Recipes and stories of the bakers of the heartland—from family kitchens to county fairs to iconic businesses.

Discover how the Midwest refined the nation's sweet tooth through a delicious mix of immigrant traditions and American ingenuity. Chef Jenny Lewis dips a spoon into generations of homemade desserts, and examines the cogs and wheels of some of the biggest brands of the baking industry—taking us on a journey that evokes nineteenth-century flour mills, state-fair baking competitions, and roadside pie stands as well as the twenty-first century treats being made in the Great Lakes region.

In this history Midwest beet sugar, vanilla cream, and evaporated milk are mixed into a narrative of wars, social shifts and politics, including many first-person interviews. Along the way you'll learn how to make Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, witness the rise of Red Star Yeast, plumb the secrets of the Kraft Oil Method, and encounter a rich medley of other true stories and irresistible recipes from Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.