Tools of the Trade

   I baked a lot of sourdough bread this weekend. Six loaves to be exact - which is really only two recipes and gave most of it away (so don't judge). I made regular sourdough Saturday morning and took a loaf to my boss and his family, a loaf to my parents and kept one at the house. Sunday morning I made a batch of wheat sourdough. I gave a loaf to my in-laws and another to my parents. I made so much because I feed the starter in my fridge every 5-8 days with 2 cups of ingredients so if I don't use it every few weeks, it's just too much.
   What I love about making bread, aside from the stress relief of the kneading process, the smell of my house when it bakes and the bread itself, is the warm feeling I get when I think of my loved ones who have given me the tools I use to bake. For example, a year and a half ago, long before I became obsessed with bread, my dad bought me the red Kitchen Aid mixer I had been lusting for (not to make bread though) as a gift for my bridal shower. I now use this machine at least once a week, and think of how great and loving my dad is - what a great provider he has always been.
   Most of my mixing bowls and measuring cups were gifts from my mother. She loves to buy me "kitcheny" things. She has given me countless fun utensils; a cookie punch, cake pans with squares you arrange to form things in cake batter, a giant cupcake mold, a cupcake kit used for designing cupcakes into various cake shapes, tiny jelly spoons and wisks, holiday-themed dish rags and hot pads, the list goes on. Anyway, I think of her when I use my measuring cups and bowls and how she puts the fun in everything. I get my "fun side" from her. I usually wear an apron when I bake and most of them came from her as well.
  Again, before I expressed my desire to make bread, my husband Ian got me a pastry mat for Christmas. I loved it! I wondered what I could use it for....and months later, it's one of those tools I use weekly. (He also got me the double boiler I asked Santa for) Highlighted in a previous blog, my husband bought me my Bread Bible, the baking stone I use for crispy crusts, my wooden oven paddle and several other things I love to bake/cook with. He seems to understand the joy it brings me to work in the kitchen and so it brings him joy to give me the tools I need to do it. He humors the excitement that stirs in me when I find deals like a Paula Dean red cast iron dutch oven at Sam's Club for only $35. That thing is heavy!
   Recently, my girlfriend Stephanie surprised me with a baked goods carrier, complete with a handle, snap sides and a monogram of our last name "LOWE" on the front surrounded in adorable polkadots. I also use this item weekly to take my bread treasures to work. It keeps the crumbs in one place and I can cover it up so passerbys don't wonder why my office looks like a bakery front.
   Now that I think of it, hardly any of the tools and gadgets I use are things that I've bought for myself. I have acquired most from friends and loved ones. I love this! It brings fond memories of them into my thoughts often and makes the process that much more enjoyable.