Bread-Making As Meditation
A visual diary of a new hobby.
— BY LAUREN TREND
It’s something I’ve been wanting to try for forever, bread making. I turned 27 this week and I suppose that brought about its own air of reflection and subconscious motivation. Lucy and I eagerly acquired the appropriate tools and equipment we needed to begin. I learned from reading this book what we’d need to have to embark on the process. We were lucky enough to have friends who offered us a brilliant, mature starter, and it’s made all the difference, I’m sure.
Above, we documented on film, the making of our very first sourdough loaves. I feel like a proud parent. The entire process was unexpectedly maternal. Getting lost in the steps and the process and the meticulousness of the measurements also cleared my mind more than I’d ever expected it too. It felt so nice to get to know something. To not be a (self proclaimed) expert. To be humbled. To be uncertain whilst being certain its exactly where I wanted to be. Learning. Watching. Tending to this thing I had vowed to mix and make and grow and rest and eat and love and appreciate. The experience is grounding and addictive and has left me hungry (intended..) for more.
It’s made me eager to surround myself with the unknown. Throw myself into things that I have no clue about.
So often, we put of starting, for no other or greater reason than feeling or looking silly for having no idea how to do it. This year is my year of enough of that. Besides - practice is the entire point, right?
My favourite resources have both long been and swiftly become: Bread on Earth, Tartine, and the Parsons Bread Book.
And; If you’re looking for a nod or a sign to start that new hobby - hi, this is it.
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