I'm baking bread.
It's almost 2 am.
I should be sleeping.
It's this man's fault. He gave me a starter.
Doesn't he know?
Now I can do nothing else.
But test its limits.
Mine don't seem to rise as much as his.
Do you think the starter knows?
Knows I also have yeast in the house?
Knows I've eschewed my hippie parents?
Knows I'm not as patient?
The starter does not like to be rushed. Hurried.
It's Slow Food.
It like to d e v e l o p!
Well that's ok.
I made Plan B before this.
I'll bring that to the picnic tomorrow.
Strawberries are here! (I never thought I'd be so excited about them this early.)
I might tell you how this loaf comes out.
But I also might not.
I might need to hide it from all of you.
Next time I'll start earlier.
I promise.
Hey eggbeater.
You're pretty rad. Poetic. Etherial. Intangible.
You embody umami. May I blogroll you?
Tommy
Posted by: Tommy | 13 April 2007 at 06:39 AM
Bread will wait - it's the beauty of yeast (in all forms). Go to sleep.
Posted by: maggie | 13 April 2007 at 09:39 AM
pssssst!
hey shuna. shhhhsh......I may have rushed my loaf too......we'll see the results in a few hours.
oh, and did I fail to mention that the starter was one of those omniscient strains? so sorry.
Posted by: Monkey Wrangler | 13 April 2007 at 10:50 AM
Tommy-- I would be honored to be blogrolled. Most especially because it looks like you are in Portland! I may be teaching a class there this summer with the help of the Portland Food Dude, keep in touch if you're interested.
Maggie,
I would have gone to sleep but it was in the oven.
MW, this: "oh, and did I fail to mention that the starter was one of those omniscient strains? so sorry."
Hysterical!!!
Posted by: shuna fish lydon | 13 April 2007 at 12:57 PM
Teaching a class in Portland???? YES! Even if it's something basic you can probably count me in just to meet you and see how you work.
Posted by: Michelle | 13 April 2007 at 01:31 PM
Shuna,
Have you seen AYearinBread.com? We'll be doing sourdoughs at some point, but our next project is trying to make the No Knead bread better.
Posted by: kevin | 13 April 2007 at 03:00 PM
HAHAHA...I have done very similar things in the name of fresh bread. I even posted about staying up past my bedtime while waiting for my most recent loaf to rise. Still, it's good to remember that even the most finicky doughs can usually rest in a cold place until you have the energy to begin dealing with them again.
Good luck! I hope the bread was delicious and well worth the lack of sleep.
Posted by: Amy | 13 April 2007 at 03:30 PM
Ha! This cracks me up. The things we do, late at night, in our kitchens...
(that and the part about eschewing hippie parents)
Hope you managed to coax said starter into doing what you wanted him to do.
Posted by: Tea | 13 April 2007 at 05:22 PM
goodness, sounds like the boy has a similar case of bread-baking-at-crazy-hours (woke up at 6am to bake a loaf that had been rising in the oven overnight).
i thoroughly enjoyed your post.
cheers.
Posted by: lindsay | 13 April 2007 at 08:07 PM
Are you totally nuts?! Sourdough on Friday the thirteenth? The sourdough beasties will laugh and dance and your bread will fall flat!
Posted by: Larry Clark | 14 April 2007 at 12:41 AM
Kevin-- thanks for the head's up. I've placed A Year In Bread in a special place on eggbeater... check it out!
Larry Clark-- you kill me! OK, I'll try it on a less auspicious day...
Posted by: shuna fish lydon | 16 April 2007 at 10:02 PM