I've never made bread before and this was great to read about bread and also have some recipes to try.

What an absolute delight of a book! One part memoir, one part cookbook, what more could a reader ask for? I was delighted by the various line drawings found throughout and found the recipes realistic and easy to follow. The styling of this book is chef's kiss, I wish all cookbook evoked the same level of joy that this book evokes for me. There is whimsy throughout. If you are a fledgling baker looking for inspiration look no further! This book is a brilliant starting point because it demonstrates that anyone can start baking bread and the catharsis that baking bread can bring a person. Please add this to your shelves, you won't regret it!

What a splendid cookbook - I ordered a copy for my bookstore since we don't have many baking books, and I wanted to flip through a physical copy before my review. I ended up buying it because I loved it so much! I can't wait to read more of Kitty & her family's story, and of course, to make some of her bakes. This seems like a perfect cookbook for any new bakers, or anyone who wants something a bit different to the normal cookbook. What a fun treat.

Such a beautiful book. I loved that it was half cookbook half autobiography. Food is so powerful, and as someone who also used baking as an escape to get me through very difficult times, Kitty’s story really resonated with me. An awesome read for bakers and baked goods lovers alike!

Part cookbook, part memoir, Breadsong: How Baking Changed Our Lives
by daughter and father, Kitty and Al Tate, illustrates just how much healing having a passion for something new can be. The book is well-written and will inspire readers not only to bake, but also to look at themselves and find what they are passionate about. The book tells how Kitty Tait was ill – most likely very depressed – until she discovered baking, which led to opening a successful bakery in the UK and finding herself loving life.

While the focus of the recipes is mostly sourdough (the author’s favorite), there are other types for those of us who aren’t sourdough fans. The recipes are written in the traditional manner and are easy to follow for everyone, whether a beginning baker or a seasoned one. The book includes recipes for classic breads and other baked goods, as well as unique and foreign specialties. Every recipe has a story or vignette preceding it, and they are fun to read and help understanding.

The book includes cute illustrations through the memoir and story portions of the book, and then there are beautiful innovative, beautiful photographs (not just the baked goods, but food styling that is fun to look at). Anyone not tempted to bake bread after perusing the recipes is most likely brain dead. Anyone who loves baking will definitely love this cookbook/memoir.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Breadsong is so much more than just a cookbook. I read it looking for bread and cinnamon roll recipes, but enjoyed reading about Kitty’s battle with anxiety and how she channeled that into her baking. This book focuses on family, love, and recovery and shares delicious recipes you’ll want to bake a share.

Thank you to Bloomsbury USA and NetGalley for this ARC.

Really enjoyed the personal touch with these recipes. The design of the book was great and while brad making has never been my forte, this was inspiring.

This book was archived before I could review and am a little confused because the release date hasn't come out yet. Sorry I couldn't review in time.

The Tait's invite us to break bread with them. We become companions along a very intimate journey which is deeply insightful and profound. Each slice (chapter) is delicious. We cry when they cry. We laugh when they laugh. Their accomplishments remind us of the power of the human spirit and the reality that bread is truly alive. I couldn't put the book down. And when I was finished, I wanted to start all over again.

Wow, this book was an absolute delight to read. A tale of perseverance, self-discovery, and love; Kitty's story gives you all the emotions. Her personal struggles with mental health resonated with me personally and will probably do so for a great many readers, but it is the journey she takes to find her way out of that darkness that will leave you with a grin and a desire to eat everything in the back of the book. The support of her family is also a key element that stand out and I look forward to follow not only Kitty's individual journey going forward, but also that of The Orange Bakery.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves food, loves autobiographies, or even just loves a feel good story that is not afraid to say that it wasn't always feeling good.

Also, as a note, I encourage readers to float back and forth between the book and Kitty's Instagram account @kittytaitbaker, as you get great "extras" through her posts that correspond with the activities in the narrative.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book is one of the best cookbooks I have read this year and I can't recommend enough to anyone who loves cookbooks and/or autobiographies that just warm your heart. Five stars and more!

As much as I enjoyed reading Kitty's autobiography, I loved their recipes and photos so much. There are so many great recipes and I didn't even know which one to start with. Overwhelmingly enticing, beautifully baked, and amazingly photographed. You just want to grab them out of the book and start munching on them. You can almost smell, it seems like. There are all types of breads and baked goods for everyone, let's say, if sourdough isn't your thing, you can try sweet bread or cookies. This book is chock full of great recipes!!!

I love, love, love this book for so many different reasons and cannot recommend enough. Go get yourself a copy and get another for your loved one! You won't regret it!

This was a very well written book with a heartfelt story behind it. And with wonderful recipes to boot!

I loved this book. It is first and foremost a book about a family helping their teenage daughter, Kitty, through an emotional crisis (what looked like major depression). Kitty discovered a love bread making that got her “out of her headspace” and alleviated circular thinking.

The parents took the emotional crisis seriously. Kudos to them for being aware and being willing to “do anything” to help Kitty. And by “anything” I mean converting their kitchen into a bakery (for starters).

The book is co-written by Kitty and her father. Both tell about the loving and supportive family. Both voices are perfect for this story.

It is definitely worth the read.
Thank you NetGalley.

I loved this! The first half of the book is the story of how the Orange Bakery came to be. At 14, Kitty, always the happy kid, began to struggle with depression and anxiety. While trying various activities to try to help her focus, her father, Al, bakes a loaf of bread. Kitty is intrigued and a new obsession is born. The reader is brought along as they go from baking in their home kitchen for their own family, then neighbors (borrowing oven space), then the town with a storefront of their own. We get a glimpse of the ups and downs of growing a business while trying to still have a life away from work. The story alternates between Kitty's and Al's perspective. While many cookbooks include an origin story, this story felt more personal than most. I'll admit I sometimes skim or even skip over the background section in cookbooks, but trust me, don't skip this!

Then, the recipes! While I instantly gravitate to the sourdough recipes (of which I'll be trying most!), there are so many other recipes I want to try. Recipes are divided into categories: breads, sourdough, sweet doughs (peanut butter, banana and chocolate buns?!), pastries, cookies and cakes (deconstructed snickers!). There's even a vegan cookie recipe I'll be trying today, but I'll definitely be trying to veganize those snickers cookies...

Adding to the charm of this book, the photographs are beautifully shot and many clearly show the humor of this family. I enjoyed getting to see the shop that had been described. I'll definitely be adding a copy of this book to my cookbook shelf when it's published!

Thanks to Bloomsbury USA and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

A beautiful book with the author's life story and how baking helped them. The recipes start on page 149 and there are recipes with beautiful photos of breads, sweet breads (white loaf, focaccia), sourdough bread, sweet dough (doughnuts), pastries (pasteis de nata, croissants), cookies and cakes (caramelized banana bread). I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

I'm not sure I can give this cookbook enough praise or stars -- it's truly that good.

It makes the bread eater in me want to become the bread baker, but more than that, it's the story of Kitty Tait who began a downward and isolating spiral when her anxieties took over at the age of 14. As unorthodox as it sounds, breadmaking is what helped Kitty when all conventional avenues failed. Working side by side with her dad, they began baking at home, and Breadsong is not only a cookbook filled with their recipes for bread, pastries, and cookies, but also the inspirational story of how the Orange Bakery in their town of Watlington came to be told in both Kitty's and her dad's words.

So much more than a cookbook, Breadsong is a moving and lovely memoir on tenacity and determination. We truly need more Kittys in this world.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishers for giving me the opportunity to review an advance copy of #Breadsong.