THE BAKERS

We've made bread with Hannah Johnson who devoted a whole book (1973) to one basic recipe, and with Jill Pinkwater who included breads with her 150 other Natural Snacks (1975), but Adkins does more than tell you how. Starting ""further back than the time all stories are once upon,"" he traces bread through history up to its unhappy, denatured appearance on supermarket shelves (he becomes a little strident here, but who can blame him?) and explains what each ingredient contributes to the baking process. There are recipes for bagels, pita and cornbread in addition to the longer, chattier one for a whole wheat loaf, and Adkins' characteristic drawings blend fondness and accuracy for an effect that, at its best, is reminiscent of Tunis.