Where to Start with Ken Forkish

Ken Forkish left a twenty-year career in the tech industry to pursue baking, moving to Portland, Oregon, where he opened Ken’s Artisan Bakery in 2001 and Ken’s Artisan Pizza in 2006. His approach combines scientific precision with the intuitive feel of a craftsman who has shaped thousands of loaves and pies. His debut cookbook, Flour Water Salt Yeast (2012), won both a James Beard and IACP Award and became a foundational text for home bread bakers. He followed it with The Elements of Pizza (2016), a focused guide to making world-class pizza at home, and Evolutions in Bread (2022), exploring new directions in pan breads and Dutch-oven loaves. Forkish writes with the clarity of someone who remembers being a beginner and the authority of someone who has mastered the craft.