Bread inspiration comes from many places. I used to dream of bread, squishing dough between my fingers or tossing it into the air and catching it, feeling its weight and texture before tossing it up again, light as air.
It was common in these dreams for loaves to be rising in the background while other things were happening, looking out at the ocean, having an argument with someone, or having a kiss.… Continue reading
Readers of the New York Times may have noticed that the well-known “No-Knead” bread method is back in the news.
In a May 3 article, the Times food writer, J. Kenji López-Alt, took a look back at the breadmaking method that revolutionized home baking in the early 2000s. It’s a startlingly easy way of making bread that produces excellent results.… Continue reading
Who are your bread teachers?
Nina Raginsky asked me this question last week when I chatted with her. Names of book authors came first to mind, but there were far fewer real acquaintances who taught me anything about bread.
I’ve written of my Aunty Betty, my earliest bread teacher.… Continue reading
Nina Raginsky is on to something!
Her Pain Sauvage is nothing short of a revelation, being made without any leavening of any kind. No sourdough, no commercial yeast, just whole flour (and grain meal), water and salt. And it makes the most delicious bread.
Remarkable!
She lives on Salt Spring Island in a 100-year-old house, which she calls her “Maison Sauvage” and tends her garden, which she calls her “Jardin Sauvage.”… Continue reading
This painting, “The Milk Maid” by Johannes Vermeer, is a masterpiece, painted in 1658 and startling in its realism. The canvas shimmers with its depiction of light and colour and the stillness and warmth of the scene. The woman pouring milk into a bowl is evocative, stirring.
What the woman is making is interesting, too.… Continue reading