Book Review: In Memory of Bread by Paul Graham

I like to joke that I am pro-gluten and a bread fanatic.  Right now, downstairs on my kitchen counter is homemade challah rising for my quasi birthday/Easter/Passover dinner tonight.  I have been a devotee of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, the cookbook my challah recipe is from.  Years ago, with my freshly minted bachelor's diploma, I went to work for a food laboratory.  The reason I applied was because they made sourdough cultures--my all-time favorite type of bread.  Growing up, a classmate always had "Fred" in the fridge, a sourdough culture that her mom fed weekly and used to make sandwich rolls that I was so envious of.  I have been a bit flippant about gluten adverse people, but have always respected the fact that celiac disease is a true reason to completely avoid gluten, and often, bread.  Reading In Memory of Bread by Paul Graham was truly enlightening, and gives me true empathy for gluten intolerant people and those dealing with celiac disease.

Why would I write a review of a memoir of bread on WineTalent's career blog?  Because many of us in the wine industry are also big foodies, and many of us love great yeasty breads, a good craft brew, and are adventurous eaters.  So was Paul Graham, up until he was waylaid by celiac disease at the age of 36.  Paul Graham was an accomplished home brewer, a voluminous consumer of homemade wheat breads and someone who loved to experience life through food and drink.

As a professor of English at St. Lawrence University in upstate New York, Paul is an accomplished writer who loves reading authors that write about food.  Much of his food education was based on the writings of gourmands like M. F. K. Fisher, Julia Child, Calvin Trillin, Ruth Reichl and my personal favorite, Jim Harrison (a cool book shop owner in Medford, Oregon turned me onto Jim Harrison years ago in his book Dalva, and I've voraciously consumed all of his books since then).

Paul Graham writes a breezy, food-centric memoir about his life before and after his diagnosis.  He delves a bit into our food supply chain, and talks about his commitment to living the locavore lifestyle as outlined in Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.  This is a lifestyle many of us have adapted, and many of us may continue to purchase wheat that is farmed and processed far away from us because we just need to have flour and make bread.  Ironically, I am also currently reading Laura Ingalls Wilder's book, On the Banks of Plum Creek, where the Ingalls family is so excited about their wheat crop, saying it is going to bring large sums of money to the family.  Wheat was and is a very important crop in the world, and as Paul Graham notes, wheat and gluten is hard to avoid in our society.

For much of his book, Paul Graham mourns the lose of bread and of gluten.  Then he has an epiphany and realizes he needs to approach food and cooking from a non-wheatcentric angle.  Once he realizes there is a big food world out there that's GF, he starts to explore new foods and embraces food and cooking again.

He and his wife also try hard to make GF breads and baked goods.  The first attempts were awful, as were their experiences with GF beer.  Paul starts baking with America's Test Kitchen's The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook.  Rethinking how to bake, the ingredients and techniques were his first challenge.  But once he embraced America's Test Kitchen's ways, he was pleasantly surprised and quite pleased with many of the things he could make and eat again.  One of those was pizza.  I too love to bake homemade pizza, and would be lost if I couldn't eat or make pizza ever again.  As he writes, America's Test Kitchen attracts a nerdy type of cook.  And yes you guessed it, I am also a devotee of ATK--listening to the podcasts on my way to and from wine country on business, and thrilled when my new Cook's Country arrives.

It was hard to read about how gluten destroyed Paul Graham's body, and how he had to completely rid his house and his life of gluten.  Being completely gluten free is hard for anyone to be, and Paul's storytelling of his odyssey really brought it to light for me.  I have new respect for my friends who have to be GF for their children with celiac disease and also now more fully understand why many people are avoiding gluten.

I am thankful that I can still enjoy my glutinous food, but now more completely understand what gluten can do to those who are intolerant, and will gladly help anyone be GF when they feel it is warranted.  Luckily, as Paul Graham notes, wine is most always completely GF.

Great book, read it if you enjoy learning about our food history, how people are dealing with gluten intolerance, and for a memoir of a great writer's farewell to bread.