Finding Your Passion

I stumbled across this quote in a recent in an interview with Joseph J. Plumeri from the Willis Group:

Q. What questions do you ask job candidates?

A. What I really want to know is what kind of person I’m dealing with. So I ask only one question. I say, “Tell me what you’re passionate about.” That’s it. Tell me what you’re passionate about.

Q. Do they ask if you mean at work or outside of work?

A. Whatever you want to talk about. Tell me what you’re passionate about. Digging holes. Riding bikes. I’m looking to see if they’ve got a passion. I’m looking to see if there’s anything inside, other than what they do. And how passionate could they be, therefore, about being here? And how excited and involved could they be?

I spent a lot of time thinking about this. What am I passionate about?

The answer starts with something weird and very specific, but why I'm passionate about it ends up explaining a lot about who I am and how I see the world.

I really like yeast. I am passionate about yeast. Yeast is the foundation of so many things I find wonderful: bread, beer, sauerkraut, yoghurt, sourdough, and champagne.

I have been baking bread since I got my first apartment in 1996, and find it an easy way to calm myself through kneading dough, the smell of bread backing, and the amazing transformation process that starts with four ingredients (flour, yeast, salt, water) and delivers a crusty, warm gooey loaf of wonderful.

Since 2006 I've made most of the bread we eat at home. I mix the dough, let it proof overnight, and will bake something in the morning. I don't carefully measure this, and have added lots of ingredients to mix it up over time: left-over blueberry oatmeal, rye, onion bits, and nuts.

And beer! I have started to taste beer like some taste wine, paying close attention to characteristics of breweries, how the water quality impacts the beer, and the funny things yeast does to transform water and grain into Guinness.

And what ties this all together, and why I am passionate about yeast, is that to work with yeast relies upon a process you can't fundamentally see, but have to trust that it will work out. It is not precise, it is forgiving and finicky. You can't rely upon it to realize the same result each time you use it, as yeast changes over time, and that changes the flavor.

So yeast yields serendipity, and I love serendipity. And I think the universe is mostly serendipitous, and not precise, and finicky and forgiving. There are so many things that could go wrong, but often we happen to find the spouse who makes us happy, your genes combine in random ways to yield a lovely child with your little hands, and your Saturday afternoon is filled with quiet and the smell of bread baking.

And yeast can be like that smell: we can trap it and bottle it, but mostly it is all around us. I've made hard cider by simply leaving apple juice sit out on the counter, and sooner or later you have homespun hooch. And then vinegar.

You can make sourdough anywhere in the world by simply letting the yeast live in the dough you make. And I think that we could all be happy somewhere, make something of our lives with the ingredients we're given, if we just be sure to pay attention and not try to be precise but forgiving.

How To Bake Bread In a Dutch Oven And Have It Taste Totally Awesome

(A friend recently asked me for baking tips after she got a new Dutch oven. Since I bake a lot, I thought I'd pass along my experiences.)


Yes, I do bake a lot -- probably 2x a week. We've cut down how much bread
we buy because I tend to make a couple of loaves. The no-knead is how I
make all of my bread -- it makes it taste a lot better and also makes
baking a lot less work.

Here's my basic recipe. It's taken from the Mark Bittman book "How To
Cook Everything". I'm sure the library has it if you want lots and lots
of details.

3 1/2 c. flour (bread flour is better, but not necessary)
1 1/2 c. water - 2 c. water
salt
yeast - usually about 1 tsp. See below.

12 - 18 hour version
I mix the yeast, flour, and then a bunch of salt together. I then add the
water in 1/2 c. batches into the flour and just stir it all together. Use
extra water and less yeast.

Once you have a wet gooey mess (don't worry if it is gloppy, the yeast
will take care of it), set it aside in the mixing bowl to rise. It works
better if you put plastic wrap on top, but it's not required.

Let it rise for 12 hours, then punch down. Let rise again for 4 hours,
then transfer the loaf into the dutch oven and bake at 450 for 45 minutes.

4 hour version
Mix the yeast into warm water (about the temperature of bathtub water) and
give it a little boost by adding anything sugary you have handy -- jam,
maple syrup, a little molasses. No more than a teaspoon. Let it
percolate for about 5-10 mins--it will start to foam and that is good.
Use a healthy teaspoon of yeast, maybe a bit more if you are
time-constrained.

Mix the flour and salt together, then mix in the fluid. Make sure it's
gooey.

Let it rise for 2-3 hours, then punch down. Let it rise again, and then
bake at 450F in a dutch oven until it's done.

Important Tips & Tricks

- Preheat the over 20-30 mins to 450 before baking. It takes awhile for
most ovens to get decently hot.

- Make sure your dutch oven doesn't have a plastic handle -- it can melt
or smoke at 450. (I used a metal calaphon lid and it was ok.)

- you need to oil the pan to prevent the bread from getting burned to the
bottom. I usually use canola oil because it can handle the heat. It will
taste even better if you sprinkle polenta or coarse cornmeal on top of the
oil before putting the bread in -- the bread will slide out really easy
when it's all done.

- The longer you let it rise, the better it will taste, and then use
correspondingly less yeast.

- If you want whole grain bread, replace your regular flour with up to 1
1/2 c. of different flours and it should work just fine. I often mix in 1
c. of rye flour, but have also used oatmeal, whole wheat flour, or mixed
in nuts. Using lots of fruit, blueberries, and cinnamon is an option too.

- Make sure to let it cool before eating. 5 mins. is a minimum, 30 is
better.

- Don't worry too much about the ambient temperature of where it rises.
Anything over 60 should be OK, ie you don't need to put it in the oven or
anything.

- Bread tastes better with lots of salt. Taste the dough as you're mixing
it to taste the salt.

- You don't need to knead. The yeast will take care of it.

- the mixing takes 5-10 mins, and the clean-up takes the same. All in
all, the whole thing takes about 30 minutes of your time.

Here is the original inspiration. I find this recipe too fussy though.
(Seriously, who measures 1 5/8 of anything?!?) I don't preheat the pot, I
just use it myself and think that's a reasonable trade-off.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html

Let me know how you like it!