Bye Bye Bread - at least for now :-(
We returned home from a summer of quasi-gluttony downing pint after pint of heavy but oh-so-tasty ales and enjoying virtually every dinner out at old favorite restaurants as well as newer in our old city of Portland. Only to immediately make a U-turn out of here when the specter of hurricane Maria bore down on Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and was barreling straight for us. Upon return once more, I looked forward to reviving my sleepy levain and start baking again. Which I did for a very short while. Because soon after the 2nd return home we were getting ready to head back to the NY area again, for a friend’s wedding. And so I needed to reach deep into the closet and try on some suitable clothes - meaning the jackets and slacks that now never see daylight with few exceptions.
Now, I’ve spent my 67 years being pretty fit, and at this stage I intend to keep it that way for as long as possible. And while in our old Portland haunts we visited the gym 4-5 times every week, so our very long-term exercise program was still functioning as projected. Fortunately, all digits are still attached where they were meant to be attached, and my outer extremities are still adducting, abducting and rotating as designed. Save for numerous small (and not so small) accumulated injuries in the course of a lifetime, of which the ledger forever grows, albeit slowly.
It was during the runway modeling phase, in preparation for the trip north, to see which pants would fit and not fit so well, that I made the distinct and unpleasant discover that the summer's food and drink had indeed caught up with me. Just above the belt-line was a small but unwelcome band of extra, to be kind to myself I’ll call it - skin. An “ouch” to my psyche.
Wasting nary a minute I immediately declared myself to be on a diet. No snacking, no midnight soirées with milk and cookies, smaller and greener meals, no pizza, no beer or ales, and gasp! no bread. Drat!
Okay, so that was a few weeks ago and the change in diet has certainly welcomed in an ever-so-slightly more trimmed me. However, my world seems empty without days of levain builds, mixes, shaping and baking. My routine of life as I knew it has temporarily ground to a halt. Well, life as I knew it for the 4 plus years since I decided to bake here. There’s a hole in my unscheduled weekly schedule. Yes, planned for by dint of this most unwelcome post-consumption, to be kind to myself I’ll call it - growth. Oh, I cheat just a little around the edges, but my will power to stay away from the “bad stuff” for the time being has been fairly resolute.
And when the time comes for me to start up again I know exactly what the first order of business will be. I’ve never made the FWSY Field Blend #1. Can’t say why, just is. And there is this bag of white rye long sitting lonely and unloved in my pantry for quite some time just waiting to be showcased in some bread or other.
But until that now unkown future date, my only bake of October was this Sesame Semolina. The batard was dropped off for David, owner of Laurenzo’s Italian Market, where I buy my semola rimacinata, and whose market I showcased here about a year ago. Two gros baguettes accompanied this bake as well. One was delivered to a new friend who we were meeting for a day of dining and fun. The other was destined to make an express pass into my own gullet. It was halfway through dining on this lovely bread when the above documented incident took place. And therefore my forsworn diet prompted me to place the remaining half into deep freeze until a future date.
Oh cruel world...
Comments
Look at the bright side, the sleepy levain worked pretty well!
I've now been able to revive my levain from dormancy a few times when I've been away for relatively long stretches. So there was a fair level of confidence this would work again. And as you mentioned, it worked pretty well indeed.
thanks, alan
Having vacationed in Williamsburg, VA, this September (between hurricanes), I came back with a bit more of me than I had when I left home. Since my caloric excess tends to involve sweet stuff, I determined to go on a sugar fast for a month for the sake of my waistline, pancreas, and general well-being. This wasn't one of those hardcore no-sugar-in-any-form type of fasts. Rather, I've managed to stay away from foods and beverages that include significant quantities of sugar for the most part. Sort of a half-fast attempt to reduce sugar intake, if you will.
The results have been encouraging. The weight has dropped to slightly below the pre-vacation mark. I don't miss the feeling of having had too much, followed by the eventual crash in sugar levels. On the two or three occasions that I have had something sugary, I've realized that the "too muchness" feelings are stronger than they were previously. A couple of bites of ____________ would be delightful but a full serving is not. As much as my mouth would enjoy having more, the rest of me is happier without. In the interest of full disclosure, I haven't experienced the bliss and mental clarity and whatever else people attribute to minimizing their sugar intake. Maybe I need to run this fast longer or more intensively. I think that I'll stick with my present course of not indulging in sugary stuff most of the time and then severely limiting my intake if I do have some.
And I get to keep baking and eating bread. In sensible quantities, of course.
Paul
But when it comes time to be careful, that apple pie still looks good and still calls my name, but I'm not picking up the phone to answer it right now. For decades, the only time we have soda in the house is when guests who drink the stuff come over, and I've cut back on fruit juices too thanks to the high level of sugars in them. But I can't go completely cold turkey either. My preference for coffee still capitulates to demerara sugar and 1/2 & 1/2. All things in moderation is a familiar mantra to me.
There was a time when I couldn't imagine passing a day without some type of chocolate confection occupying real estate in my stomach. Now days can elapse without so much as sniffing at the stuff.
Unfortunately, as we age (yes, I can see your silver hair too!) we'll have to maintain our care or else suffer the consequences. But I so do love bread (and ales).
alan
Bake for friends and some of the local eateries that you have frequented
that would drive me bonkers to let it pass by me without leaving one behind on my counter. Oh well, that is a good idea.
since it is hard to be happy when you're not healthy ;-)
It's funny to me that I started baking bread in my continuing efforts to get and stay healthier, while so many of the experienced, highly skilled, and knowledgeable craftsmen like yourself are finding that they must go the opposite direction. I ate almost no breads for many, many years since they didn't interest me - and then when I was learning to budget my calories and eat to maximize nutrition, I found that I could get the same nutrients out of legumes and vegetables and I still hadn't found a bread that I actually enjoyed enough to want to make room for it in my diet, so I just didn't bother even looking at breads for years..
When my health changed and I could no longer eat the legumes and veggies, I realized that I could get the nutrients from grains and breads, but was seriously unhappy that there just wasn't a bread available locally that I actually enjoyed. That's how I wound up here - learning to make breads that I love, that give me the nutrition that I need, in a way that keeps my body healthier... I gotta admit that the mental health benefits from the ritual of the bake and the "schedule" in an unscheduled life are an unexpected bonus!
I suspect that you'll be back in fighting trim in no time, and then will just need to do some juggling to create a new schedule that allows you to enjoy the baking and the eating in an amount that keeps you happy and healthy in all ways!
Take care of you and yours, and know that we'll be looking forward to the post highlighting a stunning bake of FWSY Field Blend #1 - Alfanso Style.
Live happy, Alan, 'til you're ready to bake happy again, too...
Best, Laurie
Of course. And I can use all that I can get! My weakness with bread, good bread, is that I have some limited filters. That doesn't mean that I'll consume unhealthy amounts at any one time, or even over time. But I am prone to revisiting a loaf a few too many times for "just one more little slice". And most of those will entail a slathering of butter.
On the bright side, I just did a search for "field blend #1 (and fb #1) baguette" and didn't come up with a single match. Rather than disappointment, I very much liked that empty result. So now I have an inkling in which direction this next bake will go ;-) . Mr. Forkish states that it is a fine bread to use as a deli sandwich bread with caraway seeds, so I've already built my BBGA spreadsheet entry to reflect that.
And now - the wait is on. Tick tock tick tock...
thanks, alan
That problem. Just a few weeks ago I thought I would experiment with video on the early steps of my weekly grind (mixing, folding etc) and although the goal was to figure out how to place the camera etc all I could focus on was my wirey spidery arms and reminded me of a photo of myself as a teen weighing 135lbs and almkst 6' in stature. Yes that the human equivalent of a daddy long legs. It doesnt help that i also have 'ape index' 1.1+ (go look it up - its you arm to body ratio where normal is 1.0 mean equal lengths body to arms. 1.1 is way beyond freaky and more akin to chimpanzee or bonobo - in my case an extra 7...yes 7 inches wingspan) - so be greatful you have meat on them bones - no matter how much bread I devour its a major effort to even gain 4lbs - all i hear day in day out is 'put some beef on that wirey frame'. Going back to your problem, with a loaf that beautiful how about shellac coating and a display case - this is food perfection amd maybe shouldnt be eaten !
It has advantages in the realm of basketball, volleyball, gibbon imitations, etc. Maybe not so much for Hollywood and the film industry - like making a home video, for example. Although you might just be ripe for "central casting" seeing as you live in the area.
Perhaps getting yourself a body double to demonstrate while you narrate offscreen?
A number of moments during my early teen years were spent sobbing about being the shortest kid in the class and how I'd never grow much taller. Well, second shortest thanks to the unusual shortness of both G.K. and M.B. in different classes. And then came the latter H.S. years when I grew the better part 10 inches my final two years there.
In truth (but why shouldI start now?), I really don't care too much about the weight, although as I get older it is probably healthier to be a little lighter than I am. It is how the weight is distributed and the fat % that I care about. In college and my early 20's I was in the 8% body fat range. I sure as heck am not there anymore and likely shouldn't be these many decades later, but I'd like to at least maintain some correlation to the past.
I have been on a long overdue wt. loss journey and I MUST include bread or I'd give it up. I bake a lot less, make only what I really like and freeze a sliced loaf so I can have it whenever I want. I enjoy and savor my bread, all the more.
"Uncle Alan's Food Pyramid" with bread and ale firmly entrenched as the foundation of the pyramid. The kid knew me well.
From the input here and some further minor reading, I'm inclined to take small doses at a time. I've warehoused a few loaves in the freezer over time, so there's sufficient sustenance in there to keep my incisors busy for a while before baking anything new for myself.
- and keeping your weight down at optimal levels is probably the most important step. Of course you can certainly gain weight *without* baking on a regular basis. Just ask my scales. I have just now resumed baking after a break of approximately 70+ days. I gained weight! Maybe baking again can help me focus on health and calories and weight. I hope...
I have the old school BMI of an overweight person, although anyone who knows me would never think that as my body mass is relatively "dense" (no smirks allowed!). However there is now something called the SBMI, which I never heard of until I was typing this reply. And this seems to take in age and gender as well. Based on that, and according to the results of this one website (trusted? who knows):
Weight stability
A stable weight at this level is fine, especially if you keep fit.
Your SBMI will decrease by about one point within ten years if you manage to keep your 184 pounds stable. This is due to the fact that the optimal, i.e. the "healthiest" BMI range increases with age, thus reaching higher BMI values.
Weight management?
This is no issue for you, luckily. But you may want to consider some suggestions that are well-advised, not only for weight reasons.
At the age of 67, an elevated weight is far less important than it may have been earlier in your life. Fitness, on the other hand, is all the more crucial for your health. In addition, healthy nutrition is vital for maintaining a good metabolism, but is only in second place for weight reasons.
So, maybe I'm doing just dandy, but as stated earlier, having spent a lifetime of fitness, seeing anything unanticipated peeking out from above the belt line, is cause for minor alarm.
OTOH, maybe I should just grow up and accept the fact that I'm nearing the end of my 7th decade on this spinning rock... Or not!
Several years ago, I lost 65 pounds and kept it off. About 2 years ago, I stopped counting calories and started baking bread. Now that I write it down, I can see the correlation between the bread and the calorie counting. I am up ~15 pounds depending on the day and need to get this off. I feel uncomfortable and my clothes don’t fit. It also doesn’t help that I am a sugar addict and love anything sweet! No more chocolate and desserts for me!
But not nearly as much as my earlier self did. In the past I'd pay little attention to the nutrition labels on packages. Oh of course the parts that tell you how many pounds and saturated fats I'd gain by eating one giant chocolate coated Entenman's doughnut. (For those who have never had one, they are indeed as tasty as the day is long and addictive, so feel fortunate if they aren't sold in your own corner of the earth.)
And now? I have a tendency to peek at the caloric and fat and sugar content of what is about to enter the ol' pie-hole. But the wise words of the day seem to be about controlling intake quantity as well as quality.
I seem to be tracking well, so I'll keep on keeping on for the time being. Good luck on your quest.
I've been on a diet too. I've eliminated nothing. Just cut down the quantity of food and doubled the length of my daily walks. My diet was already pretty healthy, but I'd put on a few pounds here and there, mostly during travels to foodie venues - Portland, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Carmel. Anyway, I've lost about 10 pounds over about 12 months. Another 5 to 10 pounds off would be nice.
One thing is clear though: Even with a healthy diet and reasonable exercise, one's metabolism slows with age. It's thought to be due to decreased muscle mass, but I suspect there are other factors. I won't go into my physiologic reasoning. I've never been much of an athlete. I suspect this process - more difficulty with weight control associated with aging - is harder psychologically for those accustomed to vigorous exercise and generous caloric intake.
So, Alan, get used to it. It will probably get worse. My best advice is keep on top of it. The medical literature suggests that big swings in weight or the worst for health.
David
not just going to the gym for my weight training time, but we also took a lot of daily walks as well. Now back home again things have shifted.
After quarter of a century of West Coast living and low humidity, and now after almost 6 years of being down here in the southern end of Florida, I still haven't acclimated to the summer humidity and my desire to steam bathe in the outdoors is quite limited. Like next to zero. So therefore my outdoor walks are missing. We were greeted in Sac. by 112 degrees the first day, and this summer - as you well know, was relentless and quite hot, even in Portland. Heat I can take, I lived in Sac. for 15 years too, but humidity - not so much.
As mentioned, I don't have much issue with being where I am weight wise, it is more of a distribution thing. I don't have any intention of any major weight change. Really all I want to do is to see that little tire disappear.
And you too certainly seem to be on the right track, although you have quite the head start on me!
interesting re SBMI - hadn't come across that before so had a little read up. I'm ok but hubby needs to watch it though. neither of us wants life without bread so restraint is called for :)
stay healthy. happy baking Alan
Leslie
ps. by the way, love the lead picture - it is definitely an alfanso bake! it just has that look about it. lovely.
From others' input, I've gone back to small controlled portions and kept a vigil on all else. However the freezer is warehoused with a few past bakes. Might as well get those out of the way first.
alan
for yo but not for me, I gave all my 36 wait pants to Goodwill the other day. I'm a 38 on my best day now but I have a set of 40's if all fails:-) Portland is one of my favorite places on earth - what's not to like?
The bread really looks grand as usual and has to be tasty. I have wedding miche in the oven right now.
Lose some weight and then you can s[luge again:-)
Happy Don Baggs
As you spent the summer backing off from some foods and swimming, I'm surprised to read what you said about the waistline. I'd assume that it would go the opposite way.
Congratulations on your daughter's marriage. It isn't something that happens every day - unless you're Cher and Greg Allman...
As far as PDX (anyone who lives there uses PDX in print) the weather 7months a year leaves something to desire.