27 Feb The Aroma of Home-Baked Bread
The tea wasn’t enough. I had to bake some bread, too. Perhaps it was because I had a chill in my bones, so I needed the oven to be blasting; or perhaps it was due to the fact that I ran out of bread, but was feeling too crappy to leave the house and go to the store.
Whatever the reason, the outcome was magnificent: Whole-wheat bread crafted with molasses, buttermilk and shortening, which resulted in a loaf with an enticingly thick, crispy crust, and a middle soft as a pillow of carbohydrate comfort. I ate at least 4 slices before bed, and could barely stand the wait for it to cool. That’s always the most torturous part, and I try to wait as long as I can, but I always end up burning my fingers.
I found the recipe in Bernard Clayton’s New Complete Book of Breads, my kitchen favorite. Its pages are now warped and dough-coated from years of use, but it is a magnificent cookbook.
Of course, following my typical pattern, I will now be on a bread-baking kick for a few days, because my mental mouth is craving crispy rye bread, sourdough, and all sorts of heavenly creations.
I hope I have enough flour in the house…
gilded fork, food, food writing, bread, bread baking, comfort food
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