The Staff of Life

I decided to start with bread. Good, wholesome, bread. Or at least that what bread is supposed to be. Look at the ingredients of most any bread off the shelf at the grocery store and it is far from wholesome. It is in fact completely lacking in nutrients and has a glut of preservatives and additives. We eat a lot of it. And if we're not eating bread, we're eating pasta which is the same mass produced story. But bread is the base of every civilizations diet. It was so important to some cultures that it was used in worship of gods. It is even used in the Bible to explain foundational things.

But who knows how to make bread unless they have a bread maker? I was sure it could be done. But what was bread supposed to be made of if not those little packets of ingredients in the bread making isle? How did our grandmothers and their grandmothers make bread? Where did they get yeast? How did they make the flour? So many questions. A little research and I found the answers. But making bread from scratch was going to have to wait. I had neither the skills, time, nor money to undertake that task.

I started with just plain old white flour and yeast. Eventually I want to mill my own flour. I made one loaf. I was hooked. Then I made another. Then we stopped buying store bread. I found this awesome website with the best bread recipe and instructions. www.chickensintheroad.com . All your bread answers are there! Recently she even covered the topic of how to make yeast which I haven't tried yet but it's on my list.

Making bread is so rewarding. There is something primitive and fundamental about it. The physical act is a balm to the harried soul. My sister said it is therapeutic. She thinks if every mother made a loaf of bread everyday we would have less child abuse! I agree. The pounding and punching in making bread releases stress. And I can assure you, there is nothing quite like a warm slice of bread straight from the oven, that was made by your own hands.