Slow Rise

Back in the 1990’s when I was in graduate school in Berkeley, CA, I ran across a book called “Brother Junipers Bread Book: Slow Rise as Method and Metaphor” By Br. Peter Reinhart. Since I was a deep thinking 20 something who could create a metaphor about almost anything, I bought the book.  It was based on a bakery that started in San Francisco in the late 1960’s.  The basic principle is this:

“You take flour, water, salt, and yeast, mix them together in the proper proportions, and   form the dough into a ball. You then put it out of the way and forget about it for about an hour and a half. What you do not do is rush it by warming it up; just just let it grow at its own pace. Then when it has doubled in size, knock it down and form it into a ball again. Knocking it down causes it to develop character. If you bake if after one rise it will work but will not be very interesting. It needs more time.”  

On weekends and in between classes I put bread on to rise. Sometimes the result was beautiful loaves of bread that I shared with my friends. Other times for reasons unknown, the dough failed to rise. This was always disappointing.

I moved to Berkeley in August of 1993. I was 23 years old. I filled my Toyota Corolla with books and clothes, CDs and journals, and my 2 cats. I drove across the country to begin the grand adventure of graduate school. There were disappointments and let downs. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting in terms of academics and community. It was still hard for me to make friends. I may have moved but I was still myself, quiet, a bit shy, but ready to rush into my new life.  My relationships and experiences, like bread dough, had to grow at their own pace and could not be rushed. 

My favorite of Brother Junipers bread recipes was cinnamon-raisin-walnut bread.  It was from this recipe that I leaned to soak raisins in hot water before before baking to plump them up. Otherwise, they are likely to turn into little burnt raisin chips.  I also figured out I needed a lot of patience if I was to continue this bread making thing.  This added greatly to my success, not only success in bread making. 

In 2022 I had been buying overpriced organic, non-GMO, grain and seed bread for quite a number of years. I decided that after 25 or so years I wanted to start baking bread again.  I found my old dusty “Brother Juniper’s Bread Book”.  I starting thinking about how many times in life I tried to rush things. I wanted “it” done now! Over time, experience, and challenges I figure out that patience and love built character in me and others around me. When I slowed down and enjoyed being a mom, when I was present at work, and home, life became more manageable and more interesting. Just like bread that has had enough time to rise. 

I have to admit that I purchased a bread machine.  This appliance has patience built in.  It does the mixing, first kneading, and first rising.  I have been using this weekly for 2 years now. I use the dough setting and then I do the second knead and set to rise and bake in my oven.  Usually a lovely loaf of bread is the result.  And also, sometimes, it is a complete mess- too dry and crumbly, too heavy, it fails to rise.  Just like life.  “Our resilience is extraordinary, even more than that of slow rise bread”.

Reinhart, Br. Peter. Brother Junipers Bread Book: Slow Rise as Method and Metaphor. Addison-Wesly. 1991.