mmm...toast

I was about to run to Caribou for Monday Mac time when G said, "Hey, you want some toast?"

I usually hurry to the coffee shop on Mondays to clear my head and get ready for the week's tasks. Plus, Caribou has helped me out this summer with $1 coffee on Mondays. But when G offered toast, I remembered that we had a loaf of homemade sourdough bread and that stopped me in tracks.

We usually have whole wheat or whole grain bread in the house, but this week's special at the market was sourdough, so I couldn't resist. I've bought bread in plastic bags for years...who hasn't? But I don't really enjoy it. It definitely doesn't add anything to my meal experience. In fact, when we have toast from bagged bread, I leave the crusts on my plate and give them to G. Only recently have I realized that when I eat fresh, homemade bread, I eat every morsel of it and even look forward to the crust.

Why? Because fresh bread is a delicacy. The use of "real" bread makes a statement. Real bread takes a sandwich to the next level, makes French toast even better, and in the case of my toast this morning, makes me sit up and pay attention.

We have great local bakeries here in Ann Arbor so I can depend on them most of the time for fresh bread. In the winter and fall, I try to make my own. I highly recommend it; it's really not that difficult and the feeling of accomplishment is worth it (not to mention the aromas that will waft through your house). It's a good project for a Sunday. Just pick up a packet of yeast on the baking aisle at the grocery store and you're ready. All of the other ingredients are probably in your pantry already, for beginner bread baking.

But back to my toast. A thick slice of sourdough, lightly toasted, buttered, with a delectably crunchy crust. Toast with character. Toast the way it was meant to be.