I'm just back from my week of teaching in France (plus two additional weeks
of vacation), and wanted to report in, but before I do I want to say to
Reggie that every time I look at the bread-bakers list I am in complete awe
of what you and Jeff have created. The amazing camaraderie, the generosity
of people who post, the humor, enthusiasm, absence of 'attitude', bound
together with the genuine love of baking glows in the light of this
beautiful thing you have created. From dribs and drabs in the beginning -
the doubts, the hours of work- a posting here, two there, some weeks
nothing at all to this incredible number of voices heard from every corner
of the world. I feel like I always have the very best sort of company in
my kitchen. - all I can say is WOW -and of course, thanks. I love you guys.
OK - back to France. Imagine a week of heaven on earth: magnificent
country setting, lovingly restored stone farmhouse with every conceivable
amenity, gracious, amazingly accommodating, fun-loving hosts - dedicated
to making every minute more terrific than the next, fabulous multi-course
dinners in wonderful restaurants, equally wonderful wine, visits to
bakeries, grain mills, and caves decorated with drawings made 17,000 years
ago, dinners at home prepared by all of us together from ingredients
gathered that very day at street markets set up in the center of medieval
village squares, a kitchen to die for and a class made up of the most
wonderful students I've ever had and you begin to get a picture of our week
in the Dordogne. We laughed, we made brioche, we ate foie gras, we made
croissants, we sat by the fire and beat each other at Scrabble, we made
pain de Champagne and pain de noix, and - we vowed - "not another bite til
breakfast" as we managed to find room for just one more bite of chevre
filled brioche or brandade, or hot pear souffle, chocolate cake or slice of
perfectly ripe fig or walnut gathered right in the front yard at La Combe.
What was the best thing? Hard to say - was it getting to cook with the
freshest most perfect ingredients, or knowing that you could choose from 16
different kinds of goat cheese, 4 types of sweet butter or 6 kinds of
chocolate? Was it discovering that you could (even though you never
studied it) make yourself known in French? Was it getting up to your elbows
in dough or watching those palmiers turn golden brown while the sugar
caramelized. It might have been wandering the narrow streets and
discovering shops that sold only olive oil or truffles or soaps from
Provence perfumed with lavender or almonds. Was it the peace and silence
of the countryside, the velvet black sky filled with stars you could just
about touch, or following the path that ran up behind the house to the
hidden crumbling stone village that hadn't been inhabited for the past
hundred years. Was it the new friends waiting to be made?
I think for me it was the chance to teach and be taught by a group of
people who have the perfect perspective on how to have fun in the kitchen
while learning new skills and strengthing existing ones. It was the same
sort of sharing that goes on in the bread bakers list - but for one
wonderful week it took place, not in virtual life but in real life. To my
students (who found the class through this list) thank you so very much for
the privilege of having a chance to work with you in baking heaven.
Til next year. Lora
Lora Brody
blanche007@aol.com
<A HREF="http://www.lorabrody.com";>www.lorabrody.com</A>