Baking with the St. Paul Bread Club: Recipes, Tips and Stories

In St. Paul, Minnesota, a diverse group of men and women have found each other, united by a single passion: baking bread. Once a month, a professional production bakery is transformed into a lively forum for those hooked on this satisfying ritual. Veteran journalist and club member Kim Ode invites novices and masters alike to join these dedicated bakers in the kitchen as they share family traditions, experiment with new ingredients, exchange tips, and roll up their sleeves to work the dough.

Over seventy favorite recipes emerge from intimate profiles of the club members who perfected them—from the accountant and her nearly flawless baguette to the former Iron Ranger who shares the secrets of her grandmother's strudel-like potica. The club's newest member, a book designer who was given a copy of The World of Breads nearly four decades ago, has since transformed the book's anadama recipe into a peppery delight, swapping out molasses for chipotles and butter for bacon fat.

Author Kim Ode demystifies this ancient art with special sections on "Bread Wisdom for Beginners" and "Seasonal Favorites," and club founder Dan "Klecko" McGleno offers a step-by-step guide to starting a bread club in your own hometown. Whether you prefer to bake in solitude or wish to build a community in pursuit of the perfect loaf, this book reveals the true heart of this everyday food.

Kim Ode is a veteran newspaper reporter and columnist for the Star Tribune. She lives with her family in Edina, Minnesota, where the aroma of fresh-baked bread regularly wafts from the wood-fired brick bread oven in the backyard.