With only eight pages of color photos this is not a picture book but it is a very serious baking book and something of a baking history book.

If you are not acquainted with Greg Patent I suggest you read the page he has written about himself here.  His father was Russian, his mother Iraqi, he spent the first eleven years of his life in Shanghai before the family immigrated to America.  He began baking as a very young child and at 18 took second prize in the junior division of the Pillsbury Bake-Off.  Still the food industry was not his first career.  First he was a Zoology PhD!  His first “formal” classes in cooking were with Julia Child’s television shows.  His is a very interesting story.

There are some 20 pages of savory yeast breads in the book, perhaps 25 pages of quick breads and about 50 pages of sweet yeast breads in this book.  He gives a wonderful history introduction with each recipe.  Sprinkled throughout are fascinating history tidbits: he tells you the Pillsbury Bake-Off started to encourage the use of Pillsbury flour in 1949 but in 1996 the flour category was eliminated.

The recipe names maybe somewhat familiar but many seem unique when you look at the ingredients.  The recipes are logical and easy to follow.  As much as I enjoy reading the history in this book, I love the uniqueness of the recipes and the passion of the author writing about them.

Breads Baked

Cambozola Cheese Buns