Warren Lee Cohen

Without doubt, this is the best book in the hawthorn Press craft series, and given how brilliant the books in the series are, I can’t think of a higher accolade. This is no ordinary bread book, for indeed, it isn’t just filled with delicious, easy to follow recipes, it contains a wealth of interesting information, in the shape of songs, poems and blessings to celebrate bread, various bread related projects, such as building a bread oven( the photos are fantastic!), and information on wheat sensitivities and allergies. If you have an exoteric bent, you’ll enjoy and appreciate the chapter on enlivening the sense. It blends the teachings of Rudolf Steiner with Traditional Chinese Medicine, making for a very potent and illuminated understanding of the human senses (physical, soul and individuality) and the human hand (no bread making machine in sight!).My ten year old daughter sums this up by saying, “Kneading is magical, like looking at the full moon or holding a newborn baby… it makes you feel good.” This book really brings bread making to life, and shows the reader how it isn’t just about us kneading the dough, but how dough kneads us. This chapter alone is worth the price of the book.Great for home educators, and there’s a section for bread baking in schools.

Children and adults will absolutely love the treasures within this book.T

he Mother, May/June 2008

 

Baking Bread with Children takes you on an imaginative and engaging journey through the sensory wonders of bread making.Author and bread guru Warren Lee Cohen’s passion for all things dough-related started in art, baking only for his life-sized bread scultures of human figures.However, for the past 20 years the artist has turned artisan baker to refine his baking craft and teach people how to bake delicious breads using traditional techiniques.He says that getting children involved in an imaginative process such as baking bread can be both “fun and deeply nourishing”.

The book teaches not only recipes, but stories, songs, poems and blessingsto celebrate bread and encourage the children to join in.

He writes: “Singing lands strength to the rhythm of their hands while kneading dough, shaping the loaves or even cleaning up.”

Taking the reader through the basics first with an ‘easy white bread’, than progrssing to some exciting variations such as Philadelphia soft pretzels, gingerbread men and hot cross buns, the book offers something for everyone, young or old.

Annalise Cunild
Published in the Stroud News and Journal
March 26, 2008

 

I used to be a daily bread baker back in the ’80s so I thought I knew everything. Ha! I had so much to learn. And Warren Lee Cohen’s book is the one to tell me. Like a kind fun parent, he takes me on a journey from sourdough starter cultures to celebration cakes. On the way I took in big issues such as the reasons for my wheat sensitivity (wheat is over-processed and hybridised), and introduced me to kamut, a wondrous gluten-free grain that can be used in baking. I also learned more about the way children learn – through imitation and imagination. Because creativity enhances the physical process of bread making, songs, poems and stories are also included. This is a truly holistic book!

Elisabeth Winkler, Editor, Living Earth, Soil Association, UK
http://realfoodlover.wordpress.com

 

I very highly recommend Bread Baking with Children. It has a great wealth of information on how to and what you need to prepare dough and bake bread, how to do this successfully with children, and why it is beneficial to do so for the children and your home or classroom.  It is also very interesting and enjoyable to read and is filled with lovely anecdotes, sketches, and photographs. Any teacher, parent, or caregiver of children could benefit from and enjoy working with this book, even those with a great deal of experience. 

The writing is very clear, warm, and simple.  From recipes, equipment, and ingredients, to mixing, rising, and kneading, to stories, songs, and poems, all is provided for someone to become a true baker and leader of children baking bread. Emphasis is given to the educational and developmental benefits for children’s physical, intellectual, and spiritual growth and on ways to incorporate children’s bread baking into various school subjects and for different ages. Health related issues concerning bread, wheat, and food in general, such things as sensitivities, allergies, and intolerances, alternatives to wheat, fertilizers, pesticides, and fungicides, natural and artificial ingredients, genetically modified food, and factory-baked bread are also discussed and a useful measurement conversion chart is provided. Details are even given for how to build your own earthen oven. 

After reading Bread Baking with Children, you will know well why some breads are good, and why other breads are not. You will know how to bake bread yourself and how to lead children in the bread baking process. And, you will know how to do both enjoyably and in ways that are healthful for you and your children’s body, mind, and soul. Again, I very highly recommend this book for all who help take care of and educate our children and for anyone who would like to learn how to bake bread and why baking your own bread is so much better than buying it at the supermarket.

Brian Bresnihan

 

From Amazon .com

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: Baking Bread with Children, May 10, 2010 By  J. Miller “magpie” (Mars Hill, NC USA) – See all my reviews      Beautifully written! There are easy bread recipes and lovely verses and stories, too. The author put much love into this book. A must-have for the family kitchen.