Starting from Scratch

Something inspired me to start baking bread from scratch. It was probably a cross between thinking it was an impossible task and not finding the Finnish cardamom bread I wanted to eat within a twenty mile radius. Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure this won’t turn me into a food blogger.

Building on my experience of seeing people make bread on television in a period TV drama series, I decided that I would give it a go. I found a recipe, bought all the supplies, and went to work. If you haven’t ever made bread yourself, I’d recommend giving it a go. There is something wonderfully creative about it. The feeling of throwing stuff in a bowl and kneading it, then letting it rise and shaping it into bread.

The reward of your house smelling like a dream bakery is another bonus. To my sheer delight, the bread turned out perfectly and I felt like a genius with my newly obtained bread making skills.

It also reminded me a bit of the writing process, how any new novel starts from scratch with a few ideas and builds from there to create a new world with characters that someone will hopefully enjoy reading about. Both bread making and novel writing result in something tangible and crafted with care.

Will I end up becoming someone who only bakes their own bread each week? Maybe – I suppose time will tell. It did encourage me to spend a little more time on crafting up excellent food and there’s something fun and creative about the whole process.

Wherever you find inspiration, I hope that you embrace it. One never knows where it will take you.