My favorite Saturday pastime is bread-baking. A Saturday morning is just not complete unless I fill that little teacup with warm water and a bit of yeast, then fluff a few cups of water and some salt in the big old bread bowl. I dig a well in the finely ground, whole wheat flour and pour in the frothy, bubbly yeast mixture. Then in goes a bit of oil and honey or molasses, and I swirl and stir and blend with my fingers until I have the dough I want. Then comes a few minutes of kneading, first a gentle pressure, and then, as the dough grows more resilient, a stronger palm-pressing, molding gesture. There is a delightful kneading rhythm to fall into as I watch the dough begin to stiffen into a pliable, strong substance. My most treasured bread-baking moments are those I spend deflating the twice-risen dough, smoothing it into a flat, circular disc, and then folding it into a round, which I then pat and stroke into a smooth, silky ball. I let these rounds rest on the floured board under a clean cloth, and by the time I uncover them they are relaxed and saggy and perfect for the final shaping. I also enjoy checking the loaves' "done-ness" with a few simple tests: I try to slide the bread out of it's pan (the more easily this is done, the better) then gently press it's sides (if they spring back that's a good sign) and sharply tap the bottom (the bread is done if the resulting sound is light and hollow).
The process varies, of course, with the kind of bread I'm making. Almost all of the recipes I use come from Laurel's Bread Book, a very well-timed Christmas gift that has sent me on a wonderful journey of weekend bread-baking. Today's fresh new adventure has been Anadama bread, a delectable-smelling basic wheat bread with a delightful addition of coarsely ground cornmeal. I baked one of my two loaves in a cornmeal-dusted, round steel bowl and the other in a regular rectangular bread pan. I have yet to taste them (that will be the event of the evening for me) but my guess is that this bread will be chewy and flavorful, but not very light. I imagine it will be one of those dense, hearty breads--quite different from a springy, fluffy french loaf, but just as good in its own way.
