Join us on Wednesday, December 2, 2025, 7 PM via Zoom 

“Through the simple act of kneading together homegrown flour, water, salt, and yeast, [the settlers] helped produce our national identity and diet. Bread made us Americans.”

That’s how James Beard Award-winning author Andrew Coe begins his latest book, AMERICAN BREAD: A HISTORY, (with recipes). Come join us as Andy highlights the evolution of our cuisine from the hardscrabble days of early settlers to today’s industrial food systems.

Highlighting the immigrant stories and experiences that have influenced modern-day breads—from French sourdough to European ryes to Jewish bagels—he will reveal how and why certain loaves have been so readily adopted as “American.” 

He will take us from early European settlers’ introduction to corn through the COVID-era sourdough craze. 

Andy will connect flour, water, salt, and yeast to the evolving story of American agriculture, industry, immigration, and ideas about our health.

Bio: Andrew Coe is a writer and independent scholar specializing in culinary history. His books include the James Beard award-winning A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression (coauthored with Jane Ziegelman) and Chop Suey: A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States. He has appeared in documentaries such as the National Geographic Channel’s Eat: The Story of Food and The Search for General Tso. He and his wife live in Brooklyn with their two children.

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Wednesday, December 2, 2026
7 PM Central Time via Zoom
If you wish for a link or have any questions,

please e-mail: Culinary.Historians@gmail.com