Imagine the promise of having a constant supply of homemade bread practically without lifting a finger! In the late 1990s, mixing and kneading bread dough seemed onerous to the 40-year-old me. Easy-to-make, inexpensive bread was too much to resist! So I bought a bread-making machine.
What could go wrong? Dump a few ingredients into the tub, shut the lid, press a button, and get on with your day.… Continue reading
One more bake, and we’ll close the books on Happy Monk 2022. The baker’s peel will be relegated to the corner, the proofing baskets cleaned, the baking room will be tidied and organized, and sense will be restored from the chaos in my “bread room.”
It’s winter. Time for long nights of sleep, slow-moving days by the fire, blankets and good books.… Continue reading
This could be the best 100% Rye Bread ever made on Pender Island.
There can’t have been too many over the years. I made it last weekend with rye grain grown in Pender Island soil, specifically that of the large Gorsefield off Craddock and Southlands Drive, South Pender.
The Rye was planted by Vince and Katie, the new owners of the Gorsefield.… Continue reading
Most days, making bread happens by rote, with a tight schedule of measuring, mixing, shaping, and baking. My mind can be tranquil while my hands are a blur, punching and kneading the dough. Or slicing off chunks with the bench knife, balancing them on the weigh scale, and turning them into sensuous rounds.
Not much distracts me from this sort of reverie.… Continue reading
Last week’s bake was all but finished when I realized I’d forgotten to make my offering to the goddess of the ovens, Fornax!
Last Thursday, Feb. 17, was the final day of the Festival of Fornacalia, a day when Roman bakers made an offering of spelt grain (they tossed some into their hot ovens) and asked for Fornax’s blessing for the coming year.… Continue reading