A Slow Rise

Book excerpt: The James Beard Award-winning visionary behind the iconic East coast bakery Bread Alone shares decades of wisdom and techniques for soul-fulfilling baking, with 60+ bread and pastry recipes Decades before sourdough took over Instagram, Daniel Leader was making his first celebrated loaves at Bread Alone, his pioneering upstate New York bakery. From revolutionizing artisan breadmaking in the eighties to operating the country’s first carbon-neutral bakery today, Bread Alone has existed at the cutting edge of bread and pastry for over forty years. A Slow Rise charts its legendary history and showcases its most beloved recipes. The heart of Dan’s baking philosophy is his embrace of soft-skill baking—seeing, feeling, smelling, and even listening to your dough—over science-based techniques promising the perfect loaf. As Leader says, in baking, there is always an element of the unknown, and even a bit of magic. No two bakes are exactly the same, and it’s the idiosyncrasies of each loaf, cake, or crust that make baking such a thrill. Here, across more than sixty recipes, Leader will teach you to bake with your senses, have patience, and form an almost meditative practice in the kitchen. Nostalgic, simple classics like Whole Wheat Bread and Hearty Seeded Sandwich Loaf live alongside more complex concoctions like Baltic Dark Rye and Fermented Wheat Bran and Barley Epis with Beet. For desserts everyone will love, Leader shares his recipes for treats like Lemon-Currant Einkorn Scones, Pistachio-Brown Butter Financiers, Blood Orange-Lemon Tart, and Mocha-Filled Brioche Buns. A celebration of baking with heart and soul, A Slow Rise is a must-have for serious and novice home bakers alike.