water + heat

I once found a clear plastic bag of pre-sliced grocery store sandwich bread in the back of my pantry. I genuinely have no idea how long it was there. Months, maybe longer. But when I reached to grab it, it was as soft as I remember any loaf of Wonderbread being as a kid. Even crazier, its crust and crumb were spotless. No little fuzzy blue and white spots of growth. Somehow, not a single sign of its aging existence in the buried corner.

How can bread, packaged in an unbreathable clingy plastic bag and left forgotten for so long, loudly defy nature?

If only the little wrinkles around my eyes disobeyed those laws.

Flour. Water. Salt. For thousands of years we have been mixing these three simple ingredients into loaves of crust and crumb as a staple of our diets. Full of goodness, flavor and nutrition. And for as many years, it has always been irresistible fresh, in a way that ever-lasting bread never could be. The immediately recognizable smell, the soft airy crumb, and the feel of blistered, crackling crust warm from the oven. Each day after, it is still delicious, but like all honest things, begins to age gracefully. So, many people turn to the convenience of pre-sliced bread in plastic bags from grocery store shelves. But did you know that bread made from honest ingredients can be refreshed?

Even better, its easy.

When your honestly made bread begins to naturally harden, spray it liberally with water and put it in a warm oven for a few minutes. As the bread heats, the water will be absorbed and create just enough steam to soften the crumb and gently crisp the crust. Warm bread, with all the good aroma, and as delicious as the moment we pulled it from our deck ovens.

Happy, honest, eating.