Monday, July 11, 2011

The one where she meets The Guy Who Bakes

I have heard people say that the smell of fresh baked bread reminds them of home. Until fairly recently, I didn't know what it was like to come home to the smell of fresh baked bread. Fresh baked anything, really. I was raised by a single mother who worked long-ass hours to take care of me. This isn't a whine about "My mommy didn't bake me bread and she didn't love me!" because she did love me and the life skills I picked up as a latchkey kid have served me better than baked goods ever could.

But I *love* bread, hot and fresh out of the oven. I love it plain or covered in cheese or slathered in butter. The problem? I'm a better than average cook. No really, I am. I can make something that tastes great out of virtually nothing. But I cannot bake. There is chemistry involved in baking and I flamed out of chemistry in high school. Not literally. It also requires patience, of which I have never had very much. I suppose if I really wanted to work at it I could have learned, but it just never made it to the top of the priority list.

If I wanted fresh bread straight out of the oven, I had to actually get dressed and go to the bakery very early in the morning. But I am not a morning person either. There was nothing worse than hauling my ass out of bed to get to the bakery only to find that morning people (code for those who have no life) had left me with no bread to buy. What is UP with that early thing anyway? Far be it from me to tell a private enterprise how to run their business, but it seems to me the oven is right there. Nothing is stopping them from making more bread later in the day for those who would rather not brave the early morning light. I'll bet it's because that's how they did things 100 years ago, so that's how they do them now. What we have here is failure to innovate.

What's a girl to do?

I suppose NORMAL people might consider a) giving up on fresh bread or b) getting out of bed earlier to buy some. But I am not a NORMAL person. Instead, I said fuck the bakery and their early bird ways and married a man who in makes his own beer AND bakes his own bread. He is also not a morning person, so he does his baking in the afternoon. This allows me to get my beauty sleep AND bread, hot and fresh out of the oven. See! There's a lid for every pot.


This post is part of GBE2. Week #8 Challenge - The Bakery. For more info, click here.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

PERFECT! Fresh bread at lunchtime is far better than at the crack of dawn. Actually, stale, day-old bread at lunchtime is better than anything I'd have to get up with the roosters for. My favorite bakery opens at 4 a.m. (no joke) and the only time I've been there at that time was when I was at the end of my day, not at the beginning of it.

The Host said...

Wait, wut? There's a 4:00 in the AM too? :)

It's true, I have seen 5:00 in the morning on the way in the door many times but never on the way out.

Gingermommy said...

Thanks for adding your link to the hop

talesofarantingginger.com

The Host said...

Thanks for hosting it, Gingermommy!

Mojo Writin said...

Cool post. Thanks for sharing :)

Catch My Words said...

Great solution! There is something about the bread fresh out of the oven and still warm.Yum.

Joyce
http://joycelansky.blogspot.com

Susan said...

I consider myself lucky then. FH bakes bread (all winter long he baked a fresh loaf every other day or so) and makes beer too.

We are lucky girls!

Langley Cornwell said...

You met somebody that makes his own beer AND bakes his own bread?! Lucky gal.

Angela Parson Myers said...

Hubby used to bake fresh bread every two or three days. Then one day we realized we had both put on about 50 pounds. I really miss fresh, hot bread.

The Host said...

Mojo - Thanks for stopping by!

Joyce - It is really a handy thing to have around, a husband that bakes that is...

Susan - We have chosen wisely! Beer and bread are always a good thing to have. Oh right, and being all around good guys is a nice bonus too!

Langley - He's also great in the sack but I couldn't work that into the story without it seeming like outright bragging. ;)

Angela - Yeah, eventually we might have to dial it back. Luckily The Parasite is doing her fair share of the bread eating to save us from ourselves.

Unknown said...

I agree with you! Fresh baked bread should be made 24/7 to accommodate everyone!! Great blog!!

Kathy
http://www.thetruckerswife.com/

The Host said...

Kathy - Right? I feel like this is discriminatory against non-morning people. I demand afternoon baked goods! Not that anybody is listening...

Anonymous said...

A lid for every pot! I'm a morning person, but I have no desire to run down to the bakery at 6 am!

Theresa Wiza said...

I am a morning person. But I never really acquired a taste for bread (allergies prevented me from eating it early in life), and my mother was not a baker, so I didn't develop a love for fresh baked bread until several years ago. However, on rare occasions, when I feel like eating a sandwich, I get my bread from the local grocery store. I never realized the prejudice against afternoon people until I read this post ;)

Brenda Stevens said...

is he Canadian??????? LOL
loved this MUAH!

Celeste Neumann said...

Better than average cooks of the world unite!

My German husband taught me how to cook, and I found out that having the right kind of oven is important for baking bread. I had this one oven, and no matter what I did, the bread was always hard. Now I have a different one, and it works better.

Jo said...

I confess, I cannot bake good bread. But I can EAT a ton of good freshly baked bread and I am also NOT a morning person. Our local bakery does a great job and usually has bread well into the afternoon and I am a regular customer of the crusty loaves. Crunchy crust and soft inside...just like European bakeries specialty bakeries. mmmmmmmmmm

The Host said...

Beachlover - Fair enough. Nobody should have the leave the comfort of their jammies to get the goodness of fresh bread.

Theresa - The plight of the night owls is understated. Thanks for understanding our cause.

Brenda - Sort of. His family emigrated here when he was five. But he's a self-taught cook and brewmaster. And he's alllll mine! :)

Weissdorn - It's possible the oven is to blame, but I think it's probably my propensity for not measuring things very well or often.

Jo - If I hadn't met my husband I'd consider moving to wherever you are. I'll let you know if things don't work out.