It was a Dark and Stormy Night

Perfect for brisket with caramelized onions and carrots and dilly, buttered potatoes, and a date with Arrested Development. Perfect for cleaning the bathroom. Perfect for bread.

I haven't baked bread in weeks, due to rehearsals and grading deadlines and Passover. So tonight, as the sun sinks and Passover falls with it, I'm making rustic boules.

I decided to go back to Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, chiefly because the next Merry Bakers project is brioche, and that's too rich for a daily bread. I'll probably make brioche this weekend and then T and I can enjoy decadent cinnamon rolls. Preferably in bed, with strong tea and the impetus to go nowhere and do nothing. I'm feeling that impetus more and more lately, a result of a freezing, rainy spring and too much work. Baking bread at least lends the illusion of leisure and time; it's such a patient process that I can't help but be calmed by it.

I'm sure I've written about Artisan Bread. It's a great bread book because the recipes produce exactly what is advertised: tasty, crusty bread that needs literally 5 minutes of mixing and, later, 5 minutes of shaping. Plus, the dough requires no kneading and lasts 2 weeks in the fridge. I've yet to get the airy crumb I expect from artisan bread, but that could be the recipes' lack of a prefermentation process. Or the instant yeast. Or my technique, which is being slowly honed. At the very least, the results are always really tasty (the longer you leave the dough in the fridge, the more flavor it acquires), and I like the versatility of the standard recipe, which makes ciabatta, baguette, focaccia, pizza dough, etc. My eventual goal is to produce crusty, airy bread made from natural yeast, collected from my home environment, but I'm willing to take my time getting there. As I said, bread is a patient art. It teaches me stillness.

Tonight's project is boules, which are round French loaves slashed at the top. You bake them at a very high heat, and the result is a golden brown crust that shatters a bit when you first slice down on it, and then gives way to a dense, soft crumb. This bread is so good with a slice of cheese and apple, or dipped into olive oil. In the summer I like to broil slices rubbed with garlic and topped with smashed cherry tomatoes, feta cheese and cracked pepper. The best breakfast ever.

So, as the rain pounds on my windows and scares the cats, I dream of my first bite of bread in 8 days and I make that dream come true.