Bread making on board

Saturday 19th June

We woke to heavy, continuous rain, and skies dark with cloud, it looks as though it will be like this all day. Our plan had been to drive out around St.Thomas and sight see, but I’m not sure that’s going to happen, at least not this morning.
So, what to do while it’s raining cats and dogs? I decided to work on perfecting my bread making skills, which are a little like my sailing skills, very amateurish and frequently unsuccessful. I have in the past managed semi successful bread with the use of a bread maker, but it was still a little dense, and heavier than I would have liked. Obviously I can’t use a bread maker on board, it would run the boat batteries dead in no time. I really need to learn to make bread by hand.
You could use my loafs of home made bread to build houses, they were like bricks. However, before I returned to Daisy this time, I spent many hours browsing the cookbook isles of my local Barns & Noble, my absolute favorite store, and I found a fabulous book called ‘DOUGH’, by Richard Bertinet. This wonderful book explains in really easy to understand terms, the methods, and techniques to the art of making bread. Not the sweet, cakey type American bread, but the light as air, crusty, delicious style bread. Found in Europe. OH how I’ve missed that wonderful bread. The book comes with a DVD, so you can clearly see Richard’s technique.
It took me a while longer than it should to perfect the dough, as I hadn’t allowed for the moist, humid atmosphere on board, here in the Caribbean. I was working with the dough for almost an hour, until my hand’s ached so much I had to stop. I couldn’t quite get the dough to be anything other than sticky. However, an hour and a half later, I was taking the most delicious little bread rolls out of the oven, I was eating them hot smothered with butter, they were absolutely wonderful, and the boat smelt like Heaven. All the slapping of the dough on the marble board had woken Edi, and he came out to see what I was doing. I started making another batch and as he watched me slap, and stretch, adding air and struggling with the stickiness of the dough, he decided he wanted to have a go, as it turns out, Edi is quite the bread maker! The result; light, crusty, delicious bread. Yummy!

Ed hard at work with the dough

When we return to the BVI’s and have Internet service again, I’m going to write to Richard Bertinet and thank him for his wonderful book, that has enabled me to finally make not only edible, but wonderfully delicious bread. www.thebertinetkitchen.com