“The best bread you can eat,” I always say, “is the bread you made yourself!”
Long-time readers of the Happy Monk blog could be tired of hearing me say that! But it’s been a while since I last said it, and it bears repeating! I stand by the statement as firmly as ever!
Let me explain:
… Continue reading• Bread is elemental.
Everyone’s had the experience of savouring a bite of food and being transported to a different time or place. Something in the taste or texture of the food triggers a memory, say from childhood or when you first fell in love.
But the taste can just as easily trigger some revelation in the present. A sunset can be transformed into something more sublime than it has otherwise been.… Continue reading
Some time ago, I reflected on an essay by the American writer Henry Miller. The piece was called “The Staff of Life,” a rousing screed about the state of bread in the U.S.… Continue reading
The old Transilvania Bakery in Vancouver had an almost cartoonish exterior. Its stained cedar planking stood out on the block of stores along its West Broadway location. Transilvania Peasant Bread was spelled out in roughly sawn wood letters nailed above its front window.… Continue reading
Mon Dieu! More accolades for the humble French baguette!
In 2022, the baguette was granted world heritage status, making it onto UNESCO’s “intangible cultural heritage” list, despite rising costs, closures of small regional bakeries, and other indignities suffered by the noble French loaf.
This year, the baguette joins the ranks of other French icons (Edith Piaf, the Eiffel Tower, Tour de France, par example) and is honoured with its own postage stamp!… Continue reading