Breadsong: How Baking Changed Our Lives

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Kelly Ripa is pretty in pink as Barbie and her husband Mark Consuelos dons stripes as Ken for their Halloween special on Live With Kelly & Mark

As much as Breadsong is a book about baking, it is a story of a family bound by a love so strong and a determination so great to have their daughter well again that they sacrificed anything they thought might help.He recalls: “ Anxiety gripped her, often out of the blue, and she became unable to cope with even leaving the house. In the space of a few weeks our lives changed completely. Kitty couldn’t see the reason for anything and so one of us needed to be with her the entire time, day and night, to reassure her she was safe.” 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.” 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.

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. They have a full bar and extensive wine list as they prepare for their eventual nighttime crowd that will populate the space as Steakcraft (review to come once dinner opens in the weeks ahead). Specialty waters, freshly squeezed juice and espressos are offered. Breakfast and deli items will be offered in due time as well as their freshly baked breads, fried donuts and pastries. 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. Chilling moment celebrity medium predicted Matthew Perry's death THREE days before he drowned aged 54 Megan Thee Gremlin! Stallion rapper looks sexy in glittered bralette as she goes green as Greta from highly-popular 1990s horror-comedy for Halloween

It is a cookbook with the power to make you cry – or it did to me. The difficulties Kitty and her family went through, the difficulties of mental and physical health, financial worries – but bizarrely, it was the power that bread has over people that made me emotional. If you’re not a baker then you may not realise what I mean by that. I bake (unprofessionally), although not as much as I used to thanks to a Neurological condition I have developed, but I still try to when I can. Baking has always been my way of dealing with fierce emotions. When I lost my dad, I baked an absurd amount of cakes and biscuits for the hospice staff; I bake (and eat) when I’m stressed, when I’m sat, when I’m bored, when I’m happy. It’s just my moment to completely forget about everything else and the joy you get seeing someone enjoy what you’ve made is priceless. And to see that written down on paper was what made me cry.