Oh, bread: Results

It was an exciting day, mostly because I was filled with an almost boundless energy this morning after weeks of painful, tiring brainmushies (now attributed to an ear infection). Also, there was an eighteen-hour old pile of dough eager to be folded and left to rise for another couple of hours before baking. Life can be this exciting. I promise.

How miraculous is this recipe? Well, the bread looks great, doesn’t it? And I can confirm it tastes wonderful. However, the best part isn’t that it doubled in size while rising. Ten minutes into baking, I received a phone call that resulted in my calculating time and distances, then reluctantly turning off the oven, and running out the door. Half an hour later, I returned, resumed the baking, and hoped for the best.

Interrupting baking is never recommended and the best anyone can expect is disastrous results.

To my delight, tragedy never arose. Instead, when cooled, I enjoyed a couple of slices. Now, just before bed, I’m enjoying one more slice and noticing how ten hours later the crust is more mellow and just-crusty-enough, as it should be, as it is whenever I buy a loaf from artisanal bakeries.

However, this wasn’t the best result of the day. The first revision of my now 292-page novel is now complete. I’ll be leaving it to rest for a bit, allow some objectivity to arise, and then chomp into revision number two. It needs it. Some things simply need a few tries before just the right texture and taste develops.