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Reviews
52 Loaves: One Man's Relentless Pursuit of Truth, Meaning, and a Perfect Crust by William Alexander
irenesuamar's review
5.0
Willian Alexander bakes a loaf of bread a week for a year in search for the perfect loaf he ate years ago. I enjoy his narration, even those uncomfortable confession about his sex life. I found his voice easy to read and interesting. I most enjoy the science involve in the baking and his description. I can´t wait to attempt my own levain!
jengoertz's review
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
relaxing
slow-paced
4.0
Didn't expect to like this book as much as I did! The mix of humor and history and science and life really kept this memior engaging. I learned a lot.
As an amateur baker, I did disagree with some of his recipes. My advice: start with sourdough. It's really so much easier than the world makes it look.
As an amateur baker, I did disagree with some of his recipes. My advice: start with sourdough. It's really so much easier than the world makes it look.
cgcpoems's review
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0
I was looking for a light read, & this fit that criteria perfectly! This is a memoir about the author’s quest to learn how to bake the perfect loaf of bread. It is humorous and heartfelt, and surprisingly informative about bread-making—I learned more than I expected to while reading this.
It’s not a book I’ll likely keep, but if you’re looking for something easy to read that goes pretty quickly, I’d definitely recommend it.
It’s not a book I’ll likely keep, but if you’re looking for something easy to read that goes pretty quickly, I’d definitely recommend it.
cbendixe's review
4.0
A quest for the perfect bread. I'm not a bread baker (and am more intimidated than ever about it), but there was something about this man's quest that genuinely touched me. Part of it is that bread is a universal food, and part of it is that it's so tightly tied to religion and religious symbolism. Alexander's quest for the perfect bread is about more than baking (and the hell he put his family through trying to bake the perfect loaf every week for a freakin' year!); it is also about a man's search for meaning and for faith (or making peace with his lack of it). The chapters on his trips to Morocco and Normandy were especially inspired.
Oh, and it's funny too!
Oh, and it's funny too!
diannaobrien's review
5.0
I loved this book because it brought together history, science, laughter and food.
What could be better? It nearly inspired me to start making bread by hand again and did move me to look up the disease of pellagra.
Funny and fun to read, even if you are not a foodie.
What could be better? It nearly inspired me to start making bread by hand again and did move me to look up the disease of pellagra.
Funny and fun to read, even if you are not a foodie.
justaprilann's review against another edition
3.0
Was fully invested in the pursuit of the perfect loaf! A fun read and I learned interesting facts about bread and flour. But I took stars off for the unnecessary mentions of the author’s sex life.
hkihm's review
5.0
This book was very informative and I learned a lot, and I've been baking for many years! This author takes a gimmicky premise and turns it into a good book. You can read the rest of my review here: https://thebreadmaiden.com/2017/01/17/a-bread-library-book-review-52-loaves-by-william-alexander/
red_magpie's review
4.0
The brief summary: geeking out on bread. Since I am currently geeking out on bread myself, this was a great read. I learned a lot and occasionally laughed, too. Unfortunately the book had to go back to the library before I could try any recipes.