When I proposed a book on a spirituality of bread to my publisher, I insisted I would not include recipes. “I’m not a recipe developer,” I said. “And I hate when cookbooks, which I collect almost obsessively, include a bunch of untested recipes.” Fortunately, my publisher was fine with this. “Maybe just one. Or two,” I said. “If it really seems necessary to the chapter.
When I finally finished the first draft, I had included one recipe. It was for the gluten-free vegan communion bread that I actually had spent some time developing over seven years. But it was clear something was missing. Not just recipes, but chapters about, well, bread. I’d set out to explore bread, “soil to table,” as I kept putting it. But I had to really force those chapters about growing wheat and eventually harvesting and milling it. My editor asked an important question: “What are the bread recipes you really love?” I wrote out a list of the recipes and techniques I return to over and over again. Suddenly, I had a new outline for my book. And 12 recipes.
Again, I am not a recipe developer. I have no business publishing a book with original recipes. But that’s not what I include in my book. Rather, they’re recipes built upon the notes I’ve scrawled in cookbooks and on sticky notes, recipes that belong to others but that I’ve made my own. I love how recipes, like art, take on a life of their own when shared. I suppose that if I were to hope for anything, it would be that a reader bakes from one of these recipes and then finds that the temperature and humidity of their kitchen, the equipment they have, the flour they can get their hands on make it something new.
There is one recipe I do wish that I’d included. But I’d only come across it recently when a friend asked me to bring bread to a Halloween party and dinner. He’d made butternut squash soup. I was conflicted between my takes on dinner rolls from the Joy of Cooking and Beatrice Ojakangas’ Finnish rye, both recipes which I include in the book. Instead I scrolled through Smitten Kitchen, and found Deb Perelman’s adaptation of Valerie Lomas’ old school dinner rolls. They’re similar to my go-to recipe but call for a cup of water rather than milk, and I was low on milk.
I love these rolls. I love this recipe, especially the butter glaze before the second rise/proof, but I did modify even the modifications. I weigh my dough when I divide it because I’m just awful at making things roughly the same size. I baked a double batch (two pans of 12 rolls), and I used all-purpose flour from Janie’s Mill, an amazing mill (and farm) in Central Illinois that I visited as research for my book. (I’ll have lots more to say about them in future newsletters!) Because their apf flour is less sifted (includes more of the wheat kernel and germ) than typical apf flour you’d find at a grocery store, it can be a little thirstier. I found I had to add a little more water than was called for, which I did by the tablespoon. Whenever I bake with this flour (which is all the time), I also allow a little time to let the dough rest and absorb the moisture once it first comes together before moving on to knead.
These rolls were so loved by friends that I was asked to make them for the epic return of our friends-as-family Thanksgiving dinner this year. Perhaps I’ll get some pictures of the finished product then.
Your input requested
It has been suggested to me that this newsletter could perhaps use a name change, which I am open to, especially as I do a better job to integrate my writing about spirituality and meaning making with my writing about food. Just saying the word “God” is a red flag to some people who would otherwise read and enjoy this newsletter. I’m really on the fence. And so, I turn to you, my supportive readers of mostly friends and family. What do you think?
I’ve created a Google form for you to offer your input. Answer as many or as few of the questions as you want. You can remain anonymous! I am so grateful for your feedback!
Description
God Talk is an occasional newsletter about seeking and making meaning in the modern world. God is in the name but belief is not required for reading. Each newsletter includes stuff about food, too. Because food is my favorite way to understand, seek, and make meaning.
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