My little adventure with the French rustic loaf happened on the rainy Sunday. The Saturday beforewas not much nicer in respect of the weather. So, I started it off by soaking the seeds for James Morton’s cholesterol-cutting loaf. I have no problems with cholesterol levels as of yet, but the recipe called for oats, seeds, and nuts. I love all of these and was curious to see how they would work in bread.
Very far from the wet dough…
What do you do when chilly and damp October-like days creep upon your unsuspecting soul that’s still dressed in summer outfits? After the brightness and busyness of the sunny months, I usually welcome the calmness and respite of darker, deeper days, monotonous rain, and silent head-space. Not this year, however. It all seems too abrupt and hugely unjust, don’t you think?
My solution? Baking some bread.
Having reached the end of a few busy days, last weekend was given to kneading some dough and filling the home with the fragrance of a fresh loaf. Continue reading
The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight. (M.F.K. Fisher)
As a child of eight or nine, on my way back home from school I often slowed down my step when passing the bakery. It wasn’t even one of those petite artisan bakeries, but the back side of an industrial plant that made loads of traditional sourdoughs for the grocery shops of the day. And yet, the smell that often lingered around that building is one of my major childhood memories. There was something delicious, deep, and comforting in it.
It is hard to tell now whether this was the cause and beginning of my love affair with bread, or whether by then I was already under the spell of gluten Continue reading
Bread Lover's Adventure Log 