<\/p>\n
by John Kraus \u00b7 April 14, 2021<\/p>\n
I met Ruth about 7 years ago.\u00a0 She visited the bakery each week to pick up six loaves of our Levain and always preferred those baked on the darker side.\u00a0 (In our trade, that\u2019s known as \u2018kissed with fire.\u2019)\u00a0 One day, I felt compelled to ask her, \u201cWhy so dark?\u201d\u00a0 I thought I was the only one who appreciated dark, well-baked bread.\u00a0 Her response still lingers in my mind: Ruth told me that her husband Nathan was homebound and that as a European, he found comfort in our well-baked bread.\u00a0 He lived with Parkinson\u2019s but allowed himself one or two slices of well-toasted bread each day as a momentary diversion, a form of simple salvation.<\/p>\n
Fast forward to this past year\u2026\u00a0 I have had a weekly ritual of driving to their home throughout the pandemic to deliver the \u201ckissed with fire\u201d bread.\u00a0 At one point, our European friend contracted Covid, but continued to claim that the bread sustained him, so we did not stop delivering it.\u00a0 I kept in touch with Ruth, who worried it was an inconvenience for me to drop off a bag of bread. I assured her that it most definitely was not.\u00a0 Being a part of her husband\u2019s wholehearted enjoyment had been of value to me. I would not let him down.\u00a0 If it\u2019s our bread he wants, well then are honored to deliver it.\u00a0 I was aware that there are plenty of options for bread, and yet he chose us. There were times when I felt that I had let him down; the bread wasn\u2019t dark enough. At one point our\u00a0miller had changed the flour (and Ruth\u2019s husband knew it!).\u00a0 Yet, Nathan loved our bread, which meant to him much more than a slice of toast. Nathan and I shared something, our connection to sensory memories that can be evoked through food\u2013 one bite of bread could momentarily transcend any hardship or spark a childhood memory, both reminders of the vibrancy of life that still exists.<\/p>\n
All of this has prompted me to reflect on the value that a baker brings to the table, mostly unknowingly\u2013we act as though it\u2019s just what we do. For many years, I felt that we were not doing much to benefit society, but now it is clear to me, and I know that our work has value and impact.\u00a0 As bakers, we have a community that has tasked us with something important\u2013being a part of daily life, and also being there for special occasions. Bread is how we deliver pleasure and satisfaction in everyday life.\u00a0 Bread is sustenance.\u00a0 It\u2019s a part of gathering for a family meal, whether with a baguette or with a croissant at breakfast.\u00a0 Our minds may eventually forget about the croissant, but we won\u2019t forget the time spent with our family.\u00a0 That is the importance of a baker.\u00a0 We begin our workday as others go to sleep in order to ensure that the table has bread. Therein lies our value and our subtle yet tangible contribution to society.\u00a0 Even as our own families sit at the table during the holidays, we are getting ready for the next day and the next delivery. It\u2019s just how we\u2019re wired.<\/p>\n
I woke this morning to a text from Ruth stating that Nathan had passed. It happened shortly after eating lunch, when he slipped away peacefully while still seated at the table.\u00a0 She thanked me for what we had done and told me to cancel any further deliveries, as Nathan had been the household\u2019s primary bread consumer.\u00a0 That delivery, a simple 15-minute drive on a Saturday, had become something of a lifeline for me this past year. I took seriously my duty to ensure that Nathan had his toast.\u00a0 I\u2019ll miss my weekly delivery, but I will never forget this beautiful reminder of my purpose, which made me newly aware of my trade\u2019s quiet importance. So, while you are sleeping, I will keep on baking. We bakers have a role to play. I have a renewed passion for my long-held occupation.<\/p>\n
From our hearts to your hands, we thank you for inviting us to your table.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by John Kraus \u00b7 April 14, 2021 I met Ruth about 7 years ago.\u00a0 She visited the bakery each week to pick up six loaves of our Levain and always preferred those baked on the darker side.\u00a0 (In our trade, that\u2019s known as \u2018kissed with fire.\u2019)\u00a0 One day, I felt compelled to ask her, \u201cWhy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-340","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-recepies"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}