So the other day, I took a mental health day. I needed to do something to work through some stress and sadness. It was that day a good friend was being laid to rest and I had struggled with making the 4 hour trip to attend. I opted to stay home. It was weighing on my mind so I was watching a bit of Netflix, trying to keep my mind off things.
I love watching Great British Baking Show. It was one of the things that inspired me to start this blog. The lovely cakes and tarts, fantastic breads, tasty scones and biscuits, and fancy French patisserie, they all sing to me and tease that maybe I can’t make them.
I was so happy to find The Masterclass series that Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry did to coincide with the Baking Show Series. They demonstrate how to properly do the technical challenges and it just puts the baking bug in me! Today, I needed that baking bug.
One of the recipes I have seen them do was a flatbread, fougasse. It is so beautiful and as it turns out, very tasty also! So I did a little research, picked up some fresh herbs and bread flour and got started. It is very therapeutic to make bread, the sound of the dough being worked with the dough hook in the Kitchenaid, and then getting your hands into it to knead it a bit and shape it. I could feel the weight of the day lifting from me.
Turns out I forgot to add oregano to the top but I was still quite happy with the result. We had some with caramelized onion hummus that night. A bit of olive oil and black pepper for dipping would be amazing with this bread. Maybe even some balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Apparently my co-workers the following day thought it was OK too, since they finished a whole flatbread faster than a blink of the eye (and it’s a good thing I didn’t blink, I am pretty sure I saw repeat visitors to the offering – a very good sign it’s tasty!) Pretty sure this one will be deemed good enough to bring more, as long as I bring some dipping oil as well…
The art of bread making can become a consuming hobby, and no matter how often and how many kinds of bread one has made, there always seems to be something new to learn.
Julia Child