HEARTH
My first love was BREAD, or more specifically, the SMELL of bread. The smell of bread baking in the oven, the promise of its warmth, its sweetness, it's supple crumb that contrasts to the browned, sometimes shiny, tender, sometimes rough and shaped-edged crust.
My mother baked very often - sometimes consecutively for three to four days, and at times one whole stretch of a week's baking. But never BREAD. Nonetheless, enough for me to connect the smell of baking with a feeling of pure happiness. The idea of this beautiful and nourishing loaf made by hand that bridges and brings people together around a table or even gathered at a kitchen counter to rip off a piece and eat it with such great enjoyment --- to me, this is TRUE LOVE.
So it became my life's quest to re-create this feeling of anticipation and pleasure with every loaf and pastry I bake and gave away --- and this is the essence of breaking BREAD.
My passion for bread extends to a constant desire both to discover new breads and to revitalize ancient recipes. Some of these breads are ones that I have grown up with --- middle eastern friends that my old man had bought me to visit during my childhood. Others, such as kubaneh and lachnajun, have been introduced to me through, friendship, love, marriage and travel.
I am an Asian and so there is a strong Asian influence present in the family. Of course, so is there this middle eastern inflection part due to childhood friends I grew up with, others are I picked up during my studies as a young child. Soft Asian breads are a way of life for most children of my era. More often sweetened with flavors such as vanilla or honey and commonly milk powder.
My BELOVED DOG was the reason I bake bread. Strange how a canine can change my affection of sweet pastry to hearth bread. Largely due to reflection of my taste and cultural heritage, though not Jewish nor Israeli and Danish. Un-categorically, my dog can't take sweets, but it was the singing sound of fully proofed and baked hearth bread that draws her near me all the time. It was also my DOG that I began this long quest of bread baking. BREAD equals TIME. Good bread NEEDS time. You don't temper with mother nature, you can't manipulate time. You have to WAIT.
I cannot emphasize enough how much failure I have gone through just to make one loaf of bread. In comparison, baking a cake is literally a piece of cake! My quest to produce an edible European lean bread is tormented with hours of reading, researching and trials with triple measure of errors. Even my own dog had a hard time running away from the teeth-breaking loaf that will rival any rocks!
Being a perfectionist adds to the stress in search of a perfect technique, perfect temperature, perfect bake. Don't I hate it when I knew it's going to affect my whole entire well-being in years to come. Nothing affects bread making so much. Bread is shifty, four simple ingredients yet the invariables are uncontrollable. The temperature of every single known factor, the air, the humidity, the quality of the ingredients, the alkalinity of the water, including the mood of the baker, all constitute to a perfect loaf.
I have spent three years researching before baking my first loaf. The first year of baking produced mostly inedible loaves. I ate it in the attempt to find out how bad it was. As an avid adventurous baker who wants to know why, how and how come. My dog was just happy that she could licked off the crumbs from the floor. Shamelessly I was in bouts of tears and frustration that however much I tried, failure always starts with a triple F grades.
My partner thought I gave up trying, but in actuality I was analyzing all the probabilities of my wrongs in the process of baking. The time spent and books invested weren't enough to justify the cost of a loaf. The industry books that I have painstakingly hunted down and begged from publisher is enough to drive anyone away. I am obsessed, so much so that it became a norm to hear my partner say, "another new book?"
Exactly a year later, I started baking bread again. By then, I have collected six shelves by six shelves of pure industry books on just bread, from food science, food production, ancient grains, food additives in bread production to ancient bread and live cultures. These industry books aren't the usual commercial cookery and baking books one could purchase on line or at the retail book stores. These books to me are the true treasure. Some had their first print as early as 1950s, even before I was born. The history of bread was as interesting a read as making a loaf of bread.
By the tail end of 2013, to my delight, I had baked the first successful ancient hearth bread, with lots of imperfection. It was the closest to an edible loaf without any dough conditioner, dough softener, dough enhancer, dough bleach etc, that to me was an enormous giant step from my last.
I am addicted to bread. I have mentioned it was my first love, and a second distance away - a dog. Making it by hand without manipulating the environment but working in tandem with mother nature, and without the use of man-made chemicals...the feelings is as exhilarating as seeing a child taking it's first step.
I am both a curious and an emotional baker. BREAD provokes memory of childhood, the simple ritual of baking and the pleasure of that the children experienced upon holding the warm loaf fresh from the oven...well, it's a love story for me. I fell in love with the feeling of excitement that each Friday brought, knowing that when I opened the door after coming home from school, this intoxicating homey, beautiful smell would greet me. That fragrances was the mark of something delicious, as well as the human connection that is sparked when you share something made with love.
BREAD equals LOVE. It's my mother's love of baking and love of bread that influenced me to share her passion. It has also became my stable since I started chewing. BREAD and MILK. I cannot remember a day that I don't eat bread. By the same token, it is also my playground and a playground for my dog. It reminded me of how her ears will perk up to the singing crackling sound of a perfectly baked loaf. That sound resonates in my heart just like the memory of her bright eyes and lush fur!
My mother baked very often - sometimes consecutively for three to four days, and at times one whole stretch of a week's baking. But never BREAD. Nonetheless, enough for me to connect the smell of baking with a feeling of pure happiness. The idea of this beautiful and nourishing loaf made by hand that bridges and brings people together around a table or even gathered at a kitchen counter to rip off a piece and eat it with such great enjoyment --- to me, this is TRUE LOVE.
 |
| Pain du Surprise, a regional French Bread made for picnics. Obviously the cheeky me wouldn't have it slashed any other way then a smiley grind! |
So it became my life's quest to re-create this feeling of anticipation and pleasure with every loaf and pastry I bake and gave away --- and this is the essence of breaking BREAD.
My passion for bread extends to a constant desire both to discover new breads and to revitalize ancient recipes. Some of these breads are ones that I have grown up with --- middle eastern friends that my old man had bought me to visit during my childhood. Others, such as kubaneh and lachnajun, have been introduced to me through, friendship, love, marriage and travel.
I am an Asian and so there is a strong Asian influence present in the family. Of course, so is there this middle eastern inflection part due to childhood friends I grew up with, others are I picked up during my studies as a young child. Soft Asian breads are a way of life for most children of my era. More often sweetened with flavors such as vanilla or honey and commonly milk powder.
My BELOVED DOG was the reason I bake bread. Strange how a canine can change my affection of sweet pastry to hearth bread. Largely due to reflection of my taste and cultural heritage, though not Jewish nor Israeli and Danish. Un-categorically, my dog can't take sweets, but it was the singing sound of fully proofed and baked hearth bread that draws her near me all the time. It was also my DOG that I began this long quest of bread baking. BREAD equals TIME. Good bread NEEDS time. You don't temper with mother nature, you can't manipulate time. You have to WAIT.
 |
| Bread Art, made this only once as it is too time consuming. Takes me 7 days to make one. Mainly as a decorative piece or a center piece of a dinner table or for Christmas. It can be kept for a very long time. |
Being a perfectionist adds to the stress in search of a perfect technique, perfect temperature, perfect bake. Don't I hate it when I knew it's going to affect my whole entire well-being in years to come. Nothing affects bread making so much. Bread is shifty, four simple ingredients yet the invariables are uncontrollable. The temperature of every single known factor, the air, the humidity, the quality of the ingredients, the alkalinity of the water, including the mood of the baker, all constitute to a perfect loaf.
I have spent three years researching before baking my first loaf. The first year of baking produced mostly inedible loaves. I ate it in the attempt to find out how bad it was. As an avid adventurous baker who wants to know why, how and how come. My dog was just happy that she could licked off the crumbs from the floor. Shamelessly I was in bouts of tears and frustration that however much I tried, failure always starts with a triple F grades.
My partner thought I gave up trying, but in actuality I was analyzing all the probabilities of my wrongs in the process of baking. The time spent and books invested weren't enough to justify the cost of a loaf. The industry books that I have painstakingly hunted down and begged from publisher is enough to drive anyone away. I am obsessed, so much so that it became a norm to hear my partner say, "another new book?"
 |
| I absolutely love this type of peasant bread. Various regions of France has different names based on their rye flour content. The simplicity the ingredients, yet so complicated to make it right. |
Exactly a year later, I started baking bread again. By then, I have collected six shelves by six shelves of pure industry books on just bread, from food science, food production, ancient grains, food additives in bread production to ancient bread and live cultures. These industry books aren't the usual commercial cookery and baking books one could purchase on line or at the retail book stores. These books to me are the true treasure. Some had their first print as early as 1950s, even before I was born. The history of bread was as interesting a read as making a loaf of bread.
By the tail end of 2013, to my delight, I had baked the first successful ancient hearth bread, with lots of imperfection. It was the closest to an edible loaf without any dough conditioner, dough softener, dough enhancer, dough bleach etc, that to me was an enormous giant step from my last.
I am addicted to bread. I have mentioned it was my first love, and a second distance away - a dog. Making it by hand without manipulating the environment but working in tandem with mother nature, and without the use of man-made chemicals...the feelings is as exhilarating as seeing a child taking it's first step.
 |
| Sourdough bread. Feeding the sourdough culture in a warm climate country is very vexing. I can never keep up with mother nature for the sourdough always turn more acidic than I like. |
I am both a curious and an emotional baker. BREAD provokes memory of childhood, the simple ritual of baking and the pleasure of that the children experienced upon holding the warm loaf fresh from the oven...well, it's a love story for me. I fell in love with the feeling of excitement that each Friday brought, knowing that when I opened the door after coming home from school, this intoxicating homey, beautiful smell would greet me. That fragrances was the mark of something delicious, as well as the human connection that is sparked when you share something made with love.
BREAD equals LOVE. It's my mother's love of baking and love of bread that influenced me to share her passion. It has also became my stable since I started chewing. BREAD and MILK. I cannot remember a day that I don't eat bread. By the same token, it is also my playground and a playground for my dog. It reminded me of how her ears will perk up to the singing crackling sound of a perfectly baked loaf. That sound resonates in my heart just like the memory of her bright eyes and lush fur!
 |
| Croissant is a favorite in my family. Baking at home is a science fare. Takes 4 days! |
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