Baking with Fortitude - by Dee Rettali (Hardcover)

About the Book

A one-of-a-kind, handsomely-designed four-color guide to artisan baking, featuring modern approaches to old-fashioned methods.

Book Synopsis

A one-of-a-kind, handsomely-designed four-color guide to artisan baking, featuring modern approaches to old-fashioned methods.

Some of Dee Rettali's recipes require patience and care, others can be made instantly-but all are love letters to the craft of baking. Dee walks us through how to bake with the fruits, spices, and herbs we have around us, loading our bakes with natural flavor and sparing ourselves piles of sugar and artificial flavors. Then, sharing two exciting new techniques that form the essence of craft baking, Dee teaches readers how to bake with a starter and, secondly, to ferment the batter itself. There's no extra effort involved-just time-as you watch the cake rise and develop a rich, deeply complex flavor and texture similar to sourdough bread. Whether you eat it like a traditional cake or slice it up and eat it like bread, these cakes will be delicious longer than any cake you've ever made.

Featuring cakes like Chocolate and Chili Sugar Olive Oil, Rhubarb and Lemon, Moroccan Honey with Cinnamon, and Walnut Butter Cake with Honey, these 90 recipes are sure to delight and surprise. Mouthwatering and unique, Baking with Fortitude is every baker's newest obsession.

Review Quotes

"I love Dee Rettali's baking - she is obsessed with flavour. A bold and beautiful book" --Diana Henry

"This isn't just another book about baking; it's a whole new way of approaching it" --Sunday Telegraph

"A world away from your average sugar-laden creations. Instead, [Rettali] harnesses flavour-building processes such as using sourdough starters, fermenting batters before baking, steeping fruit and making herb infusions. Among her many stand-out bakes are turmeric custard and roast pear brioche buns, Spanish fermented butter cake with fizzy apricots, and ras el hanout and black treacle cake, scattered with chilli flakes" --Waitrose Weekend

"Typical sweet bakes not your style? Dee Rettali of London's Fortitude Bakehouse uses sourdough starters and fermented batters to create buns and cakes with intensified flavours. Emphasising the craft of baking, her recipes rely on herbs, spices, and fruit for character, and many can be made in straightforward fashion before you try the fermented version." --Delicious Magazine

"Over a lifetime of baking, Dee Rettali has honed her recipes to bring out intense flavour using forgotten craftsmanship. Here she shares the sourdough cakes and simple breads she creates for her bakery - Fortitude Bakehouse in London - full of deep flavour and generations of artisanal technique." --Daunt Books, Books of the Year

"A whole new world of baking" --Sunday Telegraph Travel, Books of the Year

"A thoughtful collection of hearty loaf cake recipes that put a modern spin on traditional artisanal baking ... Those willing to wait will be greatly rewarded" --Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Dee Rettali was at the forefront of the organic food movement, having founded Patisserie Organic in 1998, and her belief in preserving traditional crafts, using time-honoured techniques and sourcing simple, seasonal ingredients has informed the way she cooks and bakes ever since. She opened Fortitude Bakehouse in London in 2018 and has amassed a loyal following.