Artisan Bread Baker

Dan Leader '76Simple ingredients. Time-honored traditions. The pleasure of making people happy. CIA graduate Dan Leader has a great respect for all three. Considered a pioneer of the artisan bread baking movement in the United States, he has an almost evangelical approach to bread. "I think bread is a timeless food and one that all people can relate to," he says. "I'm at the farmer's market in New York City right now and selling bread to people from all over the world."

"A real artisan bread baker takes simple ingredients—flour, water, yeast—and turns them into a complex food," Dan says. "Human skill is intimately involved every step of the way. I compare the process to making wine, where you turn something simple like grape juice into a great wine."

—Dan Leader '76
Owner and Baker
Bread Alone Café and Bakery
Boiceville, NY

An artisan baker is a craftsperson who is trained to the highest ability to mix, ferment, shape and bake a hand crafted loaf of bread. They understand the science behind the chemical reactions of the ingredients and know how to provide the best environment for the bread to develop. This baker's work parallels that of jewelers, glass blowers or furniture makers. They all have a palette of preferred, trustworthy materials. They know how to combine their materials to build something strong and at the same time delicate or elegant. Combining the raw materials in different ways will create various shapes, textures or colors. The finished product is something to be proud of when so much thought and creativity went into it.

 

A sample of CIA Alumni in this field:

 
 
 
 
 
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