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Introduction

I’ve been teaching cooking classes for over fifteen years, and some of my most popular classes focus on soups. Students tell me repeatedly that they are in need of great soup recipes—the faster the better. So over the years, I have developed scores of soup recipes that taste like they’ve been bubbling away for hours, but take under an hour to make. They have always been a big hit.

People loved these classes, but something always felt a bit lacking to me. My mind would wander off from the soup pot to what I’d like to crumble over the top of the soup, or dip into the bowl, or use as a sponge to sop up the last delicious bites at the bottom of the bowl. Yup, I was thinking about how homemade bread would really complete the soups and truly make them a meal.

I’m not alone in my view. Nearly every culture in the world appreciates the joy of the soup-plus-bread equation. In Ireland, you’ll find that their famous lamb stew is always served with a hunk of dark Irish soda bread to sop up the last bites. Fly southeast to the eastern coast of Africa, and families are tucking into spicy red lentil stew with springy teff

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to scoop it up. Cross the Atlantic, and you’ll see the citizens of Mexico City slurping up chile-flecked pork