Bread

Real bread is made by hand.
Four ingredients,
Flour, water, yeast and salt.
It is not just the combination of its measured constituents.
Real bread takes intent, intuition and practice.
Each loaf a new adventure.
Test the water for blood warmth before adding the yeast.
Into the little dam of salted flour,
You add the frothing cloudy water,
Bit by bit.
Swirling with your fingers  the mass conglomerates.
You sense when the consistency is perfect.
Then you knead.
There is a subtle rhythm
Push down and turn., push down and turn.
The ball of your palm stretching and working,
The yeast and gluten activated.
The dough becomes more elastic.
You sense the time,
To let it be,
To rise.
There is real satisfaction in the 'punching down',
Folding loaves and slicing the tops.
They rise again into the mature forms they will soon become.
And so into a hot oven.
Stay focused and turn it down to moderate,
At just the right time.
The smell is the best indicator.
It's cooked.
Turned out of its tins you can indulge in the sweetest and most comforting aroma on the planet.
Real fresh bread.