King Arthur Flour Whole Grain book -- 3rd week in September
I also hang out at the KAF Baking Circle (another great forum http://www.bakingcircle.com [1], and I thought you might like to know that PJ (one of the folks who wrote the KAF Baker's Companion -- the book that got me hooked on baking) posted there about their upcoming book. Here's what she wrote:
"King Arthur Flour's Whole Wheat Book??Well, great timing, folks! I've just surfaced after 9 months of "gestation" on King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking - WHEW! What a project! Three of us divvied up the chapters and tested, developed, tested again, ate, ate, ate, wrote, corrected, rewrote... writing a book is complicated! But anyway, it's in its final throes with the copy editor, and it should be out on schedule around the third week in September or so. It'll be another "big book," probably about the size of the Cookie Companion. Man, we had a whole lotta fun doing this one - wish we had a video of all the FLOPS we made along the way! It got to the point where every time we labeled something "buckwheat," the customer service reps (our chief taste testers) would run screaming from the room! But never fear, we finally worked all the kinks out. and that's the best part - we made ALL the mistakes, so you won't have to. We really learned a lot about whole grains this past year.
I was skeptical when we started this project, but now I'm a believer - totally. Whole grains taste great! I've made some of the best tasting stuff ever out of whole wheat, barley, spelt... And my two compatriots, Susan Reid (boldarticle) and Susan Miller, who runs King Arthur's baking school, have made equally serendipitous discoveries. (My favorite secret weapon: King Arthur organic white whole wheat - not on the shelves yet, due out this summer - WOW. Is that ever a great flour.) And, then, I REALLY like spelt, too... and ww pastry flour... anyway, look for the book in late September. And I'm so glad to be back online here - in the years we do a book, it's in addition to our regular duties, so we put our shoulders to the wheel and never look up for most of a year. Now we're taking a breather.
Speaking of bread: MY idea for the next book would be bread, though it's up to the publisher, not me. Here's what I think: a bread book that starts with the absolute most basic stir-it-up batter bread, then progresses to the MOST complicated multi-day sourdough. So anyone can jump in anywhere, depending on their skill level, and how much time/effort they feel like expending. Want an easy-easy bread? Start at the beginning. Feel like something moderately challenging? Jump in about halfway through. How does that strike you? I'm also wondering - when people think "bread," do they think quickbread, as well as yeast bread? Wondering if we'd include anything that's baked in a loaf pan... Opinions?"