First, bebop: I just finished reading Ghosts of the Tsunami, Richard Lloyd Parry's account of Japanese survivors from the 2011 Tsunami. It's a compelling story of people who lost family and especially children of the Okawa School. While we're living thru the COVID-19 epidemic, Ghosts of the Tsumani reminds us that humans have survived terrible hardships before. In one passage, Parry writes about the Buddhist priest Taio Kaneta and his love of jazz, especially bebop:
"I love jazz", he[Kaneta] said, "and above all I love Thelonius Monk. Bebop -- such brilliant, peculiar music It seemed to me that it reflected what people's minds were like after the disaster -- the tempo of people's minds and hearts. It was the perfect music for the occasion".So while making a couple loaves of olive bread, I listened to some bebop, the music of Thelonius Monk. This is really fabulous music; it reminds me of my college days, listening to the gravely-voiced DJs on radio station WBJC proclaiming "Jazz, America's only native art form".
And now for the bread: This winter hasn't been the best for skiing and snow-shoeing, so one of the things that's kept me busy is bread making. This morning I made two loaves of olive bread using a recipe from Beth Hensberger's book, Bread. It's a pretty straightforward recipe; really the only tricky thing is rolling out the dough and rolling in the olive mixture without leaving big air gaps in the final loaf.
After kneading the dough, rolling in the olive mixture, and letting it rise, the bread is ready to bake:
After the bake, sitting on racks cooling, waiting for butter:
Not only is the bread delicious, kneading the dough is very therapeutic for relieving stress, and rising bread teaches patience. So, knead some bread, wait patiently while it rises, then spoil yourself with warm bread and butter. It's the perfect antidote for these trying times.
