Ebb and flow
Friday, April 9, 2010 at 3:34PM 
The days of these weeks have washed over us like waves; we've been carried on their highs and lows, along their ebb and flow.
We've followed the constant movement of the current, and kept our heads above water. Buoyed by a raft of bread, no doubt.
That last bit was probably only funny to members of my family, as in the midst of all of this, my island refuge has been the kitchen and my conveyance out of the deep has been bread.
Lots of bread. Oh, the bread there's been. Breads both sweet and savoury. Bread to eat, to share, to pack up and send out into the world.
To pick the candidate for our bread-boating excursion, I'd would most certainly choose the Pane Integrale from Jim Lahey. It is a bread flour and whole wheat incarnation of his famed No-Knead Method, a recipe I'm sure familiar to many of you, but I'll offer a refresher just in case.
Most often, baking bread sets the pace for our hours; it is in the time between the kneading and the shaping and the baking, that the rest the day takes place. There is a schedule to be kept and yeasted breads often benefit from your rapt attention. They are enlivened by your efforts, requiring your labour to turn boggy dough into a sprightly loaf.
But this bread, however, is another sort of bread. It is a bread that asks for very little of its maker, only a warm spot to reside for a day. There's a quiet companionship of that bowl upon the counter, its presence made ever the more gratifying when that bowl is a glass one and you can observe the metamorphosis of flour, water and yeast inside. For in that day, a slump of dough transforms itself into a billowing sponge that's double the size of what it was to begin.
After that, a quick shaping and another rest. A few more hours now, while a cast-iron pot (with lid) preheats in a blistering oven. Dough goes in, lid goes on. And then, while unobserved, is when magic to this trick becomes evident; the dough goes swelled and bronzed, gently arched on its top and deliciously-scorched underneath. When the lid is lifted, you're met with steam touched with smoke and the heady scent of baking bread. Like I said, magic.
Out of the pot and on the counter the bread snaps, crackles and pops as it cools. Lahey calls this auditory phenomena of exterior and interior settling as singing, and I'm pretty fond of that thought.
When the tune finally ends, you are left with a bread with a chewy crust and a crumb full of pockets to hold lots of butter. Or to dunk into soup. Or to smear with chèvre and honey.
As a meal upon the water or the raft upon which you float, and through calm or choppy seas, some good bread is often just what you need. Smooth sailing to you, friends.
I'd forgotten until now, that they boys have a book where in the pivotal scene, the characters set out for a new world on sailboats made from sandwiches. Thanks for the inspiration, Ms. Barrett.
Pane Integrale
A no knead crusty boule using whole wheat flour, from Jim Lahey's book My Bread.
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It happens that I'm also talking about bread, soft and squishy sandwich bread in particular, in the latest issue of UPPERCASE magazine. You can find it here, if you'd like.
bread, jim lahey, my bread, no knead bread, recipe, whole wheat 
Reader Comments (30)
gorgeous bread - and it certainly seems easy. i have been meaning to make a weekend of bread baking and haven't gotten around to it, but once i make some freezer space i will quickly move to stocking up :)
I just recently found your page and spent the last couple of days reading your archives. I love your writing, it's very poetic, i can just smell the food in your photos :)
A singing bread. Wow. Sounds so easy even a Tart could do it. Definitely gonna go for it. Thanks for the inspiration:)
Your bread and its story are beautiful. I need to make some of this, as I think I'm the only person in the blogosphere who hasn't! I keep getting distracted by cakes.
:)
Beautiful. I love the way you captured the exact feeling I have when I eat a piece of delicious bread, knowing the time and magic that happened before it came out of the oven.
that's so cool that there's actually a bread one can make without kneading! awesome!
Your way of writing is so impressive!Seems to paint a picture before the eyes...and lovely recipe too!:)
I am sitting here wondering how there are not a dozen agent banging on your door begging you to write a novel or a food narrative. Your words are always so comforting to me Tara. So is the sight of that bread....
Let's take a sail - cotton shorts, fresh bread, old cheddar, cured meat, bubbles, small boys, leather flips, floppy hats and the capt. at the wheel. What do you say?
It's completely ridiculous that I still haven't tried my hand at baking a loaf of no-knead bread yet. Yours looks wonderful!
I am going to have to give this method a try. I have been baking from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, another no-knead method, for 2 years. I'm now part of an online group baking from the author's second book, Healthy Bread in Five...
What a beautiful post! I have yet to try the no knead bread. Yours sounds so delicious that I will have to try it!
What a sweet story! You are such a talented writer.
I'm always amazed by the fact that you only need a few basic ingredients to bake a bread, and how you can vary it in a thousand different ways.
This is one of my favorite recipes as well. And after reading your post I think I need to start making a new batch immediately.
Your pane integrale looks delicious! I love the magic of bread baking too.
- Jackie
I'm sailing on a bready sea as well this week. I'm loving the fact that it can be so simple, so wonderful to eat and so soothing to the soul to make. There is just something so deeply satisfying about making bread.
Lovely post.
Lovely bread!
i really do think bread and butter may be the most satisfying meal of all time. gorgeous.
don't make bread often, but everytime i see it looking lovely as yours, it reminds me how amazing it is. the whole process is so rewarding. thanks for the reminder!
I brought Lahey's book home from the library and my man has made me three loaves already. We're hooked.
Lovely post and such wonderful words. And the bread? Mmm.....
No knead bread? I must try this. I love bread making. I've been baking so many loaves myself recently. You are so right now the rest of your life fits around the mixing, shaping and baking.
heather, once you're in the habit, this bread takes no thought at all. hope you find the chance for your baking weekend!
Golubka, thank you for the visit!
The French, it's totally doable. Believe me. I'm sure yours will be a smashing success.
Well Mary , cakes ARE pretty distracting. I don't blame you.
jacqu, Leslie and wit, thank you all.
Tartelette, thank you for that compliment. Maybe one day!
nikole, name the date, I'm there.
Thank you, dear Y!
Clarice, I often bake from Artisan Bread in 5 as well. It's a fantastic book, full of inspiration.
I hope you do, The Teacher Cooks!
David, Jackie and cityhippyfarmgirl, I know, bread is such a soul-satisfying thing to make, and so very simple.
Thanks, sook!
I couldn't agree more, braiseandbutter.
Sara, I'm happy for that, friend.
That's great, Anonymous! We are too.
Thanks for saying, Jan.
Julia, there's often a comfort in the rhythm of baking bread, I find. I hope you enjoy this one!
I'm a bit late, but this is a lovely post and that bread looks amazing!
"Cloudy with a Chance..." is one of my favourite childhood books even though I never owned it. I was excited about the movie until I realised that the plot was completely changed and the artwork completely different. I refuse to see it.
Beautifully written! And I am loving your singing bread! Can almost taste it right now.
Lahey bread seems to contain much solace ... and a great deal of comfort. I hope its singing effectively tamed restless souls and left growling stomachs satiated in its wake.