Conversations with Calliope- Winter Bread

(Herb Market- Vigo, Spain)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Pondering bread.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like there might be a story behind that.
JOE: Nothing too profound. Carol and I are having friends over tonight who will be away from Christmas.
CALLIOPE: And?
JOE: I am making bread for the occasion.
CALLIOPE: I see. How about the pondering?
JOE: I thought about the various flours, yeast and other ingredients and how it would be to put them on a plate and serve them.
CALLIOPE: Not too appetizing.
JOE: Yet with the correct balance, rising and baking, a wonderful result ensues.
CALLIOPE: I see.
JOE: The same is true of a pile of words, phrases, editing and revision. Each in itself is rather boring.
CALLIOPE: But with care they result in an intriguing story.
JOE: Precisely so. With the bread in the oven, I will return to writing. Talk with you tomorrow.

The Baker's Corner

Today Carol and I decided to visit the Public Market in Rochester. We had only been there once before on a busy summer Saturday and had to park several blocks away and hike to the market. Today was cooler, in the fifties, after several days of very warm weather. A sparse gathering of customers were blown through the lanes of outside stalls, clutching their coats and shirts while making their purchases. We managed to find some promising fruit and were about to head for the car, away from the chill. We noticed a bakery in one old building and decided to look in. Not only did they offer loaves of fresh bread and pastries, they also advertised the flesh of many beasts and birds. We were less adventurous and chose simple sandwiches. The building was old but servicible.

The owner served us and doted on us while whe had our lunch. The bakery provided shelter from the cold and wind and the proprietor warmed our hearts.

(Tapas in Gijon, Spain)

Making Bread

A while ago a friend lent me her breadmaker. I used it for a time, throwing in whatever ingredients I thought would make a good bread and turning on the machine. It mixed, raised, remixed and baked the bread all by itself while I watched or just heard it humming from a distance. The bread was good but somehow did not seem quite satisfying. I did not think too much about it at the time. Eventually the hook became lost and I could not find another one. I did not trouble myself to buy a new machine.

Recently I read Why French Women Don't Get Fat. In it I found a recipe for baguettes (no machine involved). I tried it and enjoyed the process of mixing and kneading the bread, tending it while it rose and baking it at the right temperature to yield fine loaves. I began to experiment with different types of flour and various ingredients. This morning I am baking bread with unbleached flour, cracked wheat, wheat germ, oat bran, rosemary and olives.

I worked initially using my listening and talking skills in psychotherapy. Lately I have been concentrating on writing. But there is something deeply satisfying about mixing the ingredients by hand, creating new breads and sharing them with company. It helps keep my life in balance.