Bread for Florence

A few days ago my wife returned from the store overwhelmed and maybe a little frustrated. “They were out of bread and water,” she said. I just nodded, not surprised. You see, Hurricane Florence was a few hundred miles off shore and barreling towards us pushing waves of hysteria in front of her, crashing into us just like the waves she was sending in front of her to crash into the beach. Being a lifelong (mostly) resident of North Carolina, I have learned to take these things in stride. Granted, I wasn’t around for Fran or Floyd, two of the worst to hit North Carolina in recent memory (though still 20 years ago), but I have seen my share of storms, some from the comfort of a darkened living room with no power and some from the beach just because I was young and foolish and had to see for myself. It is easy to blame the media for the hysteria, but who can forget the images from Harvey and Maria last year, or even Matthew two years ago, which parts of North Carolina are still recovering from.

Nevertheless, with the storm at least five days away people were stirred into a frenzy cleaning out store shelves and gasoline pumps, schools were closing and businesses thrown into crisis mode trying to figure out how to handle the impending mess. I was annoyed, but not surprised. People in North Carolina prepare for hurricanes and snowstorms exactly the same, by buying up every loaf of bread in sight. Maybe it is just the feeling of doing something that motivates them, I don’t see that a loaf of bread provides much protection against a natural disaster.

But that was where we were, breadless, with Florence headed our way like an uninvited old aunt with nothing to offer but doom, gloom and a sour attitude.

The next day, four days from landfall, I found myself working from home thinking about my lack of bread in the face of a Category 4 monster. Calmly I made an inventory of what I did have- flour, yeast, salt and, yes, thankfully, water still flowed when I turned on the tap. I could make my own damn bread. I found a few other ingredients and got to baking.

I write this sitting in the comfort of my living room watching the rain come and go and hearing the wind roar through the trees. The power is still on and my family is safe for now. I know not everyone is so lucky, but hopefully everyone can find safety, whether it is from the kindness of a neighbor, the help of a stranger or in the comfort of having bread to eat.

Maple-Pecan Bread

yields 2 nice size loaves

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

5 1/2 cups all purpose flour, give or take

2 cups pecans, toasted until lightly browned

Mix the yeast, water and 1/2 cup of the flour in a bowl and let get going for about 10 minutes.
Mix in the maple syrup, oil and salt.
Add the the flour a cup at time, until the dough comes together.
Turn it out on a floured surface and knead until smooth.
Place in an oiled bowl and let rise, covered, in a warm spot for about 1 1/2 hours.
Turn out and knead in the pecans.
Divide the dough and shape into two balls.
Place on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal and let rise covered for 30-45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Slash an x on top of the bread and sprinkle with flour, if desired.
Bake about 40 minutes.
Finished bread will sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.
Let cool and enjoy!