Flatbreads and Flavors: A Baker's Atlas

As they have pursued their passions for travel and exploring culture through food, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid have found an internationally shared and nourishing element of culture and cuisine: flatbreads, humankind's simplest, oldest, and most remarkably varied form of bread.

In their James Beard Award-winning cookbook Flatbreads and Flavors Alford and Duguid share more than sixty recipes for flatbreads of every origin and description: tortillas from Mexico, pita from the Middle East, naan from Afghanistan, chapatti from India, pizza from Italy, and French fougasse. In addition, they provide 150 recipes for traditional accompaniments to the flatbreads, from chutneys and curries, salsas and stews, to such delectable pairings as Chinese Spicy Cumin Kebabs wrapped in Uighur nan or Lentils with Garlic, Onion, and Tomato spooned onto chapatti. Redolent with the tastes and aromas of the world's hearths, Flatbreads and Flavors maps a course through cultures old and intriguing, and, with clear and patient recipes, makes accessible to the novice and experienced baker alike the simple and satisfying bread baker's art.

Not as much a book for beginning bakers wanting to make basic white breads as a wonderful introduction to the simplest and oldest types of breads still made throughout the world. Filled with tales of travel and bakers (both professional and home) from the world over, the award-winning Flatbreads and Flavors is almost an anthropological study of the original life-sustaining food, albeit one filled with immensely appealing recipes. Whenever I pick it up, I always end up spending time reading before I search for a recipe, all of which are easy to follow and well explained.

Epicurious.com

This is one of the most interesting and beautiful cookbooks ever published.

Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, travelers, cooks, photographers, and writers, have worked together since they met in Tibet in 1985. They are the authors of six books and have contributed frequently to Food & Wine, Food Arts, and many other magazines. They were part of the award-winning PBS series Baking with Julia and contributed to the book of the same name; they also appeared in the Food Network series Baker's Dozen. They guest-teach at a number of cooking schools and frequently give slideshow lectures about food traditions around the world. Their stock photo library, Asia Access, specializes in images of food, agriculture, and traditional cultures. They live in Toronto.