The Hot Bread Kitchen Cookbook

October 5, 2015
Rodriguez had the idea for a bakery that celebrated regional specialties and gave women a leg up in the male-dominated baking industry right after she graduated college. The only catch was that she didn’t have professional baking expertise. That was solved with a stint at Boulud, giving Rodriguez the experience she needed to open Hot Bread Kitchen, a bakery that gives low-income minority women the skills they need to enter the food-service industry and start their own food business. In this collection of recipes, Rodriguez
first instructs readers on how to make classic breads such as pita, batard, challah, and hot cross buns. Then she explains how to get the most out of those breads, with recipes such as the ultimate Reuben sandwich with sriracha special sauce, and banh mi on DIY baguettes. Even leftovers are put to work: day-old challah shows up in tres leches bread pudding, in grilled-cheese French toast with caramelized peaches, and as salad croutons. In each case, Rodriguez walks bakers through key steps for each recipe, managing expectations and telling them what to look for in order to achieve the desired result. Would-be bakers may be intimidated by the book’s lengthy steps, but they’ll find Rodriguez’s instructions to be practical and useful, giving them the confidence to stick with a recipe until the bread is out of the oven.

Starred review from September 1, 2015

Hot Bread Kitchen is a wildly popular New York City bakery founded by social entrepreneur Rodriguez to provide food industry training and jobs to low-income minority women. This beautifully designed cookbook celebrates the bakers of Hot Bread Kitchen and shares recipes for its most popular breads, which come from more than 20 different countries. Readers will find mouthwatering recipes for flatbreads, tortillas, traditional loaves, challah, quick breads, and more. Each recipe features precisely detailed instructions, step-by-step photographs, and measurements in both weight and standard cup sizes. Although the dough recipes require the use of a stand mixer for kneading, basic directions for mixing by hand are also given. Alongside the recipes, Rodriguez showcases the inspiring stories of employees and graduates of Hot Bread Kitchen's training program, many of whom share family dishes to serve alongside the breads of their ethnic heritage. VERDICT Hot Bread Kitchen's first cookbook foray is essential reading for serious foodies, bakers and anyone inspired by the bakery's philanthropic mission.--Kelsy Peterson, Forest Hill Coll., Melbourne, Australia

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