The Zen of Baking Bread

There's something amazing about baking bread...not in the counter top bread machine, but in the manual method. Granted, I'm the first one to use the standing mixer to mix the flour, water and yeast, but watching the dough rise, smelling the yeast, forming the dough and watching it rise again is an act of creation that is hard to describe to non-bakers.

Yes, you can get scientific about the process and describe the formation of the gases which cause the dough to rise, etc. etc. (and we'll no doubt discuss that in upcoming posts) - but there's more than just the scientific aspect to bread making. There's the Zen of it.

You can easily overwork the dough but if you don't work it enough, the gluten doesn't get a chance to form the proper bonds. So, you have to learn through method and through 'feel' how to make good bread. How much kneading is enough? How much is too much? Most novice bread makers tend to work their poor dough to death yielding little flour bricks - I know because I used to be among those bakers.

Granted, commercial kitchens, even small retail bakeries may have a very different atmosphere - but to hear any great bread maker describe their bread making process sounds like a combination of awe and respect. Yes, non-bakers might find that lofty description a bit over the top, but serious bakers know exactly what I'm talking about. Baking, especially bread baking, is an act of creation at a very basic level.

And it is in the creative process that we discover both our abilities and our limitations - and realize that we can only control the outcome to a certain extent. Watching bread rise may not be action-packed, but it can quietly inspire you.

Bread is found in just about every culture on earth in one form or another. In this sometimes turbulent world we live in, it's good to know that bread is one thing we all do have in common. I'm all for bonding over bread, how about you?