Every new year, I look for a “resolution” that won’t just capture my interest, but will actually interest me in committing the time to achieving said resolution. Now more than ever I beat myself up come New Year’s deciding on my new “thing” because several years ago, I hit the jackpot on New Year’s Resolution success. I learned how to bake bread. I came about it thanks to reading Barbra Kingsolver’s book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle in which a very small detail of the story involved her husband baking fresh bread every weekend, filling their household with the warmth of wholesomeness. I’m not exactly sure why this tidbit stuck with me. It was honestly a very small part of the book but I’m guessing at the time, I was craving some coziness. The idea of spending the winter months warming my cold apartment with fresh baked bread, conjured up storybook images of snow covered houses with smoking chimneys and wool socks. Mind you, I was living in Massachusetts at the time and the olive oil would solidify because the apartment was so cold. Nonetheless, bread equated to cozy and cozy equaled a life upgrade.

To really embrace my new bread journey I started rationalizing why this resolution was a must! I started toying with the concept that my year of making dough would also save me “dough” in which case, bread making was a win all around. I would make bread instead of buy bread and thereby save some money by become more self-sufficient. Granted, it’s not like I was consuming large amounts of bread to begin with so giving up the store bought stuff felt like a sacrifice I could tolerate. I was really only using bread for sandwiches I would take to work and the occasional piece of toast, Otherwise, it was just a pantry staple that two-thirds the way through would begin to show mold. Long story short, the bread baking resolution was one of minimal sacrifice with optimal growth potential. All I needed was a bread recipe book and the commitment to making it instead of buying it.

As you can imagine, I was highly motivated at the start. As we all tend to be with such new year endeavors , I hit the ground running! (Hit the the oven baking?) I baked the first recipe in my bread book and a few hours later had my very own, homemade brick. It was hard and dry, like the worst loaf of your life yet I couldn’t have been more proud! It was not good but still, it was fantastic! You know how kids make crappy art and their parent coo at it supportively? That was me. I was oohing and awing over this paltry loaf, not because it was good, but because I freaking did it! I did it! I f*cking did it!!!!

Obviously there was lots of room for improvement so the next week I went after it again. I tried the next recipe, and the steps were ever so slightly less foreign. And then the next recipe where again, the process had started to grow in familiarity. Each week the recipes were different yet the process remained much the same. I was probably only about five breads into this journey when it hit me that bread baking is not about the recipes at all. It’s about the process. Now, I can’t think of anything more cliche than preaching some BS about “it’s the journey, not the destination” but holy shizz… that’s the truth! It’s the process not the bread.

Fast forward a few years and that bread baking journey quite literally changed my life. It sent me on a path of culinary interest that eventually sent me around the world. I am quite positive that had I never decided to start baking bread that year I might have never pursued culinary school and never would have started cooking on boats. I’m also not sure what I would have done with all that time as a family caregiver because lets be honest… If you are “stuck” at home due to a family illness, an injury, caretaking children, or a freaking pandemic, it is important to like where you’re at.

I think back on those cold Massachusetts winter and my cravings for cozy, and what I realize is that warmth is a feeling that radiates internally. You can cozy up your space with a blanket and a candle or you can cozy up your life with a new skill that’s nutritionally gratifying in self-discovery. I’ve realized that it’s the learning of the things that are so fulfilling. They’re our candles of light for the quandary of dark times, and having a distraction from states of discontent can unveil the things we don’t know give us joy. There is no greater joy than realizing you still have the ability to surprise yourself. Trust me on this.

So, go forth and bake! Try out bread baking as new hobby or a New Year’s Resolution and let’s rejoice in all the bad loaves of bread because making them is the only way to get better. I have pictures somewhere to prove it and will post them when I find them but until then just know that loaf win or fail, embarking on a bread baking journey is fun! It’s cozy and delicious, and every slice you share is pretty much a wholesome blanket!

Give yourself a good 4 hours to make this. Set aside an afternoon so you can take some time to explore bread baking as new hobby. Make the time to take time, and remove “time” as an obstacle that’s holding you back. And don’t be intimidate by the stickiness of the dough. You have to get your hands in it to understand the relationship between a dough that’s wet or dry.. This concept will be explored repeatedly over the course of the bread journey and with time you will become familiar with the nature of doughs. Understanding the tactile aspect of the bread making process was in fact, the light bulb moment for me. Its a critical step in bread education so, make a mess and get your hands dirty, and try and make your own brick. I’m not even joking. Just make the thing and be comfortable with making mistakes. This is a beginner’s journey so the most important step is to start. And when you do, send me all your photos either to my Instagram account or my the Facebook page. We can share laughs together and I can encourage you on because, honestly, I’ve had my share of bread fails. I’ve been there and I promise I will hunt for the photos.

Good luck! I’ll be back next month with another bread recipe for your journey but this one’s first. Baby steps!