About the Author
Emily Buehler lives and works in Carrboro, North Carolina. She came to the area in 1996 to attend graduate school in chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied reactions of hydrogen on silicon surfaces using a scanning tunneling microscope. In 2001 Emily was a fellow with the Office On Public Understanding of Science through the National Academies' Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship Program in Washington D.C. This experience heightened her awareness of the schism between scientists and the public and the need to present science in more understandable formats. One obvious method would be to write about science in non-technical, understandable language, without "dumbing down" the information.
Upon receiving her PhD in 2001, Emily began baking bread at Weaver Street Market, the cooperative natural foods store in Carrboro. The co-op's medium-sized bakery is known in the area for its top-quality breads. In spite of recent increases in production, the bakers persist in creating artisan breads: they use preferments for deeper flavor, they continue to make numerous types of dough each day, they allow for long rising times, and they shape each loaf by hand.
In 2002, at the request of community members, Emily and a fellow baker began teaching Beginning Artisan Bread-Making classes through Weaver Street Market and the Carrboro Artscenter. She also began hosting a monthly Community Oven Night, when the bakery's oven was available for use by the public. These experiences gave Emily insight into the perspective of home bakers and the unique problems they face.
Emily's search for the details of bread-making science began when she wrote the manual for her class. Unable to find a good source, she pulled bits and pieces together from various places--biology textbooks, notes in recipe books, high-tech books on commercial baking, newsletters of the Bread Baker's Guild of America, and a few scientific journal articles. A more thorough search confirmed her belief that a comprehensive, understandable bread science book was needed.
Emily never learned to make bread as a child. She remembers the learning process and the problems she faced. Occasionally, she still feels awkward when kneading dough. She does not have a fancy kitchen or many of the proper bread making tools. Her entire kitchen counter is 13.5 inches wide and 23 inches deep. If she can make homemade bread, so can you.