Book description
Andrew Whitley, organic baker and founder of The Village Bakery,
reveals the deplorable state into which modern supermarket bread has
fallen, and the secrets behind making good, nutritious bread at home.
All is not well in British baking. Commercial bread is laced with
additives to make it look good and stay soft. It uses varieties of wheat
that have been bred for high yield and baking performance with little
concern for human nutrition. To rush it through the bakery at the lowest
possible cost, it's dosed with four times as much yeast as before.
Described as 'fresh' when it may have been frozen and re-heated, it's
sold as a loss-leader at knock-down prices which undermine what little
respect it may once have commanded.
Even before the Atkins diet frightened people off, there was evidence
of a massive growth of intolerance - to gluten, wheat and yeast in
particular. Call it coincidence. Dismiss it as hypochondria if you will.
But things have come to a pretty pass when people avoid their staple
food - the staff of life - in droves.
'Bread Matters' offers a solution. Revealing the madness behind this
modern adulteration of our most basic food as only an insider can,
organic baker Andrew Whitley, founder of The Village Bakery in Melmerby,
shows why and how to make real bread at home. Unlike many bread book
authors, he has baked for a living for over 25 years. His recipes are
fool-proof because he explains what's really going on, demystifying the
science, sharing a practical baker's craft. Using the skills he deploys
on his popular courses, he guides and inspires beginners and seasoned
bakers alike. And he brings good news to those who have had to abandon
bread because of dietary sensitivity, showing how to bake tasty and
nutritious food without yeast, wheat or gluten. 'What an important
book; passionate and polemical and full of truth. The chapter too on
gluten-free baking is original and inspiring.'Bee Wilson, Sunday
Telegraph and New Statesman
'This will be the most important book on baking since the publication
of Elizabeth David's “English Bread and Yeast Cookery”.' Rose Prince
'Makes for interesting reading, and Whitley makes the information
accessible by using easy-to-follow tables where appropriate…Throughout
the book Whitley has dotted interesting historical footnotes to recipes
and practical tips to recover from baking disasters. The book is
comprehensive in its span of recipes and its examination of the baking
process.' Caterer and Hotelkeeper
'A superb and necessary new book.' Bee Wilson, The Sunday Telegraph
'Every bit as feisty as the title implies…a good sense book that
includes recipes for sour-dough and gluten-free baking.' The Independent
Andrew Whitley is a leading authority on organic baking and food issues.
After studying Russian at Sussex and Moscow, he joined the BBC Russian
Service, where he made programmes about the emerging 'environmental
crisis'. He left London in 1976 to grow his own food on an organic
smallholding in Cumbria, and went on to found The Village Bakery, which
has won a string of awards, culminating in the Organic Trophy. Andrew
has been an occasional contributor to the Radio 4 Food Programme and has
written on bread and related matters for specialist journals. He is
chair of the Soil Association's Processing Standards Committee and a
trustee of Voluntary Action Cumbria, the local Rural Community Council
in Cumbria.
