A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,
A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread-and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness-
O, Wilderness were Paradise enow!…Omar Khayyam

I have been a chef for 38 years.  Nothing I have done is more difficult than making a great loaf of bread!

Such a simple food – bread.  Four ingredients, flour, water, salt and yeast.  Yet, the variations of these simple, ancient and essential ingredients produces endless results.  When handled with a masterly hand nothing is more satisfying.  Even though I made bread everyday for 38 years, I confess, it was never great.  Now, without other concerns, I can focus attention to perfecting that craft, it might take, perhaps, another 38 years to master.  Hopefully not.

My kitchen is a snow storm of flour dust, the birds in my yard waddle, as I have stuffed them full of stale failures and my neighbors are cringing when they see me walking up the street with a little brown paper bag.  I have wild yeast cultures clinging to cabinets, my drains are clogged with soggy dough.  Bread is becoming my steady diet – toast for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, parmesan crusted croutons floating in dinner’s soup.  I am determined to make great bread.

Bread making is a humbling craft.

The wisdom of bread making resides in the hands.  Learning the feel of bread, knowing how to shape, and understanding the proper “spring” of a fermented loaf can only be learned by touching.  Nothing is more satisfying than good bread, and nothing is better than good bread you have made yourself.

To that end, I continue my education of wheat – and I will share some of my discoveries for your own experiments.  Making bread is one of those transformational experiences – it connects you with all of history, to agriculture, to the craft guilds of old Europe, and the mysteries of yeast and fermentation.  Making bread by hand, above all, satisfies.

Today, having baked more loaves, it is time to relax – with some liquid bread…cheers

-Mark Rosenstein