Bread baking
1916–2011 · United States
Bernard Clayton Jr. was born in Mitchell, Indiana, in 1916 and spent years as a journalist and war correspondent before turning his attention to bread. He learned to bake in a farm kitchen and never lost the habit of testing every recipe himself.
The Complete Book of Breads (1973) gathered hundreds of recipes from around the world and sold widely; he followed it with companion volumes on soups, stews, and more breads. His method was patient and practical, built on long rises and a baker's feel for the dough.
He was still teaching and baking in his nineties, and he died in 2011. His books remain a fixture on the shelf of serious home bakers.
A rustic country loaf with a crackling crust and an open, faintly sour crumb.
A rich, buttery egg bread, tender enough to pull apart and burnished with an egg wash.
A long-fermented loaf with a tangy crumb and a dark, blistered crust baked on a stone.
A bread day in Indiana · 1975 · Bloomington, Indiana