Image: Hardie Grant Publisher · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Book of Bread
- Year
- 1903
- Era
- 20th century
- Origin
- England · Europe
- Language
- English
- Category
- Single-subject
The Book of Bread, compiled by Owen Simmons and issued in England in 1903, is an ambitious folio devoted entirely to the craft and science of bread-making. Notable for its remarkable photographic plates depicting loaves and crumb structures in close detail, the volume stands as one of the earliest single-subject treatises to apply rigorous visual documentation to baking, addressing flour quality, fermentation and finished form for the professional trade.
Cooking from this book
The Perfect Loaf
Signature dishOwen Simmons devoted this lavish folio to the science and beauty of the everyday loaf, and its most emblematic subject is simply the well-made English white loaf itself. Photographed in remarkable detail, cross-sectioned to reveal crumb structure, colour and bloom, the loaf becomes both ideal and instruction. Bakers of the early twentieth century treasured the volume because it elevated bread from staple to studied craft, making the humble loaf its undisputed signature.
An editorial note on a dish associated with this book, written for The Coquinist. It is not a reproduction of the book's recipe.
