Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts. James Beard

{HISTORY}

A favorite here in the Vintage Kitchen, the culinary talents of James Beard and his ability to translate them to the home cook is unparalleled in 20th-century food. Prolific in his writing, teaching, and recipe testing, James Beard was all food all the time. Here in his Beard on Bread cookbook, originally published in 1973, James dives into bread making from all angles. 

Whether you are interested in mastering the perfect sandwich bread, the tricky French bread, or the accommodating corn bread, James helps bakers every step of the way to turn an unsuspecting lump of dough or gooey bowl of batter into a successful bread that will draw rave reviews. Included here are an array of interesting recipes, even ones included from his best friend, Helen Evans Brown, an accomplished cook, author, and expert on West Coast cuisine.

Drawings by Karl Stuecklen illustrate techniques and procedures used when twisting, folding, punching, or rolling out dough are called for. Introductory information gleaned over decades of experience are shared at the beginning of the book, under the chapter title Observations, and feature such topics as grains, tools, storage, and cutting techniques. 

Interesting recipes include Moravian Coffee Cake, Italian Holiday Bread, Golden Cake Batter Bread, Corn Chili Bread, Persimmon Bread, Lefse, Banana Nut Bread, Irish Whole-Wheat Soda Bread, Pronto Pumpernickel. Norwegian Whole Wheat Bread, Buttermilk White Bread and Basic White.

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

- 1977 edition - 9th printing of original 1973 edition

- 230 pages not including index

- Includes original dust jacket 

{CONDITION}

In lovely vintage condition, this book is bright and clean throughout with no spots, stains or cooking notes with the exception of a light coking spot that bleeds over the margin edge of three pages in the Whole-Meal breads chapter. There is also one cooking note written in pencil marking the Cracked Wheat Bread recipe as ecellant with a note on baking times added in the margin. The dust jacket once contained a large rip across the front  that was then taped back together. That rip has been repaired and the inside of the dust jacket reinforced with archival paper to keep it strong and secure for decades to come. The tape removal left behind a trail of slight color fading as seen on the front cover.  The top edge of the dust jacket was somewhat chippy in spots, and those have reinforced with archival paper to keep them from ripping further.  The spine is tight and all pages are intact. Please see photos.

{SIZE}

Measures 8.25" inches (length) x 6.5" inches (width) x 1" inch thickness and weighs 1.2lbs

{FOR THE LOVE OF J.B.}

James Beard is one of our most favorite cooks here in the Vintage Kitchen. Find more of his books in the shop here.