development

gluten.
yup.
y'gotta develop it.
that's a thing.
and it takes time,
and rough treatment from external elements
and a lot of folding in on itself,
a sort of ouroboros of flour, water, salt, and yeast,
turned inward, time after time,
to make sure that the strands of stick-it-togetherness
maintain their sticktoitiveness.
mmhmm.
i'm sure you understand the underlying application to warrior poetry?
good.
because good bread,
crafted with care and consideration,
capability and confidence,
is currently a staple of intentional Folk Life culture
here in the last lonely hideaway for your hermity homeboy.
um.
that's me, and i bake a bunch of bread.
i do.
i eat a whole lotta Tea'N'Toast every morning.
it's a tradition i can't forgo,
since rules is rules an' that-
so i've been making lots of loaves,
with lotsa love in each and every one.
and some,
since my starter is expanding exponentially, almost to the point of unmanageability,
and i've been giving a few away, here and there,
as gifts to the few good men of this remote woodsly goodness.
i think/hope that's a nice gesture?
after all-
good bread makes better people.
believe it.
i'd be pretty psyched to get the homemade handcrafted live-cultured crusty hottness,
but,
then again,
i'm a reclusive and elusive hyperborean of hyperbole,
and i probably like a lot of things that aren't looked for or sought after by many.
ha.
still,
i DO make a nice batch of baked wheat, though.
teleport:

right?
i tried the oatmeal two ways-
one with a whole wheat starter,
and 50% sprouted wheat flour:

that sweet wheat flour feeds the beast big time.
huge oven spring,
big crusty pentosan activation,
and heartiness throughout, without being overly dense.
nice.
and take two,
with 1/4 cup more water, and just white flour inside?
it turned out just as expert:

yeah!
look at that opened-up steam-activated super-sexxxiness!
time takes as long as it takes,
and there's no rushing it.
or,
at least, not without ruining something.
*
i do the things i do.
i HAVE to.
i just love to see the finished product after an investment of time and energy.
the little bit of planning, and a whole lot of focus,
a smidgen of inspiration,
a modicum of magic,
and a well-floured banneton.
to that end-
white mountain white sourdough is the TRUTH!
teleport:

boom!!
i've been making the dough exxxtra-sticky, and exxtra-wet,
and the end result is DOPE.
many, many, many gluten-strand-developing stretches,
and the post-knead gentle open-folding technique.
combine to aerate and energize each loaf prior to the cold proof.
are they sour?
yeah, but they're not bitter.
are they open-crumbed and light?
for the most part.
i've been building up the crust and crumb,
improving with each loaf,
for months now.
i'm no master of the art, not by  along shot,
but i sure as heckfire am eating some wondrous and wildly-fermented
fuego for my face,
baked fresh with the naturally occurring expertism floating around,
ambient and aweome, in the air of the Folk Life & Liberty Fortress.
the most recent, save the one in the oven at the moment
looked almost too good to eat,
but i'm glad i ate it, anyway:

WORD!!
fold and rest and fold and rest and fold,
with that highly-hydrated hottness really doing some serious work in-between.
i'm about that good bread,
and i'm about being a better version of myself.
i AM what i eat,
and i'm just as conscious of the who as the what,
and as for the why?
there's really only ever the one reason-
just be dope, or F* right  off.
that's all there is to it;
never quiet, never soft.....