logo
episode-header-image
May 2018
26m 59s

I am the Bread Man

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Dan Saladino meets the mastermind behind one of biggest bread research projects ever undertaken. Nathan Myhrvold spent four years researching, baking and collaborating with leading industry professionals to write Modernist Bread - a five-volume, global exploration of this great staple. It follows another hugely ambitious food project -Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking – from 2011. Perhaps it is no surprise then that Nathan Myhrvold has spent his life trying to understand how things work, he researched quantum theory with the late Stephen Hawking and went on to work directly with Bill Gates at Microsoft. So what pearls of wisdom can the man who baked 36,000 loaves share?

This is a rebroadcast of an episode of the Food Programme that first aired on BBC Radio 4 in March 2018.

(Photo: Man claps hands with flour by dough, Credit: Getty Images)

Up next
Jul 29
Should I cut down on carbs?
Have you ever asked yourself: should I do Keto? Is white rice good for me? Am I eating too many carbohydrates? If so, then this episode of The Food Chain is for you. Carbohydrate-rich foods are everywhere and they’re delicious. But are they good for us? Carbs have a reputation fo ... Show More
26m 29s
Jul 22
When should I eat my evening meal?
When should you eat your evening meal? Is it really better to eat earlier, or does it depend on when you go to bed? And if you do have to eat late, is there anything you can do to reduce the impact on your health?In this episode of The Food Chain, Ruth Alexander explores what sci ... Show More
26m 29s
Jul 15
The rise of eating alone
Listener Melanie wrote into The Food Chain to ask us to make a programme about the rising numbers of people who eat alone. She told us she often dines solo and sometimes finds the experience daunting. So today Ruth Alexander hears from Melanie and from other solo diners – some wh ... Show More
26m 27s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2018
182 - The 23 Essential Tools of Bread Baking
Francisco Migoya, head chef of Modernist Cuisine and co-author of MODERNIST BREAD: The Art & Science, tells us about the essential tools of bread baking and how to troubleshoot common pitfalls.Read the transcript at http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/house-home/food/essential-tools ... Show More
25m 26s
Mar 2023
Nathan Myhrvold
Visionary technology and business leader Nathan Myhrvold just might be the most interesting person in the world, and in this episode of The Knowledge Project he dives deep into some of the most pressing questions facing our world today. Where will technology take us in the future ... Show More
1h 1m
Apr 2020
World-Renowned French Bread Maker on the Art of Baking
People across the world are discovering or rediscovering baking, especially bread, while staying home during the coronavirus pandemic. CBS News' Jamie Wax speaks with Apollonia Poilâne, whose family has owned France's Poilâne bakery since 1932, about the craft of baking bread inc ... Show More
19m 50s
May 2023
Rise Up! #189 - Maurizio Leo
Maurizio Leo has been writing the excellent Perfect Loaf blog for a decade now, teaching thousands and thousands of people to bake amazing sourdough bread. His writing and teaching style, paired with top-notch photography, makes his site one of the most important resources in the ... Show More
56m 51s
Jul 2023
Feeding Your Brain: A Users Guide.
Dan Saladino and psychologist Kimberley Wilson explore the latest science about food, mental health and boosting our brain power. Featuring Professor Michael A Crawford (Imperial), Professor Felice Jacka, Professor Felice Jacka of the Food & Mood Centre, Deakin University, Austra ... Show More
28m 47s
Aug 2020
What’s the yeast doing inside my bread?
<p>If you’re one of the millions of people who used lockdown to try something new like baking sourdough bread, you may well be wondering what’s happening chemically inside your loaf, especially if the end result keeps changing. Well, you’re not alone. Listeners Soheil and Sean ar ... Show More
33m 21s
Mar 2026
822: The King Arthur Baking Company's Big Book of Bread with Jessica Battilana and Martin Philip
This week, we dedicate the entire episode to answering your bread baking questions with two brilliant bakers and teachers, King Arthur’s very own Jessica Battilana, Staff Editor, and Martin Philip, King Arthur’s Baking Ambassador. While King Arthur has taught millions of people t ... Show More
50m 32s
Sep 2021
Margaret Atwood — All Bread
In a poem of four stanzas, Margaret Atwood traces bread from its growth in bone-nurtured soil, to the warm ovens of baking, to the table, to the mouth of one person, then the hands of someone breaking bread for many. From the cow-dung in the earth to the salt of the hands of the ... Show More
15m 22s
Dec 2022
Food
<p>Stories about the history of food, including the creation of ciabatta bread by a rally driver in Italy in 1982 and the Maltese bakers' strike in 1977.</p><p>Also, the invention of instant noodles in Japan, the start of the Slow Food Movement in Rome and the creation of Chicken ... Show More
49m 58s
Nov 2024
BREAD BAKING with Seamus Blackley
<p>Sourdough starters! Ancient yeasts! Why we need/knead dough! And why you don't need to buy a starter (or yeast!) to start. Polymath, particle physicist, inventor of the Xbox, and truly delightful fermentation nerd Seamus Blackley joins to chat about his kitchen adventures resu ... Show More
29m 45s