Why Bake Bread?
 
There is nothing in the world as satisfying to eat as home-baked, handmade bread. Of course, technically, the artisan baker down the road is much better at it, but no amount of skill and craftsmanship can replace the utter joy of eating and sharing the stuff you make yourself. And it is practical to make bread -- exceptional bread -- with your own hands, in your own home, on a regular basis.
 
I know you are busy, so I have given you roti -- a flat bread you can make, from cupboard to table, in less than five minutes. But I know that you also have free time, and I hope I can persuade you that free time spent in the kitchen -- by yourself, with friends, or with children, with music in your ears, wine in your glass, flour in your hair, and magic in your hands -- is time that could not be better spent.
 
If you are new to bread making, this sense of pleasure might not be immediate, but I am confident that you will reach it more quickly than I did. I remember my first loaf well -- even the birds wouldn’t eat it. I had followed the two-page recipe to the letter and the cookbook assured me that “homemade bread is easy.” That was rather hard to swallow (as was my bread). Still, I soldiered on, day after day. After all, practice makes perfect.
 
There are two kinds of bread in the world: bread that hands have made, and bread that hands have not. In an ideal world, all bread would be hands-have-made -- by your hands and my hands, and by the hands of those few professional bakers left who are still doing it properly. I guess there will always be hands-have-not bread, and while it’s not that bad, or at least it is surely edible, it seems a sh...