipes before I could do a legit review!

Breadsong by Kitty Tait, Al Tait | Waterstones

Also I really like the form of the book, it being set up through Kitty's and Al's alternated writing, interspursed with pictures and drawings. A very lovely book to look at as well. The recipes are exiting, I don't know where to start first. Perhaps the marmite comfort loaf? I love marmite, such a shame it is not so big here in NL (I want marmite twiglets!!) To make the glaze, warm the water and marmalade or jam in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Generously brush the glaze over the buns. You can hold on to any spare for later use as it will keep for several days.It has been so lovely reading about Kitty’s journey through her mental health and seeing how much the family supported each other. The story of how the Orange Bakery came to be is so heartwarming and I’m so glad to know that there are communities out there who will support each other so fervently and are always there to boost each other up. It is a cookbook with the power to make you cry – or it did to me. The difficulties Kitty and her family went through, the difficulties of mental and physical health, financial worries – but bizarrely, it was the power that bread has over people that made me emotional. If you’re not a baker then you may not realise what I mean by that. I bake (unprofessionally), although not as much as I used to thanks to a Neurological condition I have developed, but I still try to when I can. Baking has always been my way of dealing with fierce emotions. When I lost my dad, I baked an absurd amount of cakes and biscuits for the hospice staff; I bake (and eat) when I’m stressed, when I’m sat, when I’m bored, when I’m happy. It’s just my moment to completely forget about everything else and the joy you get seeing someone enjoy what you’ve made is priceless. And to see that written down on paper was what made me cry. In a mixing bowl, stir together the raisins, sultanas or mixed dried fruit and garam masala (and the cranberries if you want). Add the tea bag (English breakfast is fine, but earl grey adds a really nice fragrance) and pour in enough boiling water to cover. Set aside to steep for at least 15 minutes or overnight.

Breadsong Book Launch — Five Little Pigs Breadsong Book Launch — Five Little Pigs

Place the shaped dough on a sheet of parchment paper, cover with a damp tea towel and set aside in a warm, cosy place to rest for 1 hour. So many of us are trying to improve our diets, replacing meat-heavy dishes with ones that are predominantly plant-based. Those of us who prefer to reduce our meat consumption rather than completely ... Breadsong is an extraordinary father and daughter duet, a baking book that's dazzling with easy ideas and strong techniques for exactly what you want to bake and eat right now Just when I thought I didn't have anything left to learn about bread, Kitty teaches me otherwise. Accessible, engaging and wonderfully wide rangingWhen this second half hour is up, remove the casserole from the oven - it will be very hot at this point. Remove the tea towel from the dough and lower it, still on the baking parchment, into the hot casserole. Using a sharp knife, make a slash across the top. Pour a couple of tablespoons of water around the dough. Don’t, whatever you do, call it a village. Watlington, population 2,643, on the edge of the Chiltern Hills in Oxfordshire, is reputed to be the smallest town in England. “We are so proud of that fact,” says 17-year-old Kitty Tait. “The townspeople, the smallest townspeople, are very proud of that.” Kitty laughs to break the emotion. “Partner in crime!” she says in a sarcastic voice, before turning serious again. “And I love that.”