Ann has had a problem with our bread machine: flat loaves. Speaking to an expert on bread baking for Panasonic, the expert suggested that there is a national problem with bread. It appears that the absence of Ukranian wheat, with high gluten, is the issue. Canadian wheat, which also has a high gluten, is under great demand and difficult to find. Ann was thinking the Panasonic breadmaker, her best machine to date, was the problem. However, we have bought some gluten and the bread is rising again. We have also been told to stop using larger containers of dried yeast. These quickly turn stale so we must use the small satchets. Baking a loaf is a science, it appears.

My life as a baker

You will be surprised that I know so much about this. However, back in the day, I was the breadmaker in our house. We lived in Wolverhampton, Ann was training as a midwife and often working weekends and nights. I fancied proper bread, bought the tins and mastered it. Lots of kneading and not a little energy was necessary. So, I looked for a kitchen aid and bought a Magimix 3500, which cost an arm and a leg. It is the Ferrari of the kitchen. We still have it and use it frequently some 37 years later. The machine kneaded the bread using the steel knife attachment, which seemed weird. I made about 5 loaves per batch, to fill the oven, and most were put in the freezer. Ann took over with various bread machines after that.

Baking a loaf

I sometimes wonder at myself. Why was I so interested in our diet all those years ago? I had no problem with the high salt levels in shop bought bread at that time. I think part of it is in my council house upbringing. Our diet was poor and we did not eat enough. From the moment I married Ann, we were visiting health food shops and eating muesli. Or was that all about social status, a middle class diet? That period now seems like another person’s life and not mine. However, here I am, still musing about life but with far more bladder urgency than those days.