This morning I filled an order for sour dough bread - and what a glorious way to start your morning. I put the loaves into the oven and minutes later, the entire house is bathed in a warm comfort-food sort of way. I haven't baked bread for a month, but all the little tricks I used came flooding back to me. In fact, my client wanted my recipe for the bread which I wrote out - but reading it back, realized it would be useless.
Sour Dough bread is one of the most finnicky breads there is. You poke, prod, rest, move around, bake, move around some more, bake more and then finally the finished product sits before you. The aroma only intensifies as it comes out to a golden brown finish. Most bakers bake sour dough the minimum time, until it's done. But I have customized my baking to get a golden crust that cracks when you slice into it. And inside is the softest pure bread with a hint of sourdough scenting it.
Didn't realize how much I missed baking bread. Last year I made dozens and dozens of loaves on a regular basis. In fact, my Sour Dough Bread was featured at Feast of Fields last summer - what a huge compliment!
Somehow life seems more peaceful when I bake bread. The complexity of sour dough somehow kneads out everything that is niggling at me. Once the loaves have cooled, labelled and put into their paper sacks, I actually feel a little tug at letting them go. But they always go to good homes and from what I hear, they are always on their best behavior.
So here's to bread and the joy that it brings.
the splurge sisters
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