Taste and See

by Margaret Feinberg

  Gulp. How many times had I flippantly discarded bread—not just at their table but at ours?

  Bread plays a sacred role in Jewish life. Every loaf contains an element of mystery and hallowedness. Each bite provides a reminder of the privilege of food, not to be taken for granted, and of the hope of blessing the bread in the messianic future.

  * * *

  Table Discovery: Recognizing the importance of bread has caused me to discover creative ways to save or discard aging bread. I’m now likely to toss excess into the freezer and toast, bake into croutons, or feed to the squirrels and birds. And whenever I bake a loaf for a meal with guests, I try to bake a second to send home with them—including gluten free.

  * * *

  I make a commitment to never again waste bread even though it will require some culinary ingenuity, like using the leftovers to bake croutons or stuffing. These practices will make me more attentive to the food I buy. They will remind me to avoid waste and consider the poor, who don’t have such luxurious excess. The heels or crusts aren’t as easy to discard when you recognize the labor that goes into each loaf and those who don’t have access. Breaking bread as a communal act doesn’t just occur around our tables but long before the loaves land in our baskets.

  When Jewish farmers plant the grains, the name of God rests on their lips, and when they harvest, syllables of gratitude rise from their lips. Even to this day, whenever bread is eaten, a special blessing is said:

  “Barukh atah Adonai Elohaynu melekh ha-olam ha-motzi lechem min ha-aretz.”

  Blessed are you, Lord, our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.

  My Jewish friends pray this each time they tear a loaf. After my times with Ido and Andrew, I suspect bread can play a more sacred role in all of our lives.

  I wonder if I too can use bread to draw people together. I resolve to bake unleavened bread with others—in under eighteen minutes, of course. The barley and emmer flour soon arrive on my doorstep from an online store (although, harvesting grain in our rocky backyard may become a future endeavor. Sorry, neighbors!). I approach my first baking buddy, and even though Leif appears skeptical at first, he joins in the preparations.

  Without the oversight of Andrew or his custom bread-kneading table, flour flies in all directions. The dough becomes rock hard, then a gooey mess. The pressure of eighteen minutes creates some stress.

  But I am determined.

  With more time and practice, Leif and I learn to maneuver at a faster pace. Our bread rises less and less. Most bakers would consider this a disaster, but for us, this marks a major accomplishment.

  A week into our matzo-making adventure, my friend Jess accepts an invitation to cook together. She arrives with her spry wit and bounty of bread-baking insecurities, but with a nudge from Leif, we manage to pull the flat bread out with a second to spare. Then comes Heidi, who, with an ever-determined eye, slides the loaves from the oven with three minutes left. Then Troy, a minister at our church, with whom we miss the deadline, but our conversation is so rich, nobody minds.

  I now recognize bread as communal, our oven as communal, our spiritual growth as communal.

  Even with the time limit, baking causes us to slow down and experience something meaningful together. The people we invite into our kitchen help make our house a home. As we bake, we share our stories, our laughter, our lives. In the process we nourish each other in the ways of Christ. We partake of the life-giving generosity of heaven here on earth.

  When God sends manna or Jesus says, “I’m the bread of life,” he’s saying, I want to be the center of your table, the center of your relationships, the center of your community. This is true whether you use whole grains or gluten-free flour. Our flat breads and fluffy rolls and artisanal loaves invite us to taste and see the mystery and sacredness of God. They invite us to refuel, to remember, and most important, to feast on spiritual bread together. To talk and really listen. To share each other’s burdens. To give the gift of our presence. And that presence is the best thing since . . . well, you know!

  * * *

  When God sends manna or Jesus says, “I’m the bread of life,” he’s saying, I want to be the center of your table, the center of your relationships, the center of your community.

  * * *

  Jesus picks bread as a primary metaphor for himself. As the bread of life, Jesus, the One who saves and sustains us in the wilderness, the center of our fellowship, the One our lives depend on, says, “Whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

  That’s the table Christ sets for every eater.

  And if you don’t yet have community in your life, remember that finding those people may not be as hard as you think. Perhaps it begins with some flour, some water, and eighteen minutes.

  AROUND THE TABLE

  Take the eighteen-minute bread challenge. Invite friends or family, neighbors or newcomers, to make matzo together. You can use emmer, barley, wheat, or gluten-free flours.

  ANDREW’S 18-MINUTE MATZO

  A delicious way to involve friends and newcomers into your kitchen and life.

  PREP: 12 minutes COOK: 5 minutes COOL: optional

  1cup flour (wheat, barley, spelt or gluten-free flour)

  ⅓ cup water

  parchment paper

  OPTIONAL (AND LESS KOSHER) ADDITIONS:

  1 tablespoon olive oil

  ½ teaspoon salt

  melted chocolate chips

  peanut butter

  goat butter

  your favorite cheeses

  DIRECTIONS

  1.Preheat oven to 450. Set timer to 18 minutes and start it when water is added to the dough.

  2.Mix ingredients together and knead well but quickly. Add more flour if sticky, or water if the flour is not all incorporated.

  3.Divide into 2–5 pieces as desired and roll out on lightly floured surface, as thin as practicable, turning often to prevent sticking.

  4.Place on cookie sheet dusted with flour or covered with baking parchment and prick well with a fork.

  5.Bake until crisp and beginning to brown, between 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from oven within the 18 minutes from-start-to-finish timeframe.

  Serves 4.

  For a less kosher option, add oil and salt. If you want to add some sass, drizzle chocolate and peanut butter or add goat butter or cheese after baking. Or serve with an olive-fig tapenade included in the olive chapter’s recipes.

  Once you’ve completed your flat bread, I’d love to see what you bake and who you bake it with. Send your photos to hello@margaretfeinberg.com.

  KHUBZ BELBOULA: ANDREW’S MOROCCAN BARLEY BREAD

  This is a flavorful bread Andrew shared with me during my visit. It’s delicious with a pat of butter and jam or to soak up your favorite main dish sauces.

  PREP: 2 hours 30 minutes COOK: 20 minutes COOL: none

  2 cups barley flour (available from some specialty stores and online)

  2 cups all-purpose flour

  2 teaspoons sugar

  1 tablespoon cumin seeds

  4 teaspoons dry yeast

  2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

  1–½ cups warm water, approx.

  Optional: 1 tablespoon barley grits or semolina

  DIRECTIONS

  1.Toast the cumin seeds for 2 – 3 minutes in a heavy bottomed pan.

  2.In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar, salt, toasted cumin seeds, and yeast.

  3.Add the oil and the water, mixing to make a dough.

  4.Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, or into a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Knead for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

  5.Divide the dough into 4 – 6 portions as you prefer, then shape each portion into a smooth hemispherical mound. Brush each mound with a little water, then roll in grits/semolina (if desired), pressing gently to help the grits adhere to the dough. Transfer the loaves to a baking sheet. Cover the dough with a towel and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.


  6.Use the palm of your hand to flatten the dough into circles about ¼”– ½” thick. Cover again, and let rise for about two hours, until the dough springs back when pressed lightly with a finger. Preheat oven to 435 degrees F.

  7.Score the top of the bread with a knife, or prick with a fork. Bake about 20 minutes—rotating the pan about halfway through the baking time—or until the loaves appear lightly colored and sound hollow when tapped. These loaves freeze well.

  Makes 6 loaves.

  WES’S SIMPLE SOURDOUGH STARTER & BREAD

  STARTER

  Making a sourdough starter is the first step in opening the door to all kinds of delicious, nutritious, and traditionally baked breads and pastries.

  PREP: 5 minutes PROCESS: 3–5 days COOL: none

  1-quart Mason jar with lid

  1 five-pound bag of your favorite flour (non-white is recommended and an organic sprouted whole wheat flour gives a rustic sourdough loaf flavor)

  lukewarm water

  CREATING THE STARTER

  1.Mix ¼ cup flour and ¼ cup warm water in a Mason jar until it looks like a pancake mix. Based on your climate and altitude, you may need to add in a splash more water or flour.

  2.Cover the container loosely and allow mixture to stand overnight at room temperature.

  3.Repeat these steps and continue adding to the starter for the next four days. Between days two and three, your starter will begin to bubble. You should be able to see air pockets on the side of your Mason jar and “rivulets” or fine air bubbles on the top of your mixture by day five. If not, remove ½ cup of starter and continue the same steps for two more days.

  The starter should have a tangy aroma that’s not overpowering.

  The bubbling mixture is now ready to use for baking.

  MAINTAINING THE STARTER

  1.Store the starter in the refrigerator with lid. Once or twice a week remove ½ cup of starter and add ¼ cup flour and ¼ cup warm water.

  2.Over time, the starter may develop a brown liquid on top. Before you use the starter again, pour off the brown liquid and remove ¼ cup of starter. Discard both.

  3.Make sure you feed your starter each day before baking to strengthen and revive the starter.

  4.If you bake frequently and want to keep the starter going, you can add water and flour daily or even twice a day.

  5.Always make sure to add equal parts warm water and flour. You don’t have to stick to a ¼ cup. You can use as little as a tablespoon in equal amounts or as much as a cup of each.

  SIMPLE SOURDOUGH BREAD

  Now that you have a simple starter, let’s make some sourdough. Before you begin, you need to know some differences between sourdough and traditional bread. Unlike traditional bread, sourdough needs to be prepared a day in advance. The dough won’t double in size in an hour like some traditional breads. And there’s a chance you won’t be successful on your first (or second) try. But with tenacity and practice, you’ll be making mouthwatering artisanal loaves in no time.

  PREP: 1–3 days COOK: 45–60 minutes COOL: 30 minutes

  1 cup sourdough starter (preferably fed 3 hours before)

  3– 4 cups flour

  1 ½ cups warm water

  2 teaspoons salt

  Optional: 1 tablespoon olive oil

  DIRECTIONS

  1.Mix bubbly sourdough starter with 1½ cups flour and 1 cup water in a bowl and whisk until the dough looks like batter.

  2.Add salt and remaining flour. When you can no longer whisk, use your hands. Rather than knead the dough, practice folding it. Simply take dough from one side, stretch it up, and fold it on top. Repeat for each side of the dough. Continue to add flour until the texture is sticky and still pourable.

  3.Pour dough into loaf or pie pans until ⅓ full. Cover and allow to rest at room temperature for 8–12 hours or until double in size with a dome on the top.

  4.Take a sharp serrated knife and slice the top of the loaves into a square.

  5.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place your dough in the refrigerator to stabilize it while the oven preheats.

  6.Bake bread for 45–60 minutes until the edges turn golden. If you prefer your bread browner, brush olive oil on top ten minutes before removing from oven. When you tap on the loaves, they should sound hollow.

  7.Remove and allow to cool on wire racks.

  Makes 2 loaves.

  5

  A Dash of Sea Salt

  TASTE AND SEE GOD’S PURPOSE

  If it weren’t for salt, I might not exist.

  My father manufactured surfboards in the 1960s as the surfing industry caught its first wave of widespread popularity. While delivering a shipment to Ron Jon Surf Shop, he noticed a young, attractive woman perusing the aisles. He approached her with an offer she couldn’t refuse: if she agreed to meet for dinner, then she could purchase any of his surfboards at wholesale.

  That very night they met at a local restaurant, and when her soup arrived, the woman salted her food without even tasting it. She became so enthralled in telling a story, she forgot the shaker in her hand.

  My father’s eyes widened as the white crystals continued to fall. The shaker slipped from her hand, and soup and salt splashed all over the table and the woman’s shirt. The couple burst out laughing.

  Something about my mother’s joyous disposition captured my father’s heart, and they recently celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary. My father says their first date prepared him for a lifetime with a woman who consumes salt in epic proportions.

  Like my father, I often sat wide-eyed watching how much Mom salted food in our kitchen. But over time, my taste buds adjusted, and salt shifted from an optional addition to an absolute requirement for every meal. Now I’m the one people look at wide-eyed when I pile on the salt.

  I may not be a salt sommelier, but when you visit our kitchen, you’ll find my favorite member of the periodic table everywhere. Maldon salt, harvested from the cold waters of England, tastes delicious on roasted chicken. We rub gray French sea salt into beef. Near the stove rests a ramekin of pink Himalayan salt for everyday dishes. In our spice drawer, you’ll find smoked salts, black salts, even Australian Murray River salt.

  At fancy restaurants, I can become embarrassingly obsessive. If I’m planning to enjoy a steak, I BYOS (Bring Your Own Salt). On my plate, I build mini mountains of salt, then add freshly ground cracked pepper for each beefy bite. I’ll even BYOS to Chick-fil-A and sprinkle it on every golden nugget of God’s chicken.

  * * *

  Table Discovery: I recommend replacing salt shakers with small dishes filled with salts from around the world. Each guest takes their pinch in the quantity and flavor they prefer.

  * * *

  Leif, concerned about my sodium levels, once urged me to visit a physician. After double-checking my blood pressure, the doctor explained that salt sensitivity varies. For some, blood pressure spikes with salt consumption. For others, it plummets or doesn’t respond at all. To my relief, the doctor affirmed I can eat all the salt I want—dangerous words for a salt enthusiast like me. Now whenever someone raises an eyebrow around my heavy-handedness, I say with a wink, “Doctor’s orders.”

  Even if your parents didn’t bond over a salty first date, without salt you wouldn’t exist either. The mineral presents itself in your saliva, your sweat, even your tears. Saline solution, a kind of salty water, has been used for wound irrigation and its antiseptic properties; it’s where we get the idiom “rub salt in a wound.” Salt, also known as sodium chloride, provides a crucial component of functioning cells. If you’re taken to the hospital after a serious accident, the medical personnel will hook you up to an IV of saline while they determine what to do next. The mineral enables your nerves to transmit impulses and stimulates muscle fibers. If all the salt were drained from your body, your heart would cease to beat.

  Table salt has become so common, accessible, and inexpensive today, we rarely pause to consider its value. If you visit a local restaurant and ask fo
r salt, and the server whispers, “That’ll cost extra,” you’d probably wonder, “Huh?”

  Yet for most of human history, salt has been a prized commodity. Early on, due to a lack of technology, salt proved notoriously difficult to harvest, and the difficulty of transportation inflated the costs. The ancient Egyptians ranked among the first to discover salt’s culinary potential. They evaporated water from the Nile Delta, then applied the white granules to layers of meat and fish. In the process, they stumbled upon salt’s ability to deter bacterial growth. The invention of curing allowed for year-round preservation of food in a world without refrigeration—a global game changer.

  The popularity of the product bolstered trade and wealth among salt-producing empires. To overcome difficulties in transportation, the Romans built the Via Salaria, or “Salt Road,” which became one of many historical trade routes to carry the precious cargo. The Romans viewed salt as vital to expanding their empire. When their soldiers went to war, they sweated profusely on the battlefield. The resulting salt deprivation led to confusion, seizures, even brain damage. To sustain their military, Rome began including salt, or sal in Latin, in their soldiers’ pay. This is where we derive the word “salary.”

  Many of the culinary words we use today, including “salad,” meaning vegetables seasoned with salt, and “sausage,” meaning meat seasoned with salt, derive from the same Latin root.

  * * *

  Table Discovery: Interested in new salts? Gray sea salt has a harsher flavor and works well with recipes that involve thyme, garlic, and cumin. Pair Himalayan salt with recipes that include rosemary, basil, and bay leaves.

  * * *

  After the fall of the Roman Empire, salt continued to play an important role in military enterprise. Napoleon discovered its importance when thousands of his troops died from wounds that failed to heal because of the soldiers’ salt deficiencies. During the Civil War, a fierce battle ensued near Saltville, Virginia, because the Confederate army needed access to the salt reservoirs to sustain its troops.