I really loved reading this memoir and was totally obsessed by it (I read it over two days and probably also dreamt about it at night). I always appreciate a cookbook which blends the cook's story and experiences into the recipes, which Breadsong manages excellently.

Halfway through the resting time, preheat the oven to 230°C/210°C fan/gas 8 or as high as it will go. You reading it means everything to me' Kitty TaitBreadsong tells the story of Kitty Tait who was a chatty, bouncy and full-of-life 14 year old until she was overwhelmed by an ever-thickening cloud of depression and anxiety and she withdrew from the world. The sub-plot to Kitty’s recovery and the success of the bakery is Al’s journey from employed teaching professional to anxious parent to full-time baker. As someone who got into making sourdough bread at the start of the pandemic due to the lack of availability of yeast I had an interest in this book for the recipes but actually the story won me over and charmed me completely. I think this book would make a wonderful gift for anyone in your life who enjoys food, and who has ever struggled with mental health.The book title derives from the cracking and hissing sounds that bread makes when emerging from the oven, and it is a rather beautiful word. Kitty is a strong woman with a wonderfully supportive family who not only allow her to recover in her own way without worrying about her schooling but help her every step of the way. I feel like saying anything negative about this book would make me a jerk, so if you're looking for a book with a positive message that has some decent baking recipes, you may enjoy this one. A cookbook with bags of heart about the redemptive power of baking ‘Breadsong’ tells the story of Kitty Tait who was a chatty, bouncy and full-of-life 14 year old until she was overwhelmed by an ever-thickening cloud of depression and anxiety.

When it first starts by telling you a beautiful story of a fight with depression that baking helped to overcome. It shows the deep bond of family, friends and the support of a community, and how much of an impact this can have on a person's life.

In the middle of one panic attack, she put her hands into a bread mixture and ‘I could feel my breath starting to slow again, and my cheeks stopped flaming’. The first half tells the story of Kitty and her struggle with mental health, and how baking (introduced by her dad) lifted her out of that dark place. Make a small well in the flour, pour in the milk and yeast mixture, crack in the eggs and stir together until it forms a rough dough. MAFS UK viewers SHOCKED after Thomas and Roz engage in X-rated shenanigans during group dinner party: 'He's turned into Mr Grey! Within a year of so Kitty and Al had opened The Orange Bakery in their village of Watlington near Oxford and one day Al realised that he was no longer a teacher but a baker.