Do you enjoy working in the kitchen? Making bread from scratch? Did you know good cooking involves chemistry? In Linda Soules’ So You Want To Be A Baker, there’s a lot to consider if you think you want to make good bread, not just on occasion, but all the time, and to make a living making bread. And it is all about chemistry. You have to consider how fresh the ingredients are, especially the yeast, and the quantities (and this is where kitchen math takes precedence). Other things to consider are the hours spent in the kitchen, starting at 3:30 in the morning, which is the best time to start bread rising if you want it ready to enjoy by midday. And there’s the issue of safety to consider – after all, you’ll be working with a hot oven, and the bread will be hot when you take it out of the oven. There’s a lot to consider when baking, especially if you want to make baking your career choice.

Linda Soules’ book, So You Want To Be A Baker, is another interesting introduction for young people considering a career in baking. The author discusses the art and science of baking, the joy of creating something worth sharing, and the math and chemistry of making the best product possible. There are interesting stories that surround the history of baking, an art that dates back tens of thousands of years, to findings of 14,400-year-old bread crumbs in Jordan and 81 loaves preserved at Pompeii. And there are the famous bakers throughout history who excelled at the craft and bakeries that made a unique mark on the art of fine breads. At the end, there’s an interesting glossary of baking terms, some fun activities to try in the kitchen like blowing up a balloon with yeast, resources for further study, and so much more. A great way to introduce young readers to the world of baking.

So You Want To Be A Baker by Linda Soules is another terrific addition to the So You Want To Be series. Many of us love the smell of freshly-baked bread, but do you know what goes on in the bakery while most of the world is still asleep? This book takes eager readers to a real bakery before the sun rises to show how those loaves and those pastries make it onto the shelves, from why the dough rises to why bakers measure everything and don't just use cups and spoons, to how to become a baker. You may think it sounds like an easy job, and it can be, but there's a lot of science and a lot of work in that dough. Who knew a loaf of bread could be so mysterious?

So You Want To Be A Baker by Linda Soules is filled with glorious pictures, easy language, and readily understood explanations as to how and why baking works. She discusses the why of bread needing yeast (to make it burp, as she puts it), why croissants are all layers, why my all-time favorite pies are hard work, and why those treats we all love may have some of the strangest ingredients. It's more like a chat than an instructive I'm-telling-you-what-to-do book. A Day in the Life follows a team in a bakery from daybreak to late at night and remains brutally honest about what is tough and what is great. There are interesting facts throughout too, including how bread began in the ancient world and life in medieval London. And at the back is a good glossary, a selection of other suggested books, and some at-home experiments (make a yeast-driven balloon) to make the book come alive. If there's a youngster who's eager to bake or learn the whys and wherefores of baking, this book is what they need. This would be equally at home in a school library or as part of a science lesson.