Book Review: The Hot Bread Kitchen Cookbook
I grew up buying loaves of Cuban bread at the local bakery when I was a kid. It didn't occur to me to make my own bread until I was in my 20s. Once it did occur to me, I never looked back.
I started with Bisquick biscuits. Today, I can make almost any kind of bread. I will admit that the airy poof of Turkish lavash still escapes me, though my result is a perfectly tasty flat bread so it's not a total waste.
When I unwrapped The Hot Bread Kitchen Cookbook by Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez (and the bakers of Hot Bread Kitchen) from my friend Lori a couple of years back, I was more than a little excited about a book of new bread recipes. I opened it randomly and made the Irish Soda Bread (page 234).
After dinner, the book went back on the shelf. Another time, I opened it and made Tostadas (page 103) and another time the Olive Oil Focaccia (page 79).
One rainy afternoon, I had a little more time on my hands. I will read a cookbook the way that most people read a good mystery. So since I had some time, I sat down to read the Hot Bread Kitchen Cookbook.
It starts off as a good historical work about the bakery that inspired the book, eases into great and useful bread baking tips, including a discussion about ingredients before embarking on a round the world trip through bread.
Even there, it's more than just bread, there are pictures and recipes of the foods and refreshments that go with the breads, Those recipes are not exclusively vegetarian, but you might have an occasion to cook them for carinivorous family and friends.
The Hot Bread Kitchen breads are enough of a treat if you choose to ignore the non-vegetarian recipes. A fine selection of recipes from plain to savory to sweet. You won't soon tire of the recipes or of the tidbits that accompany them.
This is a great addition to any cookbook library and a fine read on a rainy afternoon.
