If there is one thing I find more satisfying than making my own fresh homemade bread, it's eating it.
And after that, it's coming up with delicious variations on the recipe, while listening to good music and enjoying a peaceful Sunday morning in November (well, to be fair, I would like this in any month, but at any moment, I like right now most of all, so the sentence still holds true).
Lately I have been back on the bread train, and I've become obsessed with experimenting to create bread that is better than they sell at the bakery. I feel like I am on the right track. It's become a habit I can take pleasure in, like brushing your teeth or walking the dog. Making bread makes any place feel more like home. And the best part is, whenever I bake bread, I get to witness this little miracle: yeast.
Okay so before you start rolling your eyes, give it some thought. Do you like beer? Wine? Basically any liquor? You can thank yeast. Do you like having a healthy digestive system? Well you better make sure you're getting your yeast then! You like how your garden grows? You'd better, if you're reading this blog! And you guessed it, yeast helps bees and insects pollinate flowers. So it's really important.
In all seriousness, yeast is a fundamental part of every ecological cycle. Different species of yeast are everywhere-- even in the air. In fact, until it became a commercialized product, bread yeast was just made by letting yeast ferment the sugars in grains. I couldn't believe this was something I didn't already know, until my roomie explained that this is what bread "starter" is all about. It's like a teeny tiny little family of superheroes who do all kinds of cool things that make our everyday lives awesome.
But best of all, it helps me make delicious bread.
Now, since I've only recently become aware of the miracle that is bread made from home-grown yeast, I've still been working with store-bought yeast. And I am okay with that, because it's pretty freakin' cool too. Here's what I'm leading up to: a sequence of shots of the yeast working its magic on one of my recent batches of bread.
It begins.
Weird pancake floating in a bowl? Weird species of jellyfish? Perhaps the face of the virgin Mary?
Really fat hands?
And voila! Le pain.
And after that, it's coming up with delicious variations on the recipe, while listening to good music and enjoying a peaceful Sunday morning in November (well, to be fair, I would like this in any month, but at any moment, I like right now most of all, so the sentence still holds true).
Lately I have been back on the bread train, and I've become obsessed with experimenting to create bread that is better than they sell at the bakery. I feel like I am on the right track. It's become a habit I can take pleasure in, like brushing your teeth or walking the dog. Making bread makes any place feel more like home. And the best part is, whenever I bake bread, I get to witness this little miracle: yeast.
Okay so before you start rolling your eyes, give it some thought. Do you like beer? Wine? Basically any liquor? You can thank yeast. Do you like having a healthy digestive system? Well you better make sure you're getting your yeast then! You like how your garden grows? You'd better, if you're reading this blog! And you guessed it, yeast helps bees and insects pollinate flowers. So it's really important.
In all seriousness, yeast is a fundamental part of every ecological cycle. Different species of yeast are everywhere-- even in the air. In fact, until it became a commercialized product, bread yeast was just made by letting yeast ferment the sugars in grains. I couldn't believe this was something I didn't already know, until my roomie explained that this is what bread "starter" is all about. It's like a teeny tiny little family of superheroes who do all kinds of cool things that make our everyday lives awesome.
But best of all, it helps me make delicious bread.
Now, since I've only recently become aware of the miracle that is bread made from home-grown yeast, I've still been working with store-bought yeast. And I am okay with that, because it's pretty freakin' cool too. Here's what I'm leading up to: a sequence of shots of the yeast working its magic on one of my recent batches of bread.
It begins.
Ooh, look! Bubbles!
Kinda looks like the moon . . . or the blob. Or cheese? Okay maybe that's a stretch.
Okay, wait, what?! How did this suddenly go from pictures of yeast to pictures of funnel cake?
I think I can even make out a face in that.
I think I can even make out a face in that.
The same, yet different . . .
Weird pancake floating in a bowl? Weird species of jellyfish? Perhaps the face of the virgin Mary?
I think it might be growing hands.
Really fat hands?
Almost ready for flour!! (Get ready for a time warp)
And voila! Le pain.
I have this really great recipe for molasses oat bread to share with you all, too, but it will have to wait, because I am sleepy. G'night all!
