At its essence, bread is flour and water. The earliest bread is from Egypt 800 B.C.E. The Romans took bread to an art form ~450 B.C.E. Mexicans ground the first corn tortillas around 100 B.C.E. Bread first arrived in Japan with a Portuguese shipwreck in 1543—along with tempura. The steel roller mill came long after in 1834 Switzerland.

Bread, and its symbolism, is at the heart of most cultures. Think about it:

• As metaphor in many religions. Islam: knowledge, Christianity: life, Judaism: blessings, Hinduism: offering to the gods.

• As a societal metaphor as early as the 18th century. “Earn your bread.” “Make some dough.”

Now in the 21st century, bread is a metaphor for getting back to basics. As for many, bread-baking became a ritual in my house during the pandemic. The ceremony started with the simplest, most ancient of ingredients, and ended with warm, buttered smiles. 

The 2-ton stand-mixer. The slap, slap of flour incorporating water. The science experiment called yeast. The torture of letting fresh-baked bread rest 45 mins before slicing. Cleaning flour off of every surface for days.

When I start Zoom calls, bread reminds me to:

--Get back to the basics

--It's ok to get a little messy sometimes

--Be patient

--Find ways to eat more butter

Com + panis is ‘bread together’ in Latin. I hope you have ‘companionship’ today. It’s National Homemade Bread Day.