Bread Builders

Alan Scott was a craftsman and metaphysician who combined a lifetime's experience in metalwork, farming, and masonry oven-building with a constant awareness of the spiritual dimension of our activities on this earth. Originally from Australia, Alan lectured and led workshops throughout the U.S., under the aegis of his oven building and consultation firm, Ovencrafters, which is based in Petaluma, California. He returned to his native Australia several years ago after becoming ill. He died Jan. 26, 2009, in Tasmania. He was 72.Dan Wing, a biologist and physician by training, has written for publications as various as Fine Homebuilding and The Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He travels out from his home in Vermont in a gypsy wagon of his own construction, and naturally he built his own bread oven on wheels.

Review from Ecology Action Newsletter-The Bread Builders: Hearth Loaves and Masonry Ovens, by Daniel Wing and Alan Scott, is a serious book, written for people who take their bread baking seriously. It is not a cookbook but one whose object is to help the baker understand all parts of the process that go into creating an excellent loaf. As such, it is a technical journal that thoroughly details natural fermentation, bread grains and flours, leavens and dough, and dough development. The second part is about masonry ovens and their construction, since both authors agree that such an oven is a necessary part of creating the excellent loaf. Each chapter of the book includes a visit to a commercial or private venture which is using some or all of the processes being described. The book is not a light read but should prove inspiring to those wanting more information about the baking process, how to construct a masonry oven or anyone who is glad to see that these traditional methods are being nurtured rather than forgotten.

• ContentsAcknowledgments viPreface ixIntroduction Looking for Real Bread, Finding Masonry Ovens xiiiChapter One Naturally Fermented Hearth Bread 1Visit: Upland Bakers, Marshfield, Vermont 18Chapter Two Bread Grains and Flours 23Visit: Giusto's Specialty Foods, South San Francisco, California 41Chapter Three Leavens and Doughs 43Visit: Sands, Taylor, and Wood (King Arthur Flour), Norwich, Vermont 69Chapter Four Dough Development 72Visit: Acme Baking Company, Berkeley, California 89Chapter Five Baking, Ovens, and Bread 93Visit: Consulting and Marketing Services, South San Francisco, California 108Chapter Six Masonry Ovens of Europe and America 113Visits: American Flatbread, Warren, Vermont 123The Cheese Board, Berkeley, California 127Chapter Seven Preparing to Build a Masonry Oven 129Visits: Mugnaini Imports, Watsonville, California 149San Juan Bakery, San Juan Bautista, California, and Home Fires Bakery, Leavenworth, Washington 153Chapter Eight Masonry Materials, Tools, and Methods 157Visit: Cafe Beaujolais, Mendocino, California 169Chapter Nine Oven Construction 173Visit: Depot Town Sourdough Bakery, Ypsilanti, Michigan 193Chapter Ten Oven Management 195Visits: Della Fatoria, Petaluma, California 210Rani and Keith, Garberville, California 213Chapter Eleven A Day in the Life at the Bay Village Bakery 216Bakers' Resource: Sourdough Microbiology 227Recommended Sources 233Glossary 236Bibliography 243Index 246