‘If you had told me at 14, when I couldn’t even get out of bed with depression and anxiety, that three years later I would have written a book I would never have believed you. But here it is—the story of the Orange Bakery. How I went from bed to bread and how my dad went from being a teacher to a baker. You reading it means everything to me.’ (Kitty Tait)
Good, wholesome baking, starts with a community that drives it and a mind passionate enough to create. Kitty Tait has both and this cookbook explores exactly how The Orange Bakery in Watlington has come to fruition, and why.
I think that this is going to be one of those Cookbooks that will even hook the non-cooks. It’s so much more than a book about baking, and in fact my advanced copy doesn’t include the recipes and that really didn’t matter (although I’ve since had a few recipe cards from the publisher and they are amazing!).
The underlying history and drive for Kitty and her Father (but, from the sounds of the book mainly Kitty!) resonated strongly with me. Running your own business is extremely difficult. Navigating costs, space, orders, customer service, compliance and… creativity… can be exhausting. The power of making a dream become a reality though, is on another level. Kitty & Al both capture this throughout their book.
The final edition of course is a combination of recipes and Autobiography, as Kitty & Al take it in turns to tell their story. It takes a village to raise a child (they say), but it also takes a village to create a dream, The Orange Bakery being a perfect example of this. A book that will never age and will only continue to inspire – whether your dream is baking or something completely different.
About the Book…
Kitty Tait grew up a funny, chatty redhead who made everyone in her family laugh. But around the time she turned 14, Kitty began experiencing anxiety. Slowly, she disconnected from everyone around her and struggled to wake up, get dressed, and leave the house. Full of worry, her parents tried everything, from new hobbies like reading and painting to medication and visits to a specialist. Nothing seemed to help.
Then, one day, as Kitty stood on a stool watching her dad mix flour, water, and salt, she determined Al’s gloopy, sludgy blob of bread looked a whole lot like her brain. The next day, peaking under the tea towel as the mix gently bubbled and popped, Kitty came to a stunning realization: bread is alive. Al asked Kitty if she’d like to try baking bread herself, and their lives were never the same again. One loaf quickly escalated into an obsession, and Kitty felt better than she had for a long time. Within nine months, Kitty and Al opened The Orange Bakery–and they haven’t stopped since.
Featuring more than 80 recipes-including cinnamon buns, cheese swirls, and tahini brownies-Breadsong is a celebration of bread and baking, and an inspiring story of the life-saving power of discovering a passion.
Genre: Cookbooks / Non-Fiction
Publication: April 28th 2022
About the Authors…
Kitty Tait and her Dad Al live in Watlington, Oxfordshire and between them run the Orange Bakery. From the most original flavoured sourdough (miso and sesame, fig and walnut) to huge piles of cinnamon buns and Marmite and cheese swirls, the shop sells out every day and the queues stretch down the street. In 2018, Kitty was at school and Al worked at Oxford University, but when Kitty became so ill she couldn’t leave the house, the two discovered baking and, in particular, sourdough. Chronicled in Kitty’s Instagram @kittytaitbaker they went from a small subscription service to pop ups to a shop – all in two years. Along the way Kitty got better, a Corgi got involved and Al realised that he was now a baker not a teacher.
Connect with the Author…
Thanks to the publisher and authors for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
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