the friday feed: sullivan street bakery

A few years ago I took a bread baking class from the University of Dayton Lifelong Learning Institute. UDLLI is for people 50 years and over and for $80.00 (total) you can sign up for as many classes as you'd like to take. 

Bill, who taught this class, is a self-taught master bread baker. Every summer he and his wife go to Europe, ride their bikes for a week on a tour, and then spend a few weeks traveling by other modes of transportation. He loves European bread, especially the French breads, so he immersed himself in study with recipe books, talked to friends who baked bread as well as European bakers to get all kinds of tips for the perfect loaf of bread. He has built a brick bread oven in his backyard. Lucky neighbors who get to smell baking bread wafting through the air!

One class, he talked about Jim Lahey, a man who traveled to Rome as an art student and upon his return home discovered he couldn't find bread in New York like the beautiful crusty loaves he had in Italy. Lahey decided to recreate those loaves. In 1994, with the help of a restauranteur friend, he opened the Sullivan Street Bakery to bring Italian breads to New York City. In 2006, Lahey shared an easy way for people to make and appreciate delicious bread at home using his no-knead bread method. You mix the dough and let it rise overnight. It's a great recipe for those beginning their bread baking journey.

The first morning in New York I took a walk from the hotel in Midtown to the Sullivan Street Bakery in Hell's Kitchen. It was a mile away, going from busy, corporate Midtown through vibrant, noisy, bustling, Hell's Kitchen to a small, quiet storefront in between 10th and 11th Avenues. Once I crossed 10th, I could smell the baking bread. What a way to start the day!

Just a hop, skip, and a jump away!

While in New York, the haiku muse dodged me but these words ended up in my journal. 

On a quiet street

tucked away in noisy, bustling Hell’s Kitchen

a heavenly scent of yeast and flour 

permeates the air.

From wheat to loaf the divine aroma 

brings the comfortable embrace that says 

peace be with you.

And then on the flight home, a haiku happened. 

It was OK. 

A few days later, another idea formed. 

I liked it better. 

So now, two haikus for you!

If my scribbles are hard to read:

A heavenly smell

wafts its way through Hell’s Kitchen.

Aromatic peace.

A scent from heaven

wafts its way through Hell’s Kitchen.

Give us our day’s bread.