“‘A loaf of bread,’ the Walrus said, ‘is what we chiefly need...’”

"I am proud to be an American.  Because an American can eat anything on the face of this earth as long as he has two pieces of bread."  ~ Bill Cosby

"How can a nation be great if their bread tastes like kleenex?"  ~ Julia Child

"The Sky is the daily bread of the eyes."  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"With bread all sorrows are less"  ~ Sanch Panza, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

"There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread."  ~ Mahatma Gandhi 

“Acorns were good until bread was found.”  ~ Francis Bacon

“Without bread all is misery.”   ~ William Cobbett

     These are just a few sayings, adages, axioms, and quotes about bread.  Clearly there is an abundance - and all seem to illuminate that bread eases sorrows and pain, heightens beauty, and even in accordance with a Russian proverb, can aid in the realization of paradise.  Bread can hold tradition, fulfill a religious custom, and bring people together.  

     It seems that so many varying societies have a "bread" - the "teff" as we experienced at our Ethiopian TSD, "naan" as is customary in Middle-Eastern and some Asian regions, and bread that is widespread throughout Europe and thus America.  Yet, for all the foods we no longer consume (corn pone, obscure pies and puddings, grits merely out of tradition, etc), bread is consistently a food humanity has consumed and enjoys consuming.  
     Perhaps this has something to do with the great diversity afforded by the intricacies of bread and bread-making.  I must admit that the thought of a bread "crumb" so soft it is "practically a custard" is incredibly enticing.  So enticing that I put the book (Tartine Bread) on hold at my home library so I can peruse it over break.  
But not-so-enticing is this concept that bacteria forms the bread.  While this isn't truly a foreign concept, it became much more real when Pollan quoted Chad Robertson's preference to mix the dough by hand so that more bacteria would be added to the dough.  
    I shuddered inside.
Albeit, bacteria is natural, healthy even!  In actuality, bacteria and the fermenting process are a necessity.  Never before had squirrels' hiding of food seemed to have a purpose other than storage.  Elementary school education and songs of a grey squirrel swishing its bushy tail have failed me - never in those fall afternoons of glitter-gluing acorns was I told that the purpose of squirrels burying acorns was to ferment them so as to be edible. 
  Just as these furry creatures know to hide their food so it is edible, so we too should handle our food.  As I think about all the bread I have consumed, there is a definite taste difference in the bread made by hand, the bread made at home in a bread-maker, and the bread that comes from a factory.  
  So I suppose the greatest illustration of our food disconnect is that I somehow still picture the French loaf I purchased from the WalMart bakery to be made in the back by someone in white, with a chef's hat, making this bread.  This is the image I want to have of the bread I consume, and yet, I have to admit that is probably not the reality.  
But regardless of whether I purchase bread or make it - bread isn't going anywhere, so I guess I'm not terribly worried.  It will always be around to chase my sorrows away!

Avoid those who don’t like bread and children. ~ Swiss Proverb