with gratitude to Cathy Law for original recipe – April 2020

You will need some Starter, which we will call “The Mother”. You keep her in a jar with a lid on in the fridge, (away from the wine.) This is a live female and can be fed daily, but will survive nicely on two scant meals a week, seems harsh, I know.

Use a good quality flour – I get mine from Flour, Salt, Water in Kiama. They deliver.

You need a heavy cast iron casserole pot to make this bread.

Baking this bread is like making love – or giving birth- for optimum results, it cannot be rushed! If I want a sublime experience on Saturday, I start (foreplay) on Thursday evening.

DAY 1

Activate Some of The Original Mother (this is the ‘turn on’)

1) In a small bowl, mix the following together until smooth.

· 10 g (2 teaspoons) from “The Mother” (from container in your fridge)

· 50g flour

· 50g water

Incubate the New Baby Starter

2) Place bowl into a zip lock bag and place in a warm spot overnight (say the top of your fridge where warm air escapes) – or somewhere out of the draft. If it’s cold, wrap in a thick towel, keep Bub warm and happy to have a good sleep overnight.

3) In the morning, if Baby Starter has a few bubbles, she’s happy and ready for the next step. If not, she needs more sleep.

Remember to feed the Original Mother (this is a good time to give her one of her twice weekly meals) so that you always have a Happy Mum, ready to go! (ie – a good supply of Starter.)

1) Mix equal quantities of flour and water (I use a 30ml measuring scoop) and add to your Starter (The Original Mother). Do this twice a week. (If you intend making bread more than once a week, I’d use more - say 50ml of each), which will increase the quantity. Put her back in the fridge to keep her cool.

DAY 2

The Miraculous Moment of Conception – Insemination! A Moments Silence please ….

1) In a large bowl, sift

· 500g plain flour. For rye - I use 400g white and 100g rye. Wholemeal – same ratio

· Add 350ml tepid water

Then mix in your New Baby Starter mix till well combined.

2) The Baby needs another nap (if you want to be fancy,i t’s called ‘autolyse’) . Wrap it in a thick towel (under and over the top of the bowl) to keep it warm. If you have some rays of sunshine coming into the house, place it there. Leave for about two hours.

3) Then, mix together

· 10g (2 teaspoons) good quality salt

· 25g tepid water

· And add to your New Baby, mixing with your hands until combined.

4) SPICE THINGS UP! BUT DON’T GO WILD! If you like, add dried herbs, linseed or flavourings. Consider these some of the characteristics of the Baby. Go easy the first time, you don’t want to be too adventurous till you’ve got some experience under your belt. You’re learning, don’t create a monster.

5) Cover with a warm, thick towel and let rest for another couple of hours in a warm spot. (I think the longer the better, the Baby responds well to warmth and love and lots of time.

6) Time to gently wake up the Baby. Dust your hands, the bench, and the Baby with a small amount of flour (Baby will be sticky). Consider this as a massage to help the Baby grow. Using the heel of your hands, stretch and fold the Baby on a floured bench until it becomes smooth and elastic (at least 3 – 4 minutes). This stretch and fold technique is important – check it out online, there is a knack to it. Do not knead the Baby. You are stretching the Baby! Gently pull the edge out as far as you can, and then fold it back in, over and over again. Work your way around the Baby, using this technique. Use a spatula to scrape sticky bits off the bench, and use sprinkles – I said sprinkles, not handfuls - of flour to keep it from sticking.

7) Massage the Baby back into a neat shape, and place in the bowl and cover with the towel. Baby sleeps again for an hour or two. (Baby Bench Rest)

8) Repeat step 6 and 7 - two or three times - until the Baby feels ‘airy’. I’ve noticed I’ve begun to ‘feel’ the Baby ‘speak’ to me. Try holding it up by one end, and just let it s-t-r-e-t-c-h downwards a few times – (you’ve seen photos of doctors holding newborns upside down by their feet?) There may be holes, this is a good sign so don’t be alarmed, just place back on the bench and begin to fold in the edges again, all the way around, over and over.

9) Shape Baby into a ball and rest on bench covered with a clean tea towel for about 30-60 minutes (More Baby Bench Rest)

10) Cut a piece of baking paper and line the base of your cast iron casserole which should be big enough to hold the Baby but will also fit into your fridge with the lid on.

11) Mould the Baby pulling the edges down into the shape you want, oval or round. You choose. How powerful!

12) Place Baby in casserole dish, cover with lid, and place in fridge overnight. It’s called the ‘final prove’ – prove what, I ask? Does the Baby have to prove something? This is the sad part: now the Baby whose been blessed with love all this time, spends a long, cold Eskimo night alone. This ‘tough love’ will, however, help Baby to mature and grow to be healthy and strong.

DAY 3

Delivery

1) DON’T WORRY! Lots of new babies are ugly. It’s supposed to look like that! So, it hasn’t doubled in size, no problem! Preheat oven to its highest setting – at 250 degrees C.

2) CRUELTY. This is where the analogy of babies and bread must end. Use a sharp knife edge, and with a steady hand, score the top of your loaf, perhaps three times. You’ll get more creative later, for now, just three diagonal slashes into the top of the loaf. Come on, you can do this. This is not only decorative, but it assists the dough to rise up through the slashes, so don’t be too scared to cut say ¼” deep into it.

3) Place loaf in casserole with lid on – the lid creates a ‘steam’ effect, which is important, and bake for 20 minutes.

4) Remove lid and bake until a nice crust has formed and it looks golden brown – about another 10 – 20 minutes and be careful not to burn! Don’t keep opening the oven door or you will lose heat. Total cooking time will depend on oven and size of loaf and vary between 30 – 40 minutes.

5) Remove from oven, and lift out of casserole by lifting up baking paper and place on an airing rack. Be careful, that cast iron casserole is heavy and very hot.

6) CONGRATULATIONS! Restrain yourself, you’ll have to wait at least half an hour for it to cool before you devour it!

BE PATIENT! I’m a beginner, just learning. My first loaf was great, the second one was good, the third one was a disaster – a real brick! - and the fourth one was almost perfect. It can be a meditative process, if you listen to the baby, treat it well, feed it nicely and keep it warm. Then abandon it overnight in the fridge, cease thinking birthing or lovemaking, quit the analogy about babies and then slash it, bake it and eat it.

ENJOY! I learned to do this during the Covid 19 Pandemic during March/April 2020.

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