Comments on: Book Reviews: 52 Loaves by William Alexander and Au Revoir to All That by Michael Steinberger

By: Jonny

Jonny — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 21:55:38 +0000

@Rach – as Amy (my wife, the counselor) would agree, the first step to fixing a problem is acknowledging that it exists.
@TFH – that’s great! though if you like it so much why are you giving it away?

By: The Food Hunter

The Food Hunter — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 22:21:10 +0000

I just reviewed 52 loaves…I liked it.

By: rach

rach — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:46:18 +0000

I knew nothing about either of these books and now I would like to read both. A beautifully weaved review sir.
I fear (often) Italian bread is not what is used to be. What’s even sadder is that unlike the Uk – where we generally admit our food short comings and have a real humility in our present (small but exciting) food revolution – the Italians seem to find it near impossible to admit they have a bread, baker, wheat, yeast crisis.

By: Charles Thompson

Charles Thompson — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:20:58 +0000

Sorry, hit something in error …when Julia Child was learning to cook there in the 50s but it still does have the history of cooking and gastronomy that most other countries do not. Reading David Lebovitz keeps my spirits up that not all is lost in France.

By: Charles Thompson

Charles Thompson — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:14:26 +0000

It seems to me that the changes that have taken place in France, and in French gastronomy, make sense given – as you very well point out – the current economy and politics of the country. Having been there recently I’m not sure it’s as much of ‘the sky is falling’ as some would want us to believe. Yes, it’s not like it was when Julia Child was learning to cook there in but it still does have the history

By: admin

admin — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 17:58:17 +0000

@Lo – I completely agree. Will Allen is doing fabulous work, as are the folks at NY’s science barge. To my mind, the most difficult thing is not making the argument that local, organic food is better, but rather changing American land-use models to prevent even more prime farmland being turned into sub-divisions of McMansions. This is but another component of the fossil-fuel economy we need to address.
@Peter – interesting that you’ve spoken with him. He certainly does come across as approachable and humorous. It’s equally interesting that he spent a year perfecting and simplifying a recipe. I guess it proves what many of us already think is true that great ingredients don’t need us to do much to them to produce great results. And, there is zero likelihood of me ever sustaining such an obsession either, which is why i’m neither a scientist or a baker!
@Noelle – it does feel like a depressing read, but much less so than something like Fast Food Nation. Steinberger suggests it is the younger French who are either ignorant or uninterested in their country’s gastronomic traditions, but, as you say, resurgences of interest like that do indicate all is not lost.

By: lo

lo — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:35:14 +0000

For as discouraging as it may be, this is a message that MUST be heard — making great food accessible to everyone is a lofty goal, but there have to be ways to make headway.

Fortunately, there are also success stories to be read — like those of Will Allen here in Milwaukee, WI whose urban gardening program is bringing food to the masses AND educating youth about where their food comes from.

By: Peter

Peter — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:31:22 +0000

I interviewed Alexander for an article a few months ago. He’s got a nice, humorous level of self-awareness in person that comes through in the book, and his bread is good. What’s most interesting to me is that he ended up with a high level of mastery and yet his recipe is extremely simple and basic. He spent a year of consuming obsession arriving at a loaf of bread, while I picked up the first recipe that really worked for me and was happy to just run with it. This is why I’m not a scientist.

Haven’t read the other one, but people have mentioned it to me. I’ll pick it up. Nice job threading them together.

By: noëlle {simmer down!}

noëlle {simmer down!} — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 21:41:29 +0000

I've had the Steinberger book on my reading list but perhaps I've been afraid that I'd be too depressed by its contents. However, a recent visit from a French friend and his traveling companion was somewhat reassuring. These two are about as working-class as you can get- their jobs have ranged from merchant marines to fork lift operators to electricians- but they cook for themselves almost daily and have deeply held feelings and opinions on their culinary traditions. (Maybe it's the fact that they're older, in their mid-50's though?) I also read a recent blog post on Stuff Parisians Like about the current mania for baguettes tradition, suggesting the appreciation of good bread is still alive and well, at least in Paris.