The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking

Rating:
Summary: Good bread, fun reading!
Review: As an atheist I was wary of this book, but I actually enjoyed reading Curry's stories and Jesuit histories. The recipies are fantastic - well written and all have been successful so far. The only complaint I have is that the font in the recipies is too small, especially the fractions! Great book, great author.

Rating:
Summary: An amazing variety of breads and techniques - good stuff!
Review: I bought the companion book, "The Secrets of Jesuit Soupmaking: A Year of Our Soups" and was really knocked out by the tone and style of that book. So, naturally I tried "The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking" and I found it to be the perfect complement to the former title. There is something decidedly refrshing about a book that combines the concepts of faith and baking. Anybody who's spent a day in the kitchen making bread from scratch will attest that it can be a somewhat spiritual event.

If bread is the staff of life, then "The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking" is a superb introduction to the art. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: An amazing variety of breads and techniques - good stuff!
Review: I bought the companion book, "The Secrets of Jesuit Soupmaking: A Year of Our Soups" and was really knocked out by the tone and style of that book. So, naturally I tried "The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking" and I found it to be the perfect complement to the former title. There is something decidedly refrshing about a book that combines the concepts of faith and baking. Anybody who's spent a day in the kitchen making bread from scratch will attest that it can be a somewhat spiritual event.

If bread is the staff of life, then "The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking" is a superb introduction to the art. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Like many baked goods, it might look better than it tastes.
Review: I have read this book cover to cover and baked at least half of the recipes. I feel that it is an example of a cookbook that was written for literature and the marketplace but not to further the ends of good bread baking.

I enjoyed reading the text and the numerous references to Jesuit life and baking in general. The stories about the recipes are also very interesting. However, I found the recipes to have errors or just not to be very successful recipes.

Think of this book as you would Aunt Ida's photo album of her trip to Florida last winter. Almost every snapshot would mean nothing to you but they mean the world to Aunt Ida. She is describing, at great length and with charming embellishment, what she intended to show in her photographs. Luckily, Brother Curry is a much better story teller than Aunt Ida, but I feel that most of the recipes don't have much to recommend them. However, I am sure that the many monks that Brother Curry collected recipes from are able to make their bread come out much better.

It seems by the title, "The Secrets of Jesuit Bread Baking", that there was something unique about the way Jesuits bake bread. As a critical look at the recipes will confirm, it appears that the "traditions of Jesuit bread baking around the world" is simply that of the communities that they inhabit. Spanish or Italian Jesuits put olive oil in their bread. Irish Jesuits make soda breads. Southern Jesuits bake cornbread. The title "Jesuit Breadbaking" seems a little misleading. The book doesn't build the case of a Jesuit style of bread that is different and distictly Jesuit. More accurately, the title could be "Bread Recipes from Jesuit bakers around the world."

I feel that this book is like too many cookbooks, especially bread books, that look great but have untested recipes that only serve to feed the fears of frustrated learning bakers everywhere.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful !
Review: I really enjoy the variety of breads in this book, as well as the jesuit explanations and histories within. I have not had any trouble with the receipes I have worked with, but have had many compliments.

It is easy to spend $1.99 on a loaf from the store, but it is more of a "giving of yourself" to do the extra work for the delight of those who enjoy your efforts. This book helps feed that deeper connection to the art baking bread.

I copy (don't sue me) snippets of Brother Curry's stories when I send along a gift made from this book. Again, it makes an already wonderful receipe that much more meaningful.

Rating:
Summary: Bread for the World
Review: This is one great book! Brother Curry's meditations and sidebar notes about life as a Jesuit, prayer, and lives of several saints are great reading in themselves. It is also an excellent introduction to the gentle art of breadmaking, and full of great bread recipes! Be sure to read his introduction, especially the section on "making bread"!

Rating:
Summary: Good bread, fun reading!
Review: When you ponder the history of breadmaking, just consider the continuous creativity derived from mixing flour and water. As author Brother Rick Curry, S.J., says, "I'm reminded of the simplicity...A little flour and water and some other wholeseome ingredients make an infinte number of breads".
"The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking" is a delightful collection of spiritual stories and easy to understand bread recipes. Building on the mystique of the Jesuit religious order, Brother Curry kneads the spirtual life and writings of the order's founder Saint Ignatius Loyola into the recipe collection. Indeed, this colection might be particularly interesting for those curious to know more about the Jesuits without having to read a long historical account. At first, I was leary of the large number bread recipes presented because my success with breadmaking was non-existent. I thought, "Why should I buy a book about breadmaking when I've never been able to get the dough to the first rise"? Nevertheless, I wanted to try Brother Curry's recipe for Irish Soda Bread, cooked without yeast, so I purchased the book. Of course, I could have simply copied the recipe without buying the book, but my religious side thought this was being disingenuous. Now, I'm so glad I made the investment because reading the recipes is just as much fun as baking them. Many recipes do not require using yeast, a relief for my breakmaking anxiety. As I tired several different recipes, I became more confident to try at least one yeast recipe. Finally, voila, like a miracle, I actually make O'Brien's Oatmeal Bread! Obviously, I'm now a convert to Brother Curry's recipes and, of course, I intend to try several more recipes as my breakmaking skills are tested. I already have several handwritten notes in the margins of this book documenting my own experiences with the recipes. Thank you Brother Curry and and also to Brother John O'Brien, who was a "vigorous" teacher of Latin at Gonzaga Prep in Spokane Washington when Curry met him and learned his namesake Oatmeal Bread recipe. This is a good book for those needing to develop more faith in their breadmaking ability. If you are already an expert breadmaker, Curry's collection is likely to sharpen the spiritual side of your God given talents.

Rating:
Summary: Nurturing Spirituality With Enjoyable Recipes
Review: When you ponder the history of breadmaking, just consider the continuous creativity derived from mixing flour and water. As author Brother Rick Curry, S.J., says, "I'm reminded of the simplicity...A little flour and water and some other wholeseome ingredients make an infinte number of breads".
"The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking" is a delightful collection of spiritual stories and easy to understand bread recipes. Building on the mystique of the Jesuit religious order, Brother Curry kneads the spirtual life and writings of the order's founder Saint Ignatius Loyola into the recipe collection. Indeed, this colection might be particularly interesting for those curious to know more about the Jesuits without having to read a long historical account. At first, I was leary of the large number bread recipes presented because my success with breadmaking was non-existent. I thought, "Why should I buy a book about breadmaking when I've never been able to get the dough to the first rise"? Nevertheless, I wanted to try Brother Curry's recipe for Irish Soda Bread, cooked without yeast, so I purchased the book. Of course, I could have simply copied the recipe without buying the book, but my religious side thought this was being disingenuous. Now, I'm so glad I made the investment because reading the recipes is just as much fun as baking them. Many recipes do not require using yeast, a relief for my breakmaking anxiety. As I tired several different recipes, I became more confident to try at least one yeast recipe. Finally, voila, like a miracle, I actually make O'Brien's Oatmeal Bread! Obviously, I'm now a convert to Brother Curry's recipes and, of course, I intend to try several more recipes as my breakmaking skills are tested. I already have several handwritten notes in the margins of this book documenting my own experiences with the recipes. Thank you Brother Curry and and also to Brother John O'Brien, who was a "vigorous" teacher of Latin at Gonzaga Prep in Spokane Washington when Curry met him and learned his namesake Oatmeal Bread recipe. This is a good book for those needing to develop more faith in their breadmaking ability. If you are already an expert breadmaker, Curry's collection is likely to sharpen the spiritual side of your God given talents.