New cookbook is an ode to baking with yeast and unique ‘indie’ creative impulses

Kare pan is a Japanese deep-fried curry-filled bun that often uses unnecessary additives and oil. Tan’s version is baked from scratch. — Photos: NERDBAKER2: TALES FROM THE YEAST INDIES

We all have an Achilles heel, that slice of kryptonite so seemingly insurmountable, we are forced to concede defeat. For Christopher Tan, this once took the form of sourdough bread.

Tan is an award-winning Singaporean cooking instructor, photographer and writer who has written extensively on food culture and heritage for over 25 years. He has authored or co-authored over 14 cookbooks including the lauded The Way of Kueh, which chronicles Singapore’s rich repository of kueh.