SUMMER LOTUS

24/10/24. 3 min read

author at Baking Academy

I am a paniphile – or a bread lover. There was a time when I broached the subject of bread-making to my older sister, and she said, ‘ What a hassle. I will just buy my bread.’

I am glad I was not deterred. When my retired older brother insisted to learn about bread making, I was quite hesitant at first. But knowing that he likes working with his hands and is a perfectionist, who knows? He may turn out to be a very good baker with the potential for a second career.

He has always being proud of his hands, building his craft, painstakingly designing and creating water fountains and painting statues for his customers.

When his shop folded due to high rentals, he was bored to tears.

I tried to enroll him into a bakery course funded by the Govt for seniors to upgrade their skills.

At the baking academy, the waft of freshly baked bread struck me immediately as we entered the premises.

Nothing could be compared, not the world best perfume nor the world best cooked dish. Its distinct scent soothed my soul.

The soft, savory, and scented waft of the warm bread baking in the backroom. of the bakery drifted to us at the reception. I decided to enrol as well.

It was a workshop of three Saturdays from 10 am to 6 pm.

I was happy that the instructor was detailed to bring the basics of baking to us which included the principles of making bread, equipments involved, materials required.

It was indeed comprehensive as he emphasised on how the different flour may produce different results. Even the same type of flour with different protein content requires different amount of water that can affect its texture and consistency.

The rate of whisking the mix into a dough, checking when the dough is properly proofed which is allowing the yeast to work its magic of making the dough rise is critical. The handling of the dough must not be over managed.

I love the exact science and art of baking. It teaches me to be dead accurate about measurements, the importance of the speed of whisking the mix and proper handling of the dough.

To smell the aromatic mix, then manipulate it into the desired shape with just the right amount of gentle pressure and then patiently leaving it aside to proof before baking.

I have never tasted such joy in touching a proofed dough. As soft as a newborn baby’s skin, I think it’s softer, with a life of its own!

Then to dust each shaped dough with flour and perform some art by slicing it any which way you like with a sharp razor. The various shapes would split open to reveal their individual designs.

Finally, they were ready to be baked. I liked that the instructor was so intelligent and rational. He sprayed the shaped dough with water as well as the inside of the oven which was to prevent the bread from drying up.

The oven was preheated to the exact temperature and the tray of bread then inserted into the oven.

To watch the bread brown and anticipate its taste was an ascend to paradise.

When the bread was ready, our patience was further tested as the thermometer inserted into the bread showed 90 degrees so they were not ready to be sliced and eaten.

When the temperature finally reached about 40 degrees, we used a bread knife, one with sharp jagged edges in order not to crush the bread slices.

Then we applied butter, jam or any spread you like, and savoured it. It was an indescribable joy, one that restore our spirits.

Baking bread is a blissful activity. You are engaging all five senses – sight, smell, taste, touch and sound(if you consider the timer. used.) You may even develop your sixth sense – an intuition or hunch of better things in life.

Author at 7th longest river in the world

I have finally agreed to come to city X with my husband on 20th Sept 24, after much indecision and trepidation.

They were alot of news about being whisked away or kidnapped at some point to a remote border with its neighbouring country and coerced to become phone scammers under daily beatings which did hog the news for a period. A few detainees who have escaped recounted the harrowing details.

It was much to the chagrin of my spouse who wanted to come back to city X and see how things have changed over 14 years and I was pushing the idea away. Then, in a moment of madness, I agreed and he immediately booked the tickets!

My fate was sealed. I googled ‘ Is it safe to go to X’ and it turned out to be negative news. Then he googled the same thing and read out all the positive aspects of it (selective reading), dismissing negative points as just normal cautionary advice to tourists. Talking about blind spots! He had skimmed over the words ‘unsafe’ and ‘dangerous’.

When we landed at X International airport, he insisted on getting a Grab taxi though we were accosted with many smiling taxi drivers.

Our driver delivered us safely to Courtyard Marriot hotel for which I insisted he be tipped handsomely. and I was already bugging my spouse to arrange a safe trip back to airport on departure day.

Over the next few days, we walked incognito (not to appear like tourists)on the streets of X, dressed in dull colors following our motto: don’t stand out, don’t become targets, and don’t be blur.

I suggested that we both carry the hotel umbrellas(it’s monsoon season anyway) and that could be doubled up as weapons; to jab the eyes, throat, private parts, I said if attacked and proceeded to demo it. My spouse laughed but we knew in our hearts that I might be right.

Over the next few days, we became watchful instead over the hazardous traffic for at the bends of the road, a motor vehicle would often loomed up and screeched to a halt inches before me. The grounds almost tripped us due to uneven paths and unobstrusive obstacles. There were some side lanes laden with uncollected rubbish which contributed to the stench.

Notwithstanding, we did not come across any unsavory characters. We were alerted by the hotel not to flash our handphones on the road which is the case in many countries these days. And to avoid late nights outings.

City X has morphed into a quaint city, a far cry from those days when it was much underdeveloped. Now skyscrapers appear on the horizon amidst old ramshackle buildings and the city looks set to modernise further.

Nice eateries and cafes dot the streets at intervals which is a pleasant surprise. There was good food to be had. There is even a beautiful multi storey giant mall with many shops showing how widespread global. brands have become.

We found that people in city X friendly, respectful and gentle. Locals. generally went about their daily activities in a quiet manner and no unpleasant events were encountered.

A few people may look menacing but they soon gave way to smiling countenances , approval nods and folded hands. A sign of gratitude and welcome gesture. We did the same. They appeared adorable to me.

I had begun. to feel foolish for my deduction of the place as being unsafe from my presumption, imagination, rumours and news even though there was some truth to the occurrences mentioned. Unfortunate events could happen anywhere.

In any case, one must stay positive, do our research as to how and where to move around safely in any country for that matter and not draw unnecessary attention to ourselves.

Assuming the worst would lead to inaction in stepping out of one’s comfort zone. It also increases fear in exploring another country’s history and beautiful culture that could enrich our knowledge and understanding.

Fear is a huge emotion to overcome. Nothing in life is to be feared. It is to be understood and managed.