Breadsong: How Baking Changed Our Lives

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Kitty Tait at work in the Orange Bakery in Watlington, Oxfordshire. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Observer Kitty and Al make a good team, and four years of 5am starts have done nothing to dent that. They have carved out their spaces in the operation – “I’m anything cheese-related,” says Al. “The cheese king is here!” – and have a closeness that not many fathers share with their teenage daughters. “When I got depressed and when I was dealing so badly with anxiety, you were the one who really, really understood,” Kitty tells Al. “And that’s because you’d also gone through depression, but you really listened. And I think because my brain was so fragmented, when it rebuilt, you were just kind of part of it. Most teenagers don’t have that as much, because they move away, but you’re not just my parent any more, you’re part of me. You’re my best friend, and you’re also my business partner. And you’re also just, like, my partner.” But the recipes are only half the book. The first half of the book is a memoir. This book is written by Kitty and her father, Al - they tell the story together and they each have a distinct font. It's the story of how they ended up running a bakery together, and while that sounds all heartwarming - and it is, absolutely - but it starts because baking a loaf of bread is one thing that Al tries to help Kitty with her crippling anxiety. Like, anxiety that made going to school impossible, getting out of bed barely feasible, nothing in the world seeming worthwhile. I deeply appreciated the honesty that Al in particular presents here - that he and his wife did not see what was happening at the start, that they were bewildered by the change in their youngest daughter, and that they struggled to figure out what to do. Kitty, of course, is also very honest: she didn't know why it happened, either, and makes no excuses for it, or for feeling the way she did. It just was. Place a damp tea towel or shower cap over the rim of the bowl and leave in a cosy draught-free place to prove for hours – overnight is best. Like the fairy godmother turns a pumpkin into a carriage, time transforms your scrappy, dull dough into a bubbly, live creature of its own, although I think I’d prefer the pumpkin over the carriage.

Breadsong: How Baking Changed Our Lives - Goodreads

I am so glad that this book is going to be published later this month as I am looking forward to owning my own hard copy. I also know what I will be buying friends and family for Christmas! Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this story in exchange for an honest review. I actually finished reading the memoir part of this book a couple of weeks ago - the day I received it in fact. But I had to wait until I had baked a couple of the recipes before I could do a legit review!

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If you had told me at 14 when I couldn't even get out of bed with depression and anxiety that three years later I would have written a book I would never have believed you. But here it is - the story of the Orange Bakery. How I went from bed to bread and how my Dad went from being a teacher to a baker. You reading it means everything to me' Kitty Tait Breadsong is the first book from Kitty and Al Tait, the daughter-father duo that run The Orange Bakery in Watlington. It charts Kitty’s battle with depression and anxiety that saw her leave school and withdraw from her family, and the salvation she found in the simple act of baking bread with her dad. The first half of the book is Kitty and Al telling this story and the second half is full of recipes designed for the beginner baker. Adding to the charm of this book, the photographs are beautifully shot and many clearly show the humor of this family. I enjoyed getting to see the shop that had been described. I'll definitely be adding a copy of this book to my cookbook shelf when it's published! Place the shaped dough on a sheet of parchment paper, cover with a damp tea towel and set aside in a warm, cosy place to rest for 1 hour.

Breadsong,’ a Story of Baking Through Depression In ‘Breadsong,’ a Story of Baking Through Depression

When I first took this book out of the library I tried some recipes and made the decision not to buy shop bought bread anymore. I make bread every day now. I made my own sourdough starter and made a loaf that tasted better than any bread I had previously eaten. I really wanted this book and managed to find a copy that wasn't too expensive. I felt disappointed that the book was half filled with 'the journey' and I didn't want this part but bought it for the recipes.The book explores the slow movement from Kitty deciding she wanted to bake a loaf of bread - to wanting to make more, and therefore being allowed to use neighbouring ovens - to giving bread away because she was making so much, leading to a subscription service, then a pop-up, and then an actual real bakery and high street shop. Well, I say slow, but it all happened over about 2 years and that's just incredible.

Breadsong Book Launch — Five Little Pigs Breadsong Book Launch — Five Little Pigs

Much of the book is about baking and a career change but family life is described - the importance of Christmas, family dogs, meeting other families such as a wonderful family living in Copenhagen. Swap 250g of the strong white bread flour for wholemeal flour. This results in an earthy loaf that makes you feel like you’ve been working in a field all day. This book is such a wonderful read. It shows the deep bond of family, friends and the support of a community, and how much of an impact this can have on a person's life. The village of Watlington comes across as a wonderful place to live, with so many people helping on Kitty’s journey. The book is beautifully and simply written, with some beautiful hand drawn illustrations, and excellent photography. The story is inspiring, and shows how, with the right support you can get through most challenges in life. When you have finished the beautiful story, you then get to the recipes which were chosen to be included. They are wonderfully clearly laid out, with fantastic product photos, excellent and easy to follow instructions, and they all sound amazing. I think this book would make a wonderful gift for anyone in your life who enjoys food, and who has ever struggled with mental health. It is a perfect combination. After much reading, I finally reached the recipe section. I am not much of a baker, to say the least but I did think I might have some success with what looks like the easiest bread-making ever. The miracle overnight white loaf was as easy as it could possibly be. All it takes is time. Having mixed and proved the dough, it baked easily and came out a golden colour and had a terrific hollow tapping sound underneath which I have read is the sound you want when bread baking. Kitty laughs to break the emotion. “Partner in crime!” she says in a sarcastic voice, before turning serious again. “And I love that.”Kitty and Al each narrate their own memories of the time when Kitty began to suffer overwhelming mental health challenges and left school. Her parents and siblings all tried to support her recovery but Kitty was very withdrawn and anxious. Her father, Al, engaged Kitty briefly in a range of activities and when bread-making was introduced, something ignited in her and she began slowly to recover. Reading the two narratives side by side in the book is very moving and although not all readers of Breadsong will be interested in this part of the book, I thought it could be very helpful to people who may find themselves in a position of such emotional distress that they stop functioning. It gives hope to carers too. I have several times come across people who have opened bakeries, who have written about their mental health struggles and how baking bread was the therapeutic act that opened their path to recovery. Kitty describes with such clarity how, once she had established her sourdough starter named Ferdinand, she simply had to turn up to feed it and take care of it, eventually taking to sleeping in the kitchen with it. This provided a simple structure to her day, a scaffolding on which she could build as her recovery progressed. Breadsong is not only a book about human suffering and recovery and the place of bread making in this process, but it is also a tribute to the support of Kitty’s family, especially her father who accompanied her on this journey. Tip the dough on to a lightly floured work surface and either knead by hand for 10 minutes or in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook for 4-5 minutes, gradually working the cubes of butter into the dough as you knead until it is soft, silky and stretchy.

Breadsong: How Baking Changed Our Lives - Hardcover - AbeBooks Breadsong: How Baking Changed Our Lives - Hardcover - AbeBooks

Serving suggestion Cut thinly, toasted and spread with a scraping of horseradish sauce, some smoked salmon and a couple of thinly sliced cornichons. I read the whole book, but will try to star baking from it this weekend. So keep in mind that it this isn't a review of the accesibility of the recipes in it and yet I am not too worried seeing how accesible and original they are, sometimes quirky. The first half of Birdsong recounts how The Orange Bakery came to be, including Kitty's mental health struggles that led to her being introduced to breadmaking. I found the split father and daughter narration to be really engaging, with a good blend of (sometimes stark) emotional reality and humour.Gently warm the milk in a small saucepan. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the yeast. Set aside and leave to bubble for 5 minutes. Both Al and Kitty are effusive about Aggie and Albert, Kitty’s patient siblings, who had to put up with their kitchen being turned into a professional bakery for a couple of years. Kitty has even named one of the Orange Bakery’s sourdough loaves after her brother. “We think he likes the fact that it’s called The Albert,” says Katie, their mum. Then she giggles: “He doesn’t really, actually.” We have known Kitty and Al for several years and they’ve supplied the restaurant since Day One, so we are thrilled to be hosting a launch for their new book in association with our friends at Wallingford Bookshop. Beginning at 6pm, the evening will be a friendly conversation with Kitty and Al, with plenty of opportunity to ask questions and sample some bread too! To make the glaze, warm the water and marmalade or jam in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Generously brush the glaze over the buns. You can hold on to any spare for later use as it will keep for several days. For the first time ever, I experienced a world I could be totally part of. This was a world in which my anxiety played no part.”