"Yup. I'm going to go home and make some challah bread," I replied. The pitying look he gave me embodied the 15 years between our ages.
"Sounds...fun."
So home I went, first to change out of real clothes and into yoga pants, then to the store to buy some instant yeast for my first foray into the world of bread. A wild Friday night indeed.
The first thing I did was choose a recipe, which was easy. My friend Angie over at nwktable just posted one and I knew I could bombard her with a litany of questions as I baked. Hopefully she wasn't planning on partying tonight, either. I also found a fabulous braiding tutorial from Tori Avey, a woman who understands that some of us need step-by-step, illustrated directions.
I'm not going to go through the steps of making the bread here since I've already provided the recipe, but my thoughts on bread making are as follows and are sorted from silly to serious:
Yeast is magical. The only thing I can think to compare it to is those washcloths you'd get as a kid that you could put under hot water and watch transform from small solid blocks to large fluffy face towels.
Kneading bread is no joke. I don't have a fancy Kitchen Aid mixer and bringing the dough together by hand was a real wake up call as to the state of my upper body strength. I must have looked pretty silly, too, since I looked up at one point and Moses was taking a photo of me repeatedly jabbing the dough with a wooden spoon. Maybe I'll make a scrap book of my conversion and we can add the photo to it.
Just kidding about the scrap book.
On a more serious note, it's easy to see how baking bread could be considered a spiritual activity, especially when the end result is so beautiful. I've learned that there are two prayers associated with the bread, one before you begin to braid the challah, and another at the beginning of the Shabbat dinner where it will be served. As for the actual creation of the bread, that process is a lot like life. There's choosing which recipe to follow, and adapting it when things don't come out the way you want them to the first time. Some parts are tough and require you to tap into all your strength, but there are also moments when not much is happening and you have to be patient. You need to weave together its different pieces to make a strong, unified whole. At times you might be in the mood to add a little flavor and spice, other times you might just want to keep it straightforward and simple. And the whole time you're creating something to share with the people you love. I mean, you could eat the whole loaf yourself, but that's not really the point now, is it?
I love how Judaism creates ritual out of the routine. Honoring the details that make up my day with prayers and moments of reflection is a real change of pace for me. Being grateful is hard when the C train is delayed again, you notice the cat just took a big sip out of your freshly poured water glass, or little worries have piled up to the point where they seem about to topple over. I'm looking forward to all the opportunities that await me to give thanks. And for freshly baked challah, because that is just divine.
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