'Charming important . . . a journey of discovery' Telegraph Over the course of a year Robert
Penn learns how to plant harvest thresh and mill his own wheat in order to bake bread for
his family. In returning to this pre-industrial practice he tells the fascinating story of our
relationship with bread: from the domestication of wheat in the Fertile Crescent at the dawn of
civilization to the rise of mass-produced loaves and the resurgence in homebaking today.
Gathering knowledge and wisdom from experts around the world - farmers on the banks of the Nile
harvesters in the American Midwest and Parisian boulangers - Penn reconnects the joy of making
and eating bread with a deep appreciation for the skill and patience required to cultivate its
key ingredient. This book is a celebration of the millennia-old craft of breadmaking and how
it is woven into the story of humanity. 'Compelling vivid . . . Slow Rise will be welcomed by
the new bread geeks' Spectator
