The Smell of Baking Bread

By Marc Kornbluh
for the Star City Blog

On Sunday morning I was standing in my backyard when I smelled the wonderful smell of bread baking.  I had no idea where it was coming from, but it reminded me that I had planned to make pizza dough, as I sometimes do on the weekend.  I often make a large batch and then freeze it in portions to thaw and use during the week. It takes me about ten minutes to make pizza if the dough is thawed -- less time than ordering out and about $15.00 cheaper. 

Anyway I walked into the house to get started when I heard someone knocking on the door. It was my neighbor, Abbas, with a plate full of steaming fresh flat bread -- the source of the great smell in my backyard.  The gesture warmed my heart.  Abbas is a good neighbor and a wonderful soul -- and this was such great bread! 

He invited me over to his house to witness his mother making bread dough on a marble table top in the backyard, and then baking it on a special flat-topped burner that she brought with her from  Lebanon.  She comes to stay with Abbas and his wife and daughter every year.  Abbas tells me that she cooks constantly and fills the house with so much food that the freezer is still packed with her delicacies long after she returns to Lebanon.

With his mother's permission, I took a few photographs of her making bread.  Then they treated myself and my wife to fresh hot bread, strained yogurt (called 'labne'), olives, and a mixture of olive oil, sesame seeds and oregano for dipping.  I knew from past conversations with Abbas that he once had a bakery in Lebanon, and he allowed me to take some pictures of his photos from the old country, which I've included. 

 The technique Abbas used in Lebanon was presumably learned from his mother. The result is a very thin yeasty bread that is made with unbleached white flower and corn meal. The corn meal gives the bread a rich nutty flavor and a delicate  texture.

I'm just now finishing my task of putting up my pizza dough.  Thanks to Abbas and his mother, and the smell of baking bread, I was reminded to do that most essential and grounding thing -- my Sunday baking.