Homestyle bread

Ah…..bread.  Who doesn’t love bread?  And better yet, fresh hot, homemade bread.  There are certain things in life that truly evoke that feeling of home.  Of connection, comfort.  Safety, abundance.  I was thinking about homesteading and what homesteading represents.  The word homesteading starts with “home” for a reason.  It’s the “why.”  And the “who.”  Building something that gives sanctuary to all who enter in.  And to offer a slice of fresh homemade bread, baked here on the homestead is like saying: “you’re welcome here, come in and taste what it is to be part of community; of belonging.”

Is homemade bread a science?  Can be.  Does it take time?  Sure, depends on what kind of bread you want to make.  Some bread is akin to art when skillful hands craft it.  But making bread doesn’t have to be so complicated that you just can’t achieve it.  After all, bread is as simple as 3 ingredients:  flour, water and salt.  Starting with those 3 ingredients, the possibilities are seemingly endless.  You can make sourdough bread, banana bread, seedy bread, cheesy bread, whole wheat.  Not to mention some of my favorite cultural breads like Naan, Baguette, Tortillas, Focaccia.  Is your mouth watering yet? 

We’ve all had delicious bread.  And those experiences brought smiles to our faces and warmth to our hearts.  So yeah, bread speaks to that feeling of “home.”  A work friend of mine, many years ago, was sharing about her daily routine of baking homemade bread.  Our jobs were 9 to 5 jobs.  She was a single mom raising a young son.  So, each day when she would talk about making a fresh loaf of bread for that day, I was always amazed.  Thinking that baking bread would take hours and hours, or days.  I just couldn’t imagine where she could possibly find the time in her every day.  I used to pepper her with questions about how she would do it.  I couldn’t grasp it.  I’ve thought about that for years.

So, when my husband and I moved out here to the country, one of the things on our “must-do” list, was figuring out how to undertake this breadmaking business.  My husband has an Italian cultural background.  Making dough with his hands seemed like something he would naturally enjoy.  Friends would try to give us tips, share recipes, give us cookbooks on baking…but there just seemed to be an impediment.  Something that was keeping us from trying.  As if we just didn’t have all the right mental tools or something.  Then finally a friend who was staying with us, brought her sourdough starter into the kitchen and said, “let’s make some focaccia bread tonight.”  Our eyes got big and round!

We were so excited to see this thing happen right here in our very own kitchen.  She walked us through the steps.  Even though it wasn’t familiar, it also wasn’t rocket science.  And to our wondering eyes, beautiful, fragrant mouth-watering bread came out of the oven.  We ate it with delight, drinking in the warm and toasty aroma. 

That must have been the extra push we needed.  We got the bread making bug!  We took a little of her active sourdough starter to begin our own sourdough baby.  Each time a new loaf came out of the oven, we would look at it and try to use encouraging words to make us feel a little better about why it looked so different than the pictures in the recipe book or online.  But we had made it with our own two hands and we were going to eat it by golly! 

Over the course of time our dense, saucer-like orbs got a little softer with much more flavor.  The crumb got a little more fluffy, chewy, and crusty on the outside.  We really started looking forward to the next time we needed more bread.  Success builds on success.  

What will be your extra push?  You too can find all kinds of inspiration.  So many resources out there to pick from.  One of our favorites is the chain baker.  Beautiful, helpful, easy to follow along.  And my husband’s absolute choice guide is The perfect sourdough loaf every time…easily by Rod Buchanan.  Short, step by step, and to the point.

However you do it, just do it.  Start.  Get your hands in some dough.  Bake bread.  It won’t be perfect.  But it will be better the next time.  And the next.  Invite people over.  Share it.  What you’ll be sharing is more than a tasty bite.  More than a meal.   More than a simple moment in time.  If “home is where the heart is,” that home has a loaf of crusty bread in it, made with love to be shared.