My Turn: Loafing around during the COVID-19 pandemic

Eight months after the official beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic — what seems like an eternity spent cooped up with not much to do but listen to a constant flow of bad news — I finally did what millions of patriotic Americans before me have done: I baked a loaf of bread.

My first!

I’ve always loved freshly made bread. Loaves that have a crispy crust and are fluffy on the inside. That warm smell. I’ve enjoyed others’ — now it was time for me to make my own!

But, I discovered, it would take time. More than two days! Maybe three! Could I spare the time during this Age of COVID? I checked my calendar, looked at all the blank pages, and concluded: Yes, I’m free!

I enjoined King Arthur Baking Co. as my partner. I bought flour and a "starter," which I had never heard of and worried me a bit. (I was supposed to constantly "feed" it and it would grow and grow, and I kept thinking this was all going to turn out to be a scene from "Little Shop of Horrors" with my starter taking over the inside of my refrigerator!)

After debating what recipe I would use, I decided on "No-Knead Sourdough Bread." I watched the King Arthur videos. In one of them, a confident woman comforted a Nervous Nelly (my alter ego) about how to bake sourdough bread. Another video featured a young Australian fellow demonstrating how to knead bread.

I didn’t have to knead bread here, but I thought it would be helpful for future efforts. So, I watched. The guy had bulging muscles (probably from kneading all that bread), was pleasant, and supportive (Sudden idea: With my local gym closed indefinitely, kneading could be my new go-to exercise!).

Finally, it was time to get to work. Over three days, I weighed, mixed, stirred, blended and whisked. I folded over the dough, covered the dough, refrigerated the dough; I blew kisses to the dough. I let it rest for 15 minutes, for one hour, for eight hours, and then three hours.

And, finally, I was ready to bake my No-Knead Sourdough Bread! Per the directions, I preheated the oven to 500 degrees one hour before I was ready to bake. Before I let it go into the oven, I dusted the loaf with a fine coating of flour and with a sharp knife made half-inch slashes through the top. I reduced the oven temperature to 450 degrees and placed what was now a sloppy ball of flour into the oven for 45 minutes. And I said a lot of prayers.

Then, the moment of truth arrived. I withdrew the pan and there it was: My sourdough bread!

It looked like sourdough bread!

It smelled like sourdough bread!

And, after cutting a piece and smearing raspberry jelly on it and putting it in my mouth, I discovered it tasted like sourdough bread!

Hooray!

Slightly giddy, I made two more sourdough breads!

My success spurred me to expand my repertoire as the winter months led to the spring of 2021: Italian flatbread, hamantaschen, Irish soda bread, challah and bagels.

With the end of the pandemic coming into view, I will always have warm memories of these months in the kitchen.

A toast to bread baking!

Saul Schachter,

Sea Cliff