Journal of an Island Kitchen: Fresh Bread

Who doesn't like freshly baked bread? Of all beguiling smells nothing beats it. Around here when I bake bread, I always make three loaves - one for immediate consumption, the one for sandwiches and toast over the next couple of days, and one for the freezer. I have to do it that way, otherwise my hours of labor can vanish into the maw of the resident men and visiting grandson who can eat one whole, still-hot loaf, in moments. Old cookbooks, some from the 19th century, warn against eating hot bread, claiming that it is bad for your digestion, but that argument holds no water here, and I suspect it never did. The writers of old probably just said that to discourage the very urge, which if indulged meant the home cook would have to bake too frequently. Just the smell makes people all sentimental and hungry, even though there must be at least two or three generations here whose mothers never made it at home. Along the Maine coast we are blessed with several artisanal bread bakers whose wonderful sourdoughs and seedy and grainy whole breads can put handmade bread on just about any table, as long as you don't mind paying for it. Islanders might not get to the mainland often enough to pick up these loaves but if they have the knack for baking their own bread they need not run out.

Bread can simply be flour, water, salt, yeast and time. It was an amazing moment when I discovered that all through history, humankind has made bread with nothing more than that - and that so could I. I learned to set a sponge by stirring a teaspoon or less of dried yeast into two cups of flour, and wetting it with enough water to make a batter. Left to its own devices for a day or two, the yeast multiplies and creates a heady froth, into which I stir more flour and water.

I could go on like that for days, and finally make bread, adding a little salt to keep it from being bland, and enough flour to make it stiff enough to knead. It is so simple, it seems unlikely. But anyone can do it. Yeast wants to live, all I had to do was feed it once in a while, like a family pet. I really like bread made from these simple sponges. It develops a fine, glutiny body which can be molded into a round loaf baked on one of those pizza stones. It is strong enough to sit up by itself. Most modern bread needs to be propped up by a loaf pan. But if it is 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and the urge strikes for fresh bread, you need a different strategy. There are lots of bread recipes out there. Most assume that you will not set a sponge and so require enough dry yeast and sugar to feed it on, to jack the dough up in jig time. Over the years I have picked up recipes for a few loaves and rolls that can be made in an inordinate hurry. One such wonder, Sixty Minute Rolls, comes from the All Maine Cookbook and the process really can be accomplished in an hour, though the rolls are so jazzed up with yeast that it makes you dizzy. Another good recipe from All Maine Cooking is an oatmeal bread based on Mrs. Hilyard's of Cushing, Maine. This makes three regular-sized loaves. A good thing, too, because freshly baked bread pulls family members from far corners of the property, and a new loaf with butter melting into it disappears with astonishing speed.

Oatmeal Bread

2 cups slow-cooking oatmeal flakes
1 tablespoon salt
1/3 cup butter or margarine
3 1/2 cups boiling water
Stir these all together in a large bowl and allow to cool till just warm.

Then stir in:
1/4 cup molasses

Stir together then add to cooled oatmeal mixture:
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 packages of dry yeast

Add to make a stiff, well-mixed, dough
5-6 cups of all-purpose flour

Let rise till doubled in bulk, about 45-50 minutes in a warm place. Punch down, and let rise again. Second rising will make for a finer grain of bread, but you may omit this step if you need to.

Turn out and knead the dough till smooth, gradually adding up to 2-3 more cups flour. Shape your loaves and put in greased bread pans to rise again, for about 40 minutes, or until doubled. Preheat oven to 400. Bake loaves at 400 for ten minutes, reduce the oven to 375 for 35-40 minutes, or until the loaves sound hollow when tapped. Turn out to cool and stand back; snatch and hide two loaves to eat later.