Italian Baking Secrets

Book excerpt: Italian Baking Secrets is Father Orsini's sixth cookbook, and once again the reader gets not only wonderful recipes from the great tasting cuisine of Italy, but the "retired" priest's entertaining comments. Father Orsini knows how to make good food great, and his directions come with the bonus of his wide knowledge. The book begins with what to most of us is an amazing story: how the use of grain developed as long ago as---or possibly even prior to---the Neolithic period. Orsini tells us about the grains that were raised---and eaten---more than eight thousand years ago. Through charming and fascinating anecdotes, he lets us see the way bread has evolved, from flat loaves baked on hot stones to the myriad breads that have evolved in Italy alone---making our mouths water to hear about them. But don't let the author's charming storytelling keep you from his recipes; if you do, you will miss some delicious and easy-to-make dishes you might otherwise never taste---and once tasted, you will want to make them again and again.