artisinal bread

I thought this was an interesting article on artisinal bakers in New York City, which includes some history on the artisanal baking movement. If you look at the bottom of page 3 there are several related articles, including an eye-opener about Jim Lahey, "The Mad Baker of Sullivan Street." He's a bit rough around the edges...!

One of the loaves featured is a buckwheat-pear bread. Seeing it inspired me to bake one of my favorites -- a buckwheat-apple sourdough with hard apple cider. I baked it today and hope to post it tomorrow.