Texas chef David Norman knows a thing or two about bread. From his time in Sweden as an exchange student in high school to a semester in Germany while getting his degree in the language to his time working in a series of bakeries across the United States, Norman learned an enviable number of lessons about the texture of bread and how breads are baked, served, and eaten. And now we are fortunate enough to have him share his experiences with us in his Bread on the Table.
As the owner of Austin’s Easy Tiger Bake Shop and Beer Garden, Norman clearly knows a thing or two about fermentation. Although he originally started baking bread thanks to James Beard’s Beard on Bread simply so that he could find something other than that tasteless American white bread to eat, his techniques have evolved and been refined through his years of baking professionally and personally. Now he offers us a selection of bread recipes from around the world, with simpler recipes for beginning bread bakers and more complex approaches for those who want a challenge.
In a truly unique manner of telling the story, Norman takes us around the world to sample breads and dishes that are eaten with them. Starting with the loaf that is the touchstone for so many, the simple French Country Bread, Norman begins with the basics and builds from there to add rye bread and sourdough and a Pullman bread (a classic sandwich bread) and moves on to bring in more foods of the French table to consume with the breads. There are recipes for La Charbonee de Boulanger, a hearty stew that could have been made in the “dying heat of the baker’s oven,” Oysters with Mignonette, and (one of my favorites) Croque Monsieur.
From there it is off to Scandinavia, where we get to sample more rye breads, Swedish crispbread, and a Swedish “Wort” Bread. These get paired with Gravlax, a Christmas ham, Cultured Butter, and Christmas Kale. Then to Germany, where we learn about more yet rye breads as well as a whole wheat bread with flaxseeds, White Breakfast Rolls, and Easy Tiger Pretzels. He pairs these with Chef Drew’s Easy Tiger Beer Cheese and Wurstsalat, a Biergarten Sausage Salad.
Then it’s off to Italy for a saltless Tuscan bread, Ciabatta, and Panini Press Bread, which he uses for Italian sandwiches, Crostini Tuscani (Tuscan Chicken Liver Toasts), and Cinghiale alla Cacciatora. The last stop in our culinary journey is Norman’s home in Central Texas, or as Norman puts it, “Baking Bread in a Tortilla Town.” This chapter includes recipes for White Pan Bread, Smoked Flour Fougasse, Mexican sourdough rolls, and Flour Tortillas. These he makes into Breakfast Tacos, Migas, and Torta Ahogada (a sandwich from Guadalajara).
I hope I don’t sound disrespectful describing these recipes, especially the “yet more rye breads,” because that is the last thing I want. The truth is this book is so beautiful and filled with so many luscious recipes that I wish I could quit my job to stay home and bake bread full time. I am almost overwhelmed with the beauty and depth of these recipes. It would take months for me to even begin to learn what this cookbook has to offer.
Bread on the Table is the sum of Norman’s experience in baking and eating bread, and it shows. It is a book to return to often for ideas and inspiration for the kinds of bread that turn a meal into a feast and a place into a home.
A free copy of Bread on the Table was provided to me by Ten Speed Press, with many thanks.
