Modernist BreadCrumbs

In this episode, we’re exploring the intersection of bread and art, and the idea of bread as art. From Renaissance paintings of The Last Supper (complete with pretzels) and still lifes from the Dutch Golden Age to scoring videos on Instagram—the aesthetics of bread, and all that it symbolizes, have long been on display.

We'll look for bread in art history with Maite Gomez-Rejon (founder of Art Bites), consider the influence of art on baking with an interview from HRN Happy Hour featuring head chef of Modernist Cuisine Francisco Migoya and author Daniel Isengart, talk about craft with baker (and former ceramic artist) Sarah Owens, weigh bread's artistic value with Guy Frenkel of Ceor Bread, and find out how co-authors Nathan Myhrvold and Francisco Migoya, tackled bread's beige aesthetics when writing Modernist Bread.

Photo Credit: Nathan Myhrvold/ The Cooking Lab, LLC.

Theme Music: Thomas Hughes & Gretchen Lohse (@carolclevelandsings)

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This is Episode Three of Modernist BreadCrumbs: “On the Rise,” on yeast, leavening, and fermentation.

Here, we observe a microscopic single-celled organism from the fungi kingdom, and its full effect on bread: yeast. How can something so small make such a big impact? When it comes to bread, the proof really is in the proofing.

Modernist BreadCrumbs is a special collaborative podcast series with Heritage Radio Network and Modernist Cuisine, that takes a fresh look at one of the oldest staples of the human diet—bread. Although it may seem simple, bread is much more complex than you think.

From the microbes that power fermentation to the economics of growing grain, there’s a story behind every loaf. Each episode will reveal those stories and more, beginning with bread’s surprising and often complicated past, from the perspective of people who are passionate about bread, and shaping its future.

Modernist BreadCrumbs is powered by Simplecast

We're going down the rabbit hole of breads with holes! From the New York vs Montreal bagel debate—and the power of water and lye—to the twists and turns of pretzel history, focusing on the presence of negative space is a positive thing.

We'll explore the power of lye with Harold McGee, check out NYC bagel culture with Dianna Daoheung of Black Seed Bagels, learn about the Simit with Zoe Kanan, and head to Pennsylvania's classic Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery. Along the way, Nathan Myhrvold and Francisco Migoya, co-authors of Modernist Bread, will address "the water myth," and their findings may surprise NYC bagel purists.

Photo credit: The Cooking Lab, LLC.

Theme Music: Thomas Huges & Gretchen Lohse (@carolclevelandsings).

Modernist BreadCrumbs is powered by Simplecast.

We're hopping in our Winne-bread-go and hitting the road—to explore the state of regional breads in America! We'll travel to New Orleans for a Po'boy, New England for Anadama, and to Appalachia for Salt Rising Bread, all in search of an answer to the question, "Is there a regional bread culture in the United States?"

Featured in this episode are Sandy Whann of Leidenheimer Baking Company, Alison Pray of Standard Baking Company, chef Travis Milton, author Ronni Lundy, and, of course, co-authors of Modernist Bread, Francisco Migoya & Nathan Myhrvold.

Here's the link to Rising Creek Bakery, as mentioned in the episode.

Photo Credit: The Cooking Lab, LLC.

Theme Music: Thomas Huges & Gretchen Lohse (@carolclevelandsings).

Modernist BreadCrumbs is powered by Simplecast.

This is Episode Eight of Modernist BreadCrumbs: “Breadbox.”

Bread is immeasurable, no longer bound by precepts. The new dictum of baking bread is built on shapes and sizes we haven’t even dreamt of. This episode, the proverbial breadbox of the series, will hold all the bits of bread we haven’t gotten to yet, or have yet to be made.

Modernist BreadCrumbs is a special collaborative podcast series with Heritage Radio Network and Modernist Cuisine, that takes a fresh look at one of the oldest staples of the human diet—bread. Although it may seem simple, bread is much more complex than you think.

From the microbes that power fermentation to the economics of growing grain, there’s a story behind every loaf. Each episode will reveal those stories and more, beginning with bread’s surprising and often complicated past, from the perspective of people who are passionate about bread, and shaping its future.

Theme Music by Thomas Hughes and Gretchen Lohse

Modernist BreadCrumbs is powered by Simplecast