Honey Bread
“It suddenly occurred to me that before, true enough, I had not been anybody’s, but that now... why, now I was living not in our rational world but in the ancient, delirious world consisting of √-1’s. ”
The world in this book horrifies me.
It’s set in a totalitarian society where every building is made of glass, people have numbers, rather than names, and dreaming is considered a symptom of a mental illness.
It’s a world where math is revered and anything that can be considered creative is mocked, if not completely illegal.
I have to tell you, I wouldn’t make it.
They would have R-13 read poetry about math at my public execution, since that’s his job… to write poetry about math to read at public executions.
Even that’s awful.
It makes me want to cry.
The book is written in journal entries by a mathematician called D-503. He’s one of the lead mathematicians working on a ship called the Integral, which will allow the One State to go into outer space and conquer other plants/ species.
Isn’t that lovely?
The first entry begins with him reflecting on what happened while he was out for a walk with his lover: He met a woman called I-330 (I’m not entirely sure why the cover of the book calls her E-330, but I think it has something to do with this book being translated from Russian). D- is captivated by I-, which isn’t allowed, and he hates that he is.
When he finds out that she’s constantly breaking the law (smoking, drinking, flirting, skipping work to explore, etc.) he threatens to turn her in to the Bureau of Guardians.
He doesn’t, of course.
So what do you bake for a society of bland and nameless people?
I knew I wanted to make bread, but I wasn’t sure what kind. I didn’t want anything too out of the ordinary, since that wasn’t allowed in this society, but I wanted something.
White bread seemed like the logical thing to make, and, since logic dictates everything in this world, I knew I had to make it.
I knew I wanted to make two loaves too, one for D- and one for I-.
I eventually decided to put honey in the bread. It gave it a touch of sweetness, something unexpected, but it was subtle and didn’t really draw your attention away from the bread.
Everything D- and I- did had to be subtle since they didn’t want to risk being caught, something that was incredibly difficult in a world where the buildings are glass and there are cameras everywhere.
Could you imagine?
Bread
-6 c bread flour
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp salt
-1 packet of instant yeast (I used Active Dry)
-1 pinch ground ginger
-1 tsp white sugar
-1/4 c warm water
-1 3/4 c warm milk
-2 tbsp white vinegar
-1/3 c honey (I prefer clover honey, but you can use whatever you like)
-1/4 c unsalted butter, semi-melted
1. In a large bowl, mix the yeast, ginger, sugar, and warm water, then let it sit for five minutes.
2. Whisk together the milk, vinegar, and honey, then pour it into the yeast.
3. Add the baking soda, salt, and 3 cups of the flour, making sure to add the flour slowly to keep the dough smooth.
4. Whisk the semi-melted butter in a small bowl until it’s completely smooth, then add it to the dough.
5. Mix in the rest of the flour. The dough should form a ball, and shouldn’t be sticking to your fingers, but it shouldn’t be cracking or layering either. If it’s sticky, add more flour, and if it’s too dry, add some water.
6. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 5-10 minutes.
7. Place the dough in a greased bowl and flip it so the dough is greased up, too.
8. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and place it somewhere warm so it can rise for an hour and a half. It should have doubled in size.
9. Punch the dough to deflate it.
10. Separate the dough into two, and place them into greased bread pans.
11. Cover the loaves with the damp towel again, and let them rise for another 45 minutes, doubling again.
12. Remove the towel and bake the loaves at 375 degrees for 28-32 minutes.
13. When they’re done, let them cool for 30 minutes then remove them from the pans.
Even though this bread is sweet, it isn’t overly sweet, so you can put anything you want on it. You can eat it with butter or Nutella, or you can make sandwiches. It’s white bread.
Rebel against the One State and let your creativity go wild.
Stick it to the Man.
