Happy World Day of Bread

Yes it's true, today is World Bread Day.

And why is the Mad Scientist so enthralled by another gimmicky "World ... blah blah blah ... Day"?

Well I was reading my good friend's blog (Tales of a Tall Medstudent) where he was describing how he was attempting to bake his own bread and succeeding. Now it turns out that I've gone down that path too. I wrote back to him:

Confession - I bake my own bread too (did I ever give some to you?) It all started with crappy bread-machine bread. I loved the freshness but could not stand the crappyness - and the crust was the worst part. One day I marched down to the library and discovered "The Bread Bible" - great book BTW - and now for almost 8 months I've been baking bread - about 1-2 times a week.

Once you start baking, it's hard to stop. It's hard to explain. Part of it is the side of me that likes to tinker around and try stuff (I've been experimenting with every loaf). Another part must be a subconscious urge to create.

Another comment to the Tall Med Student's blog was from Floyd, who has a great blog on bread baking (on the Fresh Loaf site). That's where I read about World Day of Bread. Just like academic journals, there's a blog for every topic. Anyway ... Floyd exclaims on his blog:

"Hello, my name is Floyd, and I am a bread-aholic."

I went crazy this weekend. Kaiser rolls, a french bread, oatmeal raisin cookies, pumpkin bread, ciabatta, a raspberry cheese braid, honey wheat bread. Not to mention that I made a batch of apple butter, specifically for eating on home baked bread.

Next weekend, I've gotta stop. Maybe one or two batches but that is it.

And for some strange reason I perfectly understand. And I think to myself this whole baking thing is like some strange cult of underground bakers. Reminds me of the whole MAKE phenomenon (listen to this episode of NPR's Weekday about MAKE Magazine). There is an urge for people to reconect with "everyday things", take them apart, put them back together and figure out how to do it yourself. Call it MacGuyverism.

To all those mad bread bakers out there ... have fun.