If you had asked me one month ago if I could make a loaf of bread that tasted or looked as good as this, I would have laughed in your face. It would have been a a fantasy. A joke!
But I made this bread, last night, and the night before that, and the night before that. And I’ll continue to make this bread, and sometimes it will be worse, and hopefully someday it will get even better.
People often talk about the intimate relationship they have with their bread. (I once interviewed a breadmaker in Portland who had named his seven-year-old starter “Lulu.”) I always knew it to be true, but you can’t really know until you do it yourself. The bread that I make at Lawrence is very similar to Tartine Cafe’s pain au levain, which is tangy, sour, and emerges from the oven with a hard, caramel-colored shell and a sometimes-sticky interior, flecked by grains of whole wheat flour. On a good day, the crumb is light and fluffy and soft, like cotton candy.
I already call this bread my baby. It’s something I look after and care for, and I feel weirdly emotional about it. When things go well, I feel a swell of pride that’s greater than any article I’ve written or event I’ve organized. Creation is powerful, especially when it comes from the hands.
FUCK
i’m speechless. it always sounds so bad to say you’re speechless when you’re speechless, i should have just left this box blank. imagine this is a fuck-less, speechless-less blank box. to express. how amazing i think this is/ you are. beautiful bread, my wordless (should be wordless) mind is blown.
wow, that is one beautiful loaf! i am so impressed that you picked up such skills in only 1-month’s time!
haha i know, tell me about it! trust, i have soooo far to go, but there’s nothing like hammering in a new skillset than by doing it for 10 hours every day….
Mail me some of dat bread love. In. Mouth. Now.
More posts about bread, PLEASE! Day 4 of my starter baby smelled so bad that I had to evacuate my apartment. I’d love to hear some of your tips / suggestions!
oh no! i have a weird thing for our starter, i think it smells SO GOOD even though most people hate it. maybe you weren’t feeding / changing yours enough and it got too mature?
Nice loaf Natasha! I took a bread hiatus for most of the summer – too hot! But fall time means bread time around here and I’m so glad to be baking again. I’ll be coming to try some of your bread at the resto in the near future…
yes, you totally should! it would be lovely to see you : )
That is absolutely beautiful!!
beautiful crust! lawrence makes my favourite bread, all i need is a good slathering of butter on it. Do you serve the black bread with the sourdough, or is it for a particular dish?
thank you tina! i think it’s pretty awesome too. : )
we don’t serve the black bread anymore — it was for a specific dish. but i’m sure it’ll be back soon!