Fun and Facts

Here are some fun and interesting things about bread and baked goods in general and some of my anecdotes from 35 years as a baker. I hope you enjoy - I'm doughing my best.  

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A single loaf of my Signature Herbed Bread once fetched $35 at a fundraising auction!

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The simplest form of bread is water, flour, salt, and the all-important yeast for leavened loaves. After that, the sky's the limit! Nearly anything can be added to that simple recipe to create amazing flavors and textures to delight the palate.

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Bread has been a pivotal food item throughout history. In one Middle Eastern dialect, the word for bread, aysh, means "life" and Bethlehem means "House of bread."

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Bread rises in the yeast and sets in the waist.

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My Signature Herbed loaf once contained eleven individual herbs and seasonings until it became difficult to find Winter Savory, and now there are 10 (still a secret, ain't tellin).

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I had always jokingly maligned the French for coming up with "macaron" as a word for their cookie since it's so close to macarOOn, which is entirely a different confection. However, macaron comes from the Italian word "macare" (mah-CAR-ray) which means "to whip or beat" as in whipping the egg whites. So you see, it wasn't just a random thing, and even though we call them French Macarons, they are of Italian origin.

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I often spend three 6-10 hours days in preparation for farmer's markets. My longest baking day was 14 1/2 hours.

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"Let us break bread together" is a quotation of peace. To share bread is to join together, cooperate, support, and nourish one another. The words “companion” and “company” come from the Latin com “with” and panis "bread."

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In the Jewish tradition, practitioners eat Matzo bread during Passover in celebration and remembrance of their flight from slavery. The Israelites did not have enough time to allow their loaves to rise when they fled Egypt, so they ate unleavened bread. In the Jewish scriptures, it reads, "You are not to eat any chametz (leavened bread); for seven days you are to eat matzo, the bread of affliction; for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste."

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Modern-day Wiccans and Pagans often include a practice called “cakes and ale” in their rituals, a simple shared meal which may consist of bread or cookies and a beverage. It is a moment of community sharing and gratitude, similar to the Catholic practice of communion.

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In 287 BCE during the siege of the Gauls, the Roman bakers prepared small loaves of bread that they hurled over the walls at their assailants. The Gauls concluded that if the Romans were able to use food as a weapon, then they were very well stocked for a long siege, and thus the Gauls gave up the attack. In gratitude, the Romans built a temple to the God Jupiter, the God of bread.

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The Pagan celebration of Lughnasadh (August 1) begins the harvest season and is the festival of bread. Some different sects celebrate it as Lammas or Hlaefmas, "loaf mass."

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Another grain besides wheat that is commonly grown is barley. As we all know, we can make bread from those grains, as well as soup, and some of you fondly know that another thing often created with barley is beer. In the Norse tradition, the word "Alu" was cheerfully cried at gatherings. Alu means "May you have ale" and was a blessing that indicated the hope that there would be enough grains left over from the harvest so beer could be made.

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