How Bread Making is Transforming My Everyday

There’s something completely seductive about burying your fists in a thick pile of dough.

When I mix the bread dough, my mind retreats to a simple, understanding space. The ingredients and overall directions are (usually) incredibly straightforward. Combine water and flour, sit. Combine yeast and salt with flour and water mixture, sit. Fold, sit. Shape, bake, cool. It all feels easy.

Yet, there’s a complexity and depth to this simplicity.

Breaking down the simple steps, and the simple ingredients, every addition and action is having a profound impact on the end result. Within each strand of slow-developing gluten, there are complex reactions taking place. When I’m working the dough, and creating the bread, I’m often doing so in silence. Throughout the process, I’ve found myself learning more than how to encounter my next carb induced nap.

Patience is a Requirement

Plain and simple, once again, you cannot rush bread. Rush your bread and it will be dense, bland, and best served as a paperweight. Walking through any reputable Baking website such as King Arthur Flour’s recipes, you’ll see the amount of time that is required for each bread. In most cases, it’s going to be a minimum of a 4 hour commitment. In books from renowned bakers, such as Ken Forkish…