Books and Breads Blog

January 16, 2025

Keeping the Faith by Brenda Wineapple **** (of 4)

What makes this account of the 1925 Scopes trial in Tennessee so compelling--in which a school teacher was arrested for breaking a state law forbidding...

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January 3, 2025

Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon *** (of 4)

Athenian soldiers attacked ancient Syracuse (Sicily) in 414 BCE, expecting a quick victory. They lost. Athenian soldiers were captured and held in a quarry on...

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December 18, 2024

The Wager by David Grann *** (of 4)

The Wager is the name of a ship launched by the British Navy in 1742. It was part of a small fleet sent to the...

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December 15, 2024

Farm to Loaf: A Road Trip Through a Short Commodity Chain

admit that I am envious of bakers who make their loaves using fresh, locally raised grains. It sounds like the ideal—for flavor, for community, for...

Sourdoughs and SCOBYs

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December 15, 2024

A Childhood by Harry Crews **** (of 4)

Published in 1978 and reissued in 2022, Harry Crews, an American novelist recounts the first five years of his life. He grew up in south...

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December 13, 2024

Creation Lake ** (of 4) by Rachel Kushner

A left-wing philosopher advocates that it is time for humanity to returning to nature, but sends his diatribes via e-mail. Acolytes reading his emails in...

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December 13, 2024

The Coldest Warrior by Paul Vidich *** (of 4)

In the late 1950s, at the height of the Cold War, an American scientist, Charles Wilson, was working on chemical weapons in service to the...

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November 25, 2024

My Sourdough Starters are on Five Continents

Sharing the art and science of sourdough is fun and so is sharing starters.

Sourdoughs and SCOBYs

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November 20, 2024

Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies for Ice Cream Sandwiches

Unless you pay very close attention, you won't taste the sourdough in the cookie. The long fermentation time, however, does cut the overall sweetness of...

Sourdoughs and SCOBYs

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