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Hardcover A Blessing of Bread: The Many Rich Traditions of Jewish Bread Baking Around the World Book

ISBN: 1579652107

ISBN13: 9781579652104

A Blessing of Bread: The Many Rich Traditions of Jewish Bread Baking Around the World

A Blessing of Bread grew out of an interview that author Maggie Glezer conducted with a rabbi's wife about the symbolism of challah, that bakery staple deeply rooted in Jewish traditions. Captivated by the myriad meanings in every twist of the bread's braid, she spent years doing research and recipe testing. The result is this landmark guide to the amazing variety of Jewish breads found in communities all over the world, from Guatemala to Russia and everywhere in between. In it are more than 60 impeccably tested recipes both old and new, for challah and other Sabbath and holiday loaves and an exploration of the rich symbolism of their hisory, the rituals governing their baking and eating, and the sacred texts and commentaries from which these rituals derive. There are best-ever recipes for babka and honey cake, bagels, matzot, crackers, and everyday breads such as Jewish-deli rye. It is also loaded with totally unexpected breads that thrill, such as anise, almond, and sesame-studded Moroccan Purim bread; the spiced and leaf-wrapped Ehtiopian bereketei (whole wheat Sabbath bread); and the pitalike nooni honegi of the Bukharan Jews. Oral histories, ancient legends, shtetl folktales, aphorisms, and proverbs delight and inspire, and stories of grandmothers and great-grandmothers that recall life as it once was complete this volume, the most in-depth and wide-ranging one ever published on the subject.

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Format: Paperback

Condition: New

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Customer Reviews

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Rated 5 stars
Bread as a religious experience

Maggie Glezer's labor of love "A Blessing of Bread: The Many Rich Traditions of Jewish Bread Baking Around The World" is truly that: a blessing. Not just a survey of Ashkenazi, Sephardic, North African, and Near Eastern breadmaking traditions, she also sprinkles in family stories, folktales, Yiddish proverbs, and prayers, including a section on the mitzvah of challah. In addition to providing the blessing for Challah, Glezer...

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Rated 5 stars
Inspiring and incredibly thorough.

Wow, this woman has really taken the time to research and record everything you could want to know about Jewish baking. She takes baking to a whole new level. So far I have made one challah recipe two times, and it was absolutely fantastic. She details all sorts of different types of challot based on regions. I plan to make one that would have originated from my grandparent's region back in Eastern Europe. Who knows if...

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Rated 5 stars
Learning about the world from this book in your kitchen

Other reviewers have written in glowing terms about the results of using the recipes in "A Blessing of Bread:...," and while I agree with their conclusions, I feel obliged to comment on another aspect of the book that impresses me. I am impressed--make that amazed, at how Ms. Glezer has traced so many of her recipes' histories back to their origins. Reading her book is almost like getting an insider's view of Jewish kitchens...

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Rated 5 stars
A Blessing of Bread has changed my life.

I use A Blessing of Bread every week when I bake challah, something I never did before I received this book. The instructions are clear and the recipes produce the most divine bread I've ever eaten. Family and friends rave about the bread I bake, and I know it's not because I have a special talent; I have this very special book that I adore using. In addition to wonderful recipes for breads from around the world, the book...

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Rated 5 stars
manna from heaven

The author is a certified, award winning baker who knows that there is more than one way to braid a challah. Included in this book of oral histories, historical notes, and bread related anecdotes and folk stories, are the best discussions I have read of Jewish bread and challah histories, as well as fascinating recipes. It is manna min shama-yim. The book opens with an intro on challah and bread, and an indexed listing...

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