Let's BREAK BREAD together and have a good time. Part I

Pam and Terry, The 2 Prickly Pears

We're back!!! And we are happy to be back. 

The 2 Prickly Pears took a bit of time to gather our thoughts about this new series of blog posts, which we are calling "The International Table." 

Over the past few years we have done research to better understand the foods that we love, as well as the food we know little about but about which we wanted a better understanding.

In all our reading and experimenting we learned so very much. But probably the most important thing we learned is the significant impact that various cultures have on the food we consume. Even the most common place foods have a history and a place of origin that connects us with a culinary past that is extraordinary. Beyond that, we believe this history is what can bring us together. It's commonality brings us together and it's diversity helps us celebrate a vibrant life with variety.  Food is something we all have in common. We all need it in some form or another. Our climate and our culture directly affects how we eat. However, cultures easily break through boundaries and show us that what we have in common far outweighs our differences. So in our minds, food is the great equalizer. 

So today we begin our series on The International Table. What does that mean, you ask? How is our table and yours international? Well, what The 2 Prickly Pears will do over the next few months is look at those foods that are common to most, if not all, cultures. What do we have in common? What items, in one form or another, are similar country to country, culture to culture?

We begin with BREAD, and a quote from James Beard,  

"Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods, and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts."

One would be very hard pressed, indeed, to find a culture, country, city, state, province, county, village, tribe, neighborhood, or land that doesn't have some kind of bread.  And what is bread, anyway?  Here's how the Free Dictionary defines it in it's most basic form:

A staple food made from flour or meal mixed with other dry and liquid ingredients, usually combined with a leavening agent, and kneaded, shaped into loaves, and baked.

We think this definition works, but may be a bit limited.  While it is true that many breads have a leavening agent in them, not all do.  In fact, many don't.  Consider, if you will, the humble tortilla of Mexico, matzah served on Jewish Passover, the lovely pita from the countries of the Mediterranean...the list goes on and on.

Leavened Breads

Chapati, and unleavened bread of India

In fact, unleavened bread is the oldest of the breads.  There is archaeological evidence from 30,000 years ago in Europe showing residue on rocks that were used for pounding plants. This is likely the makings of the first flat bread.  The simple combination of grains and water to create bread is the foundation of cultures around the world.  

It is likely impossible to really know who the first persons were that realized the cultural an culinary advance that simple bread making would be. We applaud them for their ingenuity and are grateful for their contribution.  Because, let's face it, whether leavened or unleavened, wheat based or gluten free, mulitgrain or rye, it is nearly impossible to resist the smell of fresh baked bread in whatever form it comes.  We believe that it cannot be disputed that bread is a staple of life.

Have you ever used or heard the expression, "breaking bread" with someone?  Sure you have.  What does that mean, really?  It's more than just the act of eating.  It really is something that brings us together by sharing from the same loaf.  Sharing of your abundance.  The breaking of bread implies peace and community.  If you offer someone something good to eat, like bread, you are inviting them to be a part of your life and you a part of theirs.

In truth, this post could go on and on for days about bread.  There is so very much to say and know.  Lest you think we overstate, here are just a few words translated in other languages for bread:

French:  pain

Afrikkans:  brood

Bosnian:  hljeb

Danish:  brod

Ethiopian:  Injera
German:  kies
Icelandic:  brauð
Italian:  pane
Polish:  chleb
Native American:  fry bread

Spanish:  el pan
Vietnamese:  banh mi'

Injera

But we won't go on and on for days.  We offer you a site that might be of interest in understand the importance of bread in human life. It includes many recipes that will intrigue you.

Now, how about some fun facts about bread?

• Bakers used to be fined if their loaves of bread were under weight, so they use to add an extra loaf to every dozen.  And so came the expression "baker's dozen."
• Each American consumes 53 pounds of bread a year. (Pam, Prickly Pear2, consumes more than that... it is a known fact!)
• In 1930 Wonder Bread introduced the first sliced bread.
• In 1997, wheat farmers in Kansas produced enough wheat to make 36.5 billion loaves of bread or the equivalent of 6 loaves of bread for each person on earth.
• Murphy's Law dictates that buttered bread will always land buttered-side down.
• For a Middle Eastern person, a meal without bread is unthinkable.
• The word "pumpernickel" literally means Devil's Fart in Bavarian.
• In Russia, bread and salt mean welcome.
• 1,500 is the number of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches the average American student will have consumed upon graduations from high school.  Yikes!

As you know, we always leave you each week with a recipe on our topic.  But how to decide which bread recipe to include?  The possibilities are endless!  And they are all so so good!!! However, a decision must be made, and so we offer you today Naan. 

Naan

Naan is an Indian leavened bread that is tear-drop in shape and traditionally cooked in a clay oven. 

Now, it is true that we do not have a clay oven.  If you don't either, then naan can be made on the grill or a grill-pan.  It is not baked.  

Here we go, then....the 2 Prickly Pear's adventure in making Indian bread called naan:

Naan

What you need:

1 packet active dry yeast

1 Cup warm water

1/4 Cup white sugar

3 Tablespoons milk

1 egg, beaten

2 teaspoons salt

4 1/2 Cu bread flour

1/4 cup butter, melted

What you need to do:

In large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.  Let it stand about 10 minutes.  Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough.  Knead for 6-8 minutes.  (You can use a stand mixer if you like.)  Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover.  Set aside to rise for about 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.

Punch the dough down (this is where you can knead in stuff like garlic salt or seasoning or herbs, if you wish).  Pinch off small handfuls of dough, just about the size of a golf ball.  Roll into balls and place on a tray.  Cover and let rise again for about 30 minutes.

About 10 minutes before the dough is ready, heat your grill pan to very hot, almost smoking. Roll out dough balls into a thin, tear-drop shape.  Turn heat down to medium.  Place two or three on your grill pan.  Brush top with butter.  Grill for about 1-2 minutes and turn over. Brush with butter and allow to grill for 1-2 minutes.  You are looking for brown almost charred grill marks.  Careful not to burn the naan.  Remove from grill and continue with remaining dough.

Serve with any meal, with hummus, as a sandwich, anyway you like.

Bread is a part of our lives.  It is, indeed, the food of life.  People through the centuries have looked to bread to feed their family and communities.  Celebrate your culinary life and make some bread.  It isn't as hard as it looks.  All you have to do is honor the ingredients and the history of bread making.

Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone.  It has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new.....Ursula K. LeGuin

Now, go out and make something good!