Can one survive on just bread and peanut butter (and sometimes almond butter or cashew butter...yum)? I'm a little embarrassed to admit just how much I'm testing that theory these days. My peanut butter consumption gets a little nutty (ha!) when I'm nursing a babe. But peanut butter and fresh handmade bread is a kind of daily perfection I never tire of. Toss in some apple slices and maybe some cheddar, and well...we call that 'lunch' on a lot of days around here.
Thankfully - for all that bread consumption - I enjoy making bread as much as I enjoy eating it. I've been using the Tassajara Bread Book method for a while now, making two loaves every three days or so. There's something immensely comforting, meditative and rhythmic about making the same recipe over and over, week in and week out. How it takes a few minutes of my time spread out over a few hours - setting an underlying rhythm to that day. How every single time the heel of my hands meet the dough to begin kneading, I always, always have an instinctual instant of remembrance - thinking of those before me. Those I know of (my great grandmother, whose bread board I use), and more generally, the millions of women and Mamas before me. And as I continue kneading in a familiar rhythm, I find myself brought so fully into the present, with my feet planted firmly in my kitchen, with the sounds, smells and sights of my children and my life so clear. It's empowering, really...and as silly as it may sound, I get an enormous amount of strength from this little ritual that leaves me both mindful of my past, and aware of my present at the very same time.
The beauty, though, of making bread today - as opposed to the days of my great grandmother - is that on days when I don't have the energy, the inclination or the time...I can just as easily pop a loaf into the bread machine, or yes, even buy a loaf of bread (though it just never tastes as good!).
I've been puzzled for a while over the best storage of the precious bread. In the past, I've been using paper bags (from purchased loaves) over and over. But eventually, those wear and tear, and the size was never perfect. And I'm kind of a freak about plastic and food, so that was out.
So I did a little poking around to find out just how it used to be done. You know, before we had preservatives keeping our bread longer, or tupperware in which to store it. Actually, I sent the kids on an investigative bookshelf search, which they happily obliged me in. Who knew fabric was the answer?
With that, I made these bread bags. Quite simple, they're basically a drawstring bag out of linen fabric - breathable, but tight. The measurements worked out so that a vintage tea towel - with the sides trimmed off for using as a drawstring - was the perfect size.
So far, I think it's really working. I put these inside my bread box, and they stay a little bit fresher, a little bit longer. I have plans to make a whole slew of them to have on hand. I'm pretty excited about handing off a gift of bread in one of these soon.
{And could I have illustrated today's post with something less than seven photographs? Perhaps. But where's the fun in that? I told you I love bread.}
