Here is bread, which strengthens man's heart, and therefore is called the staff of Life.
– Matthew Henry (1662-1714)
So, like so many people, I am not a trained professional—though I am doing this at home. I'm a computer programmer, not a baker. But I'm a computer programmer who loves bread—loves to make it, loves to bake it, loves to eat it. And with the support of my wonderful wife, and of course our three cats, I now get the chance to write about it.
I think the first loaf of bread I baked for myself was in my first real job after I finished school. There in a little teeny apartment in northwest Washington I mixed some flour, sugar, water, and yeast, and probably left out the salt in a misguided attempt to lower my sodium intake. And that was my first loaf. Like the apartment itself, it wasn't much: but it was mine.
To go back any further, you'd have to see my mom in the kitchen, pouring the whole bag of flour into the bowl and making four loaves at once. I couldn't leave the kitchen, it smelled so good. The whole process of making bread—the smells, the feel, the warmth of the oven—bring so much back to me. I'd like to share some of that with you.
I hope, reading through this, you find even a little bit of the joy that making bread gives me. Because that's what life's about, isn't it?
Matt
I like reality. It tastes like bread.
– Jean Anouilh (1910 - 1987)