I’m looking online at a list of great bakeries around the country. Not for any really good reason. Sometimes I just like to look around and see what people are up to and see if any good ideas pop into my head. It’s usually a nice way to pass some time.
But today, deep down, almost below perception, I feel a rant welling up inside of me. I want to keep it down. I try sucking on ice chips and drinking something bubbly and taking deep breaths, but it just won’t stay down.
Here it comes…
Why is it that in the descriptions of all of these bakeries, they are praised for making some fancy-ass bread?
“Beer-infused Olive Bread”
“a white boule studded with Callebaut chocolate chunks”
“Multi Grain covered with rolled oats and the Cherry Pecan”
“Rosemary-Meyer Lemon bread” “Asiago Parmesan Cheese Bread”
Doesn’t anyone just make plain bread anymore‽
Of course they do. And I’m sure all of these bakeries also make amazing Baguettes, Sourdough or Rye loaves. But it makes me wonder, what is this obsession we have of making a whole meal in a loaf of bread, or making something fancy and shiny, instead of simple and perfect? How come, no matter how spectacularly a baker pulls together simple ingredients, carefully measures time and temperature, mixes it with patience , attention and care to create a spectacular loaf that makes your heart sing, people are still more impressed by an ordinary loaf of olive rosemary bread?.
A simple, perfect loaf is incredibly difficult! To wow people with sparkle-berries and chocolate star-chips is easy. It’s the baking version of the photographer Lord Snowdon’s quote, “if you can’t make it good, make it big”.
Why should I make Olive Cheese bread? A perfect, simple loaf, you can eat with whatever kind of olives and cheese you want. Why should I make a chocolate baguette when you can eat a beautiful, plain baguette with whatever delicious chocolate you have around?
As you may have guessed, I’m a purist. Not just in baking, but in most things. I prefer a guitarist who can play one beautiful note to one who can play blindingly fast. I prefer a painter who can tell a story with subtle color choices to one who has so much going on that you don’t know where to look. I also prefer a baker who puts all of their energy into making a simple, beautiful loaf.
…and I hope you disagree with me completely. Because here’s the truth. The thing that’s going to make you a great baker – or musician, or sculptor, or whatever your medium is – are different from the things that work for me. Your art – and I believe bread along with the other food arts are every bit the art that music or painting are – is going to be great because it’s an expression of who you are and what your tastes are and what you believe. The passion to rant about some subtle distinction of color or flavor to friends and strangers alike, is also the passion that will inspire you to work to perfect your vision. Perfecting your vision and putting it out there is what it takes to be successful in any of the arts.
It’s the delightful paradox of art: different people can take completely opposite ideas and make great art out of them. So, as much as I want to rant about fancy-bread, I also completely concede that there are some bread-artists out there making amazing fancy bread. That’s their art; it’s not my art.
To be both artists and good citizens of an artistic community we may have to live in tension between knowing we are absolutely right about something, and knowing we are absolutely wrong about that same thing. As my great teacher, Jonathan Omer-man used to say, part of the spiritual journey is the ability to live in paradox. Being an artist can also be a spiritual journey, if you want it to be (and sometimes even if you don’t).
Or you can just make a great loaf of bread.
Finally, a confession: I love to make olive cheese bread sometimes. While it kind of goes against my purist notions, sometimes it’s just what I want to make and eat. And more importantly, my wife loves fancy bread.
When we first moved to Sonoma County in the early aughts, my wife and I used to drive out to the coast on Sunday mornings and take long walks along the beautiful, rocky, Northern California coast. On our drive out we would stop at Wild Flour Bread in Freestone (wildflourbread.com) and pick up at least one loaf of their beautiful, cheesy, fougasse to eat at the beach. We would inevitably devour it in the car on our drive, arriving at the coast covered in crumbs, with big smiles on our faces.
There’s a time and place for a fancy loaf, and I’m glad someone is committed to baking them.
What’s my point? That’s often a good question with me. I guess it’s that I hope that while you’re pursuing your vision and passion for your art, that you don’t get so locked in that you can’t see and try other things. Maybe you’ll learn something, or at least have a nice lunch.
