Hi All,
I attended Summer Loaf for the second year this August and had a great
time. It continues to be a lovely event for those "ambitious amateurs" like
myself who are fascinated by bread baking. The weather in Portland is
perfect at that time of year and everything is in bloom. The bread fair
itself is held in the midst of a farmer's market where fruits, vegetables
and flowers abound. There are numerous booths dedicated to local bakeries
and artisan food products such as Tuscan olive oils and Brittany sea
salts. Visitors are treated to numerous free samples of baked treats and
products. I came home with a free video from Father Dominick's Breaking
Bread TV series, but turned down the free 5lb bag of flour as I didn't want
to lug it on the plane. The Speaker's Corner becomes SRO as every seat
is taken by men and women, of all ages, avidly listening to the likes of
Carol Field, Peter Reinhart, Maggie Glezer and Amy Scherber. These speakers
are truly gracious to share their expertize with us and as I understand it,
donate their time to this Celebration of Bread. I thank them for it and
wish to convey my appreciation. The classes offered are usually very good.
I enjoyed Carol Field's class on focaccia which was interspersed with
anecdotes of Carol's many trips to Italy to deepen her knowledge of Italian
cooking. I thought that nothing could top Peter Reinhart's class last year
which was one of the best organized and instructive demonstration style
cooking classes I have ever attended. I was wrong, however as Peter teamed
up with Maggie Glezer to provide an "Iron Chef" style format which was as
entertaining, as it was informative. Side by side, one would start a dough
describing ingredients and techniques. While this dough was proofing or
baking, the other would start their dough in the same manner. Back and
forth these two extraordinary teachers mesmerized we listeners. What fun!
Lucky us got to sample the four different breads afterwards. I look forward
to next year's Summer Loaf and hope to go again.
Ellen aka Gormay
PS I believe we were told that Maggie's book will be out in October. The
excerpts we were given looked very good. As soon as they are out, one of
those babies is mine!