Breadsong: How Baking Changed Our Lives

Featuring must-have techniques and more than 80 recipes, a celebration of bread, baking, and the life-saving power of discovering a passion.

Kitty Tait grew up a chatty redhead who made everyone in her family laugh. But around the time she turned 14, Kitty began experiencing anxiety. She slowly disconnected from everyone around her, and soon struggled to leave her house. Then, one day, Kitty stood on a stool watching her dad stir flour, water, and salt. As the mix began to bubble and pop, Kitty came to a stunning realization: bread is alive. Al asked her if she’d like to try baking bread herself, and their lives were never the same again. One loaf quickly escalated into an obsession, and Kitty felt better than she had for a long time. Within nine months, Kitty and Al opened the Orange Bakery—and they haven’t stopped since.

Breadsong is a cookbook drawn from Kitty’s journey learning to bake her now world-famous bread. It includes tips and tricks for baking sourdough, focaccia, pita, flatbread, and more, as well as Kitty’s favorite recipes: Happy Bread filled with salted caramel, sticky buns with flavors like Fig and Honey, and the ultimate Tahini and Milk Chocolate Cookies. With gorgeous four-color photography and Kitty and her dad in their own words, Breadsong is an essential guide to all things bread and an inspiring story of mental health and the wonderment of baking.

About the Author

Kitty Tait and her dad Alex Tait live in Watlington, Oxfordshire, England. In just two years, the pair went from a small subscription service to pop-ups to finally the Orange Bakery. The shop now sells out every day, with lines stretching down the street as people eagerly await the most original flavored sourdough (miso and sesame, fig and walnut) and huge piles of cinnamon buns and cheese swirls. They chronicle their journey on Kitty’s Instagram @realorangebakery.