What to make when you lose a dear friend? Bread for Marie.

At one time, I started my posts with a question - "What to make when..." This year I think it is the time to revisit that method because of the powerful dawning of 2012. I am confronted with so many things I don't understand so I open with a question which I have some chance of answering - Why do I cook what I cook when I cook it?

Cooking for me is a way to look the world squarely in the face and say, "Hi, world. Boy oh boy this is a heluva day, so what do I want to do about it." The answer for me is to cook or bake and upon reflection, I never make something I don't love. I try to create something  that savors the true feeling of the day; comfort food to soothe hurt, spicy bites to match high energy, complex layers of flavor to work through emotional confusion. There is always a moment before I start to cook when I pause and think- "What is it that I want to taste when I am done. What will taste good today?" And, of course, I fervently hope that the people who are going to share the food with me feel satisfied and somehow happier when the meal is done.

So on to today - unbelievably, a day two days  after the death of my dear friend- I am baking bread to bring to her family. Two kinds, actually- one a peasant bread, earthy and substantial, the other, a fresh brioche, ethereal and sweet. It seems important today to root down to what really matters- love, family and friendship- and to honor it with one of the most basic forms of sustenance,  known to some as manna from heaven. The following recipe is for the peasant bread. ( I will save the brioche bread recipe for another day.) Eat it with soup, a roast or a stew. Cheese and a glass of wine. Or just alone, warm from the oven with a good slab of butter. Sit with both feet on the ground and smile out at the sunshine while chewing slowly.

European Peasant Bread - adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
(Perfect album to listen to while baking bread - Peace Meal by Carolyn Wonderland bluesy, soulful, Janis Joplin inspired. Check out her version of What Good Can Drinking do)


3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2  Tb yeast (1 1/2 packets)
1 1/2 Tb salt
1/2 cup rye flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
5 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Cornmeal for the pizza peel

1. Mixing and storing the dough: Mix the yeast and salt with the water in the bowl of a standing mixer (kitchen-aid) or a 14-cup capacity food processor with dough attachment.
2. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients (no kneading necessary) using a dough hook or  the processor.
3. Transfer to a large container and cover (not airtight). Allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (about 2 hours).
4. The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise though it is easier to handle when cold. I prefer to refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container. You can use over the next 14 days but it will never last that long because it is too good.
5. On baking day: Dust the surface of the dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound piece (medium grapefruit sized). Dust hands with flour and quickly shape into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all sides and rotating a 1/4 turn as you go. Place on a cornmeal -covered pizza peel. Cover with a clean cotton dishtowel and let it rest and rise for 40 minutes on the counter.

6. Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 450 with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty broiler pan or cake pan on any other shelf that won't interfere with the bread.
7. Sprinkle the loaf liberally with flour and make 4 slashes across the top using a serrate bread knife. Leave the flour in place for baking; tap some off before slicing.
8. Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone. Quickly pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the empty pan and quickly close oven door. Bake 35 minutes or until top crust is deep brown and very firm when tapped.

9. Allow to cool before slicing and eating.