October 19- Subscription Bread

The next few posts will be about people on my island who have influenced me and changed my thinking. 

“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” 

Mahatma Gandhi

Down the road a bit we have a friend who bakes bread in the back of his house in a brick oven. His name is Bill and bread is his passion.

His specialty is artisan sourdough. You would find bread like this in a restaurant in France, along with goat cheese and wine. The aroma drifts through the trees on baking days begging for soup to be produced immediately. There were days in the past when his bread could be purchased by invitation. If you got on Bill's list you could expect a call on Saturday or Sunday and await the cheery words, "Bread's done."

                                

This was an art form for Bill. He had been to France many times to learn. From Bill I have learned the value of  simple ingredients. Just flour, water, salt, and yeast make a culinary miracle.

         

The brick oven is heated with firewood to just the right temperature. As the fire slowly dies out, Bill begins to scoop out the ash. Then the loaves go in for about 35 minutes. We love the crisp crust and chewy insides.

                                     

A hot job, but so appreciated by everyone who benefits. Family members and guests visiting our house were often invited to walk down the street to pick up "our" loaf of bread, with a tour of the oven as a special treat. The bread waited in a crate on Bill's front porch, each loaf keeping his neighbor loaf warm. We would nudge the bags aside until we found the one with our name on it. Nowadays Bill bakes and sells his bread at the neighborhood grocery store for anyone to buy. We still buy it now and then but it isn't quite as fun.

I am writing for 31 days this October about Island Life. Click here to see the other days of writing.