Fresh bread
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- August
- 25
One of the gifts I got shortly after I graduated from college and set up single housekeeping was a Bake-a-Round. It’s a fairly straight-forward device, a round tube of glass on a metal carrier designed to allow the baker to make a torpedo-shaped loaf that baked perfectly all around.
I used it a few times after I was married, and my young children always enjoyed the round loaves at dinner when I had the time and inclination to make fresh bread. But that was long ago.
This weekend, I dragged out my old Bake-a-Round and consulted with my daughters about fresh bread. They didn’t remember the device and found it a fairly peculiar piece of kitchen equipment.
We decided on a loaf of whole wheat spice, which used orange juice and cumin seed, honey and brown sugar and both white and whole wheat flours.
I’d forgotten how long it takes to make bread from scratch (we use a machine for holiday bread). My daughters found the whole process amazing, from soaking the yeast until it bubbles to kneading the dough and letting it rise three times.
I don’t know if my girls will ever make bread from scratch, but I’m delighted to show them how it’s done in case they ever need to know.
Especially with the price of flour increasing the way it’s been done, watching the process this weekend may at least give them an appreciation of what they now take for granted.
This entry was posted
on Monday, August 25th, 2008 at 5:08 pm by Randi Weiner.
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Do you know where I could find the recipe for the whole wheat spice bread? It sounds totally delicious.
Thanks.
Lucy
There is an article in Scientific America Mind that talks about how doing things with your hands is good for your mental health, and about how the brain is stimulated by making something by hand instead of just buying it. You did more for your girls than just give them a lesson in baking!