Peter Take a Bow

Back at culinary school, one of our classes was all about bread.  At one point, the dean of the baking program came in and spoke for a while about his passion for bread, which really got me hooked on the whole idea.  He brought in a book titled The Bread Baker's Apprentice, written by a Johnson and Wales instructor named Peter Reinhart.  Chef mentioned that Reinhart is basically the man when it comes to bread, so I checked out a few of his books at the library.  Turns out that, in addition to being a baker and instructor, Chef Reinhart is also a member of an Eastern Orthodox service order, and likes to weave a taste of lay theology into his baking craft.

This intrigued me, so I eventually bought his book Bread Upon the Waters.  This is a memoir, of sorts, in which the author's process of self discovery and spiritual awakening is paralleled with the process of baking bread.  In fact, the whole reason Chef Reinhart got into baking in the first place is that he started preparing all the meals within his faith community.  He and his wife went on to open Brother Juniper's Cafe in 1987 as an outreach effort for the community.  His servant-like vision for the cafe was very close to what I have always wanted to do with food.  Combine this with the fact that Brother Juniper's was in my hometown of Santa Rosa, CA, and I was sold on this guy.

So when I heard that he would be in Portland, where I now live, doing a demo class at Sur La Table, where I work, I was pretty excited.  I teach baking classes there part time, and my boss asked if I would be willing to prep out Chef Reinhart's doughs the day ahead of the class.  I jumped on that opportunity, and then sat in on the class the next day.

Listening to Peter Reinhart is inspiring.  He speaks about baking with the authoritative wisdom of a prophet, the overflowing knowledge of a professor, and the excited wonder of a child.  I didn't care much to hear about bread instruction that evening; I have already read about his techniques.  What I wanted to hear, first hand, was his passion.  In three short hours, Chef Reinhart's passion spilled out in an array of pithy bread wisdom.  I will attempt to paraphrase my favorite bit, something he said in regards to the symbolism of bread (or if you prefer, check out the embedded video at the bottom to hear this along with some other good stuff, beginning at around 7 minutes in).

Bread shows us the cycle of life and death, of rebirth, renewal, regeneration.  Bread starts as wheat, which grows like grass.  It is green, vibrant, alive.  In an effort to reproduce, this grass forms seeds.  These seeds carry within them all the potential to form new life and carry on the cycle.

But we pluck the seeds and crush them, forever destroying the life within.  This dust is mixed with water and a little salt, which only serves to form a lifeless lump of clay.  However, yeast is then added to the mix.  Yeast is the bread's leavening, which is derived from the word enliven.  Life is added to the formless clay-like mass.  The yeast gives off its gasses and breathes into the dough, strengthening and rejuvenating this thing that looks nothing like the grass in the fields.  

The baker forms the dough, instructs it to grow into a specific shape, and then bakes it.  The baking must occur, because raw dough is indigestible.  In the oven, many transformations happen, one of which is that the yeast is killed.  The only thing giving life to the dough has now been sacrificed so that we may have bread as an end result.  This bread is again dead, but it is nutritious, it gives life, thus completing the cycle when we eat it.

Isn't that neat?  I think so.  Chef went on to say that this would all just be meaningless poetry if the bread didn't actually taste good.  I would say that there's a lesson there, too.

After the class, everybody lined up to get their copy of BBA or Artisan Breads Everyday signed.  I had my copy of Bread Upon the Waters in hand, because those thoughts are more valuable to me than a few recipes.  During class clean up, I was able to pose a question to Chef Reinhart that has been heavy on my heart lately.  Is it truly possible to combine my love for baking with my desire to serve those around me (I was recently told that I would never find this)?  He told me of course it is possible, our passions will always find a way to intertwine in harmony.  We spoke for a few minutes, and he told me to email him sometime, to "share the journey."  I will certainly take him up on that offer.

And the short definition of baking?
Baking is a balancing act between time, temperature, and ingredients.  In using these, it is the baker's responsibility to evoke from the wheat the fullness of its potential. -Peter Reinhart