I've been rather quiet recently, as we moved house and didn't have any internet until last week. Dom and I like to make our own bread, because store-bought bread is generally fluffy, air-filled rubbish that has no flavour, unless you want to pay several quid for a wanky, artisan loaf. When we first arrived in the US, obviously we had to buy bread until we had could find decent flour and yeast, and also live in a house where the kitchen was not infested with ants (don't ask!)
So we went to the supermarket, grabbed a loaf that looked reasonably decent and didn't think more of it. The next morning, I made a cheese and ham sandwich for breakfast. I bit into this sandwich. I was then somewhat startled with an unexpected explosion of sweetness in my mouth: unexpected explosions in one's mouth are not generally welcome at the best of times!
It turns out that, in the US, it's pretty much impossible to find a loaf of bread that has not had corn syrup, honey or sugar added to it. It's absolutely disgusting - bread should be a neutral medium upon which you build your desired outcome. If you want it sweet, add peanut butter and jam (urgh! Another weird North American habit). If you want your bread savoury, make toast or a sandwich. But, damnit, I reserve the right to choose how my bread should taste!!! I know Americans have a sweet tooth, but I hail from the land of deep-fried confectionary, and even we wouldn't do this to bread. And this isn't a case of me being a bread facist, honest! Another UKish person in Dom's work has been here for 5 years and still makes her own bread because she can't stand the sweetness of the USian stuff.
Of course, bread is an institution for me. Very few culinary experiences give me greater pleasure than a well-crafted loaf of bread, which I can easily demolish if left alone with some butter and toaster. Bread is beautiful, but what the Americans do to it is sacrilege.
Although they defile bread, however, they do have very pretty trees in the autumn.
No comments:
Post a Comment