The staff of Life

Tuesday, November 5 

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Have bread rising which should be ready in a half hour or so for next step. The first part took about an hour. I used Robin Hood multigrain flour for the bread. This is a major step toward self subsistence – no more bread buying – if it works out that is. If not I’ll have to keep trying. The trickiest part may be maintaining a constant temperature of 400°F in the wood stove; I have currently let it cool down a bit but will get the temperature up again by opening the vent a few minutes before the loaves are ready for the oven. I used the recipe on the bag even though I have many more recipes available in Val’s cook books. My reasoning is that if it’s on the flour bag, then it’s probably as close to failsafe as one can reasonably expect. I mean, Robin Hood wants me to be successful so I’ll buy more of their flour, right?  There will be plenty of opportunity for me to experiment later on. 

Yesterday evening I was exhausted. I slept off and on from 6:30 to 10:30. Then read for 30 to 40 minutes before going back to sleep again. I got up at 5:50, more accurately, I woke up at 5:50 and did my computer thing in bed for some time. Red River cereal has become my breakfast of choice most mornings. It’s more or less a return to old ways which is good I think. Means I am setting up a routine, speaking of which, I should meditate for a bit until the bread is finished rising. 

Back to the bread which rose perfectly filling most of the large, heavy ceramic bowl which I’d acquired for just this purpose. It is now on the warming shelf of the stove for the second rise. The anticipation of actually making my own bread is on the rise as well. 

Voila, the bread is perfect! I removed it from the oven at 1:25. I managed to maintain an oven temperature of between 350° and 400°. The bread was in the oven for approximately 30 minutes. I am now having my second piece, slathered in butter, with a glass of wine and Swiss cheese while a shepherd’s pie cooks in the oven. It will be ready long before dinner time but I will keep it in the warming oven while Molly and I go for a walk to celebrate my culinary feat.

I simply can’t say enough about baking my own bread. The first time I opened the oven to check on it, I was reminded why making bread was such a great experience – it's all about the aroma, and I have to say that the smell that greeted me when that door opened was pretty damned amazing. I can't, in all honesty, think of anything that smells better than bread in the oven, and I can’t help but feel that the fact that I was using a wood stove added to the effect.To quote James Bearde "Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts!"

Furthermore, it was a very nostalgic experience because I associate that wonderful aroma with Val. And as the bread was coming out of the oven she was definitely in my thoughts just as much as the bread itself. In fact, the two strands of thought were inseparable, the two woven together through memory and the current experience. I even stopped to ask if she was proud of my accomplishment. 

I've been anticipating the first bread making session for some time now for it is, in essence, another milestone, another indication that I am coping, no, more than that, I am proving to myself that I can do all manner of things that I’d merely considered in the past. And it’s all very satisfying. And as much as I worry about things, like that bloody well for instance, it is experiences like this one that make it all worth while, that tell me that I’ve not made a mistake in choosing this lifestyle.

Thinking back, how many times did I say to Val "Don't bother making bread, we can buy some you know." This, after she'd been working all day, cooking no less, but she always insisted that it wasn’t a problem. Just an indication that no matter how tired she was, she always put others before herself. It pleased her, made her happy, that she was doing this for someone else because it made them happy. Selflessness manifested. -also adds to the feeling I got when baking bread and how I look forward to my next visitors so I can share my success with them.