Loafing Around

I planned to bake bread yesterday, but I spent much of the day writing instead (see blog post below). So instead of coming home at 4 p.m. to the smell of fresh loaves in the oven, my hubby was greeted by the sight of me in the kitchen frantically getting everything into the bread machine to be mixed (there are limits to what this fibromyalgia patient can do). This was the first time I've tried my hand at making bread from scratch. I used the recipe for baguettes from King Arthur Flour as well as their wonderful bread flour. This recipe calls for making a 'starter' the night before, which I finally managed to remember to do. My husband is learning as well, since he had no idea that it was ok to leave the dough sitting out overnight. I nearly laughed out loud when he asked if I shouldn't put it in the fridge. Not if I want to the yeast to work! Baking bread is definitely not for the impatient. After mixing the ingredients with the bread machine on the 'dough' setting, I put my lovely little ball of yummy-smelling dough into a buttered bowl to rise for an hour. When the timer went off, I gently poked holes in the dough and turned it over to rise for 2 more hours. Phew! Time to make dinner. When the timer went off again, it was time to split the dough into loaves. It's a good thing that I used my biggest Pyrex mixing bowl, because the dough had grown to almost double. The recipe says it makes three 16" baguettes, but my pan holds only two loaves, so I split the dough in half. I bought a mezzaluna specifically for cutting bread dough, and it worked like a charm after I buttered the blade. After the dough rested for a few minutes while the oven preheated, I shaped the two loaves and made cuts in the tops. I sprinkled some water on them as directed for a crunchy crust, but I think next time I'll use a spray gun to mist them more evenly. Into the oven they went for about 25 minutes. Just before 10 p.m., I opened the oven door to see and smell two lovely baguettes. Here they are on the cooling rack: One loaf will be devoured this evening with dinner. I'm making a romantic dinner of Lasagna Rustica. Wednesday is Italian night at our house, and a fresh baguette will make it all the more authentic. If there's any left over, I'm sure it will go well with the chili I'm planning for the weekend. The other loaf will be a gift to my dear aunt and uncle. I knew when I bought a double baguette pan that they would be getting a loaf whenever I bake bread. I cut the end off a loaf this morning, just to be sure it was edible. So far, so good. A nice crispy crust on the outside, but soft delicious bread on the inside. It tastes just as good as the dough smelled. I have to admit, I was not prepared for the effects that baking bread would have on my spirit. Not only do I feel accomplished, I feel satisfied down in my soul. Just knowing that I can take some flour, water, and yeast and make something so delicious is amazingly comforting. As is the fact that I will never again look longingly at the fresh baguettes in the grocery store, knowing that I can make it myself. But there's a more primal feeling that's been struck like a chord in my soul. Perhaps it's that I've finally taken a place in the long line of bakers in my family, a matriarchal lineage of kitchen witches. My spirit sighs as I take a place among them and they welcome me with open arms. "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 (1908-1992) "[Breadbaking is] one of those almost hypnotic businesses, like a dance from some ancient ceremony. It leaves you filled with one of the world's sweetest smells...there is no chiropractic treatment, no Yoga exercise, no hour of meditation in a music-throbbing chapel. that will leave you emptier of bad thoughts than this homely ceremony of making bread." M. F. K. Fisher, The Art of Eating