For Christy

Fraulein Jenkin asked me to post something interesting on my blog as she was bored. I can't imagine that this blog will cure that condition, as I am already bored composing it. Here's Christy sitting bored and waiting for me to come up with something (so far, she appears unimpressed):

Well, I could show you some pictures from my bakery in St. Paul. Here is my boss, Mel.

Say hi to Mel; she's probably blurking on my site even as I speak. She likes to see what I get up to down here in Kato. She's from Michigan, which explains the silly hair net thingy she's got going on. Mel is the BEST manager I've ever had. She'll totally go to bat for her employees, and is great fun to work with. I title this photo,

"Size Does Matter." Melissa is holding up a brilliant loaf of my pan de casa, which turned out huge that day. I was proud because it meant that the retail bakery gossips up front would be thrown into a tizzy trying to get the huge bread in the now too small plastic bags.
Here I am in my baker's hat and apron. I'm on break, but I wanted to show you what I look like as I labor over my dough, worrying, "Will it rise?" "Did I remember to add the salt?"

And here I am after the bread has come out perfect and I can relax and be happy again.

And now a conclusion to this blog in honor of all 101 students:

In conclusion, I believe bread is be good. Everyone must eat bread to live in this world of ours without dying of starvation in their own homes. It is really hard to make!!! According to a website by a student at MSU, he was quoted is saying: "Without bakeries, where would the animals go? Nowhere?" (http://www.anskov.blogspot.com). I learned alot about the imporatnce of bred and their are many many things that our good about it. Next time the world ends, think to yourself, "what about the bread?"

"It's a Living, Breathing Thing"

This is what Linda always says about bread when she's talking to new bakers or addressing a bread problem in the bakery ("Well after all, Matt, bread is a living, breathing thing. You have to be careful with it."). I woke up reluctantly at 3:29 (a minute before my alarm went off) and drove to St. Paul to bake. I almost ran into the median.

Everything (as usual) came out well except for the damned oatmeal raisin bread which has become the bane of my existense. I can't for the life of me master this bread. It always either sits like a rock and doesn't rise, or it rises and splits like a tub of guts. Today it split. I egg-washed each loaf and tried to cover up the mess with extra oats, but you could still see the splits. Then I told Michelle that if Linda asked her about it to let her know that there was no way in hell I was going to stay and fix it and that if that didn't work, I'd quit. This attitude on my part was completely unwarrented, and I'm sure Michelle didn't give it to Linda in quite tha way. I'm so pickin' tired right now that little things like this are setting me off and I just don't care about any of it. I can't wait to not be working at the bakery anymore.

I'm going to sleep now.