I have become a bread maker, I hardly consider myself a baker, by chance. After experimenting with a few different things to sell at the local farmer's market it seemed that bread was the most popular. It has become so popular, in fact, that I have capped out on the quantity I can bake for any given market day. Yes, truly capped out. Even though I thought I could only bake 12 loaves in the beginning, I am truly capped out at 50.
I had no idea how passionate people were about their bread. Listening to people tell me what my bread does for their psyche is inspirational. I have heard stories like, "This bread that isn't really shaped like a loaf is just what my grandmother made. I love it."
"Do you make rye bread? But I bet you put white flour in it though, don't you?"
"We had your cheese bread with a glass of wine and some fruit and it was the best meal we have had in years."
"I love the texture, the holes, the density of your bread."
"Red fyfe...there's your red fyfe, Mom!"
"Can you make some pumpernickel for me? Don't worry, we are not that picky. Just experiment. We would also like some hotdog buns."
I have just purchased The Bread Bakers Apprentice cookbook and joined the Facebook group to make every recipe in the book. The first bread is Anadama. That is what I am making tonight. The story goes that a woman named Anna messed up her bread one day and her husband cried, "Anna, dammit!" and it actually turned out to be a very good bread. It was then called Anadama to avoid the expletive.
How to Roast a Red Pepper (and then what do you do with it)
