BREAD TOAST CRUMBS

In BREAD TOAST CRUMBS, Blogger Alexandra Stafford shares her inventive take on no-knead bread along with 135 recipes for a "loaf to crumb" approach to cooking with it. Alexandra posted her mother’s peasant bread recipe on her thriving blog, Alexandra's Kitchen (625,000 monthly views, 475,000 of which are unique), and quickly received an overwhelmingly positive response. The post alone receives 200,000 unique visitors per month and has amassed 2,000 comments. Readers have emailed her to say they haven’t purchased bread in months!

The secret is in its simplicity: mix four ingredients in a bowl, let rise, put it in the oven and walk away. Alexandra realized that in the recipe was a hidden opportunity to teach readers how to transform one ingredient into several meals. Part I of BREAD TOAST CRUMBS reveals the master recipe, then offers many variations: different flours (almond, spelt, cornmeal); liquids (coffee, milk, whey); fillings (herbs, cheese, chilis); and shapes (rolls, pull-apart, babka). Part II shares dishes that incorporate fresh and day-old bread, from toasts and tartines to shakshuka and mussels. And finally, Part III offers creative ways to use up stale bread as croutons, crumbs, and crusts.

Sweet and savory, the recipes in BREAD TOAST CRUMBS encompass that comfort, ease, and warmth that peasant bread, at its heart, is all about.

After graduating from Yale, ALEXANDRA (Ali) STAFFORD moved to Philadelphia, where she attended cooking school and worked in catering and restaurant kitchens, eventually becoming a sous chef. In addition to running her blog, she writes a biweekly column for Food52, "A Bushel and a Peck," and contributes to the Baking Steel blog. She has been recognized by the New York Times, Bon Appétit, Saveur, Fine Cooking, Goop, Design*Sponge, and more. She is a part of Food52's The52, a hand-picked group of bloggers, and the Martha Stewart community of leading lifestyle blogs, "Martha's Circle."