Chapter 14: Soft bread(2).

Yakisoba bread, katsu bread, hamburgers. What faces would they make seeing all these breads lined up?

I started baking early in the morning.

Here we go—the main event: bread-making.

In a bowl, I mixed honey, salt, and purified water by hand until dissolved. I gently scooped the final yeast starter from its jar with a wooden spatula, adding it to the water to float, then blended it with a card. While rotating the bowl with one hand, I gently scooped the yeast starter with the card to incorporate it.

Next, I added flour and mixed with the card, blending the yeast starter and flour. Scooping from the bottom with the card helped combine them smoothly.

Once the dough came together, I moved it to a kneading surface.

Pushing the dough forward with both palms and pulling it back in a circular motion, I kneaded. As I continued, the dough stopped sticking to my hands, but I kept kneading. When it started sticking to the surface again, it was ready.

I took a clean bowl, lightly oiled it, shaped the dough into a taut round with the seam down, and placed it in the bowl, covering it with a damp cloth. I let it rise in a warm place for about three koku until doubled in size for primary fermentation.

I gently turned the dough onto the surface, shaping it with the smooth side up. Using a card, I divided it evenly into two, then each half into four.

I flattened each piece with my palm, folded it from front to back, turned it ninety degrees with the seam up, folded it lightly again, tucked the ends under to form a taut round, and placed it on the surface. I repeated for the rest.

I covered the dough with a thick damp cloth and let it rest briefly.

I reshaped each piece into a round, placed them on a lightly oiled oven tray, and covered them with a damp cloth. I let them rise in a warm place for about one koku until more than doubled for final fermentation. If the room was cool, fermenting in the oven like the primary stage worked well.

I dusted the dough with flour through a tea strainer and made a slit in the center of each with kitchen scissors. I baked them in a preheated oven, watching carefully.

Yes! They baked up fluffy! A lovely golden-brown with a toasty aroma.

These were for savory breads, sized like small rolls for various fillings.

Smiling, I grabbed mitts and put them on. I’d set a trivet on the table. Opening the oven door, the rich, toasted wheat aroma rushed toward me.

“Wow! This feels like a huge success!”

Muttering “hot, hot,” I carried the tray to the trivet with the mitts.

“…I made these in my past life.”

Serving them to the Cait Siths without tasting felt risky.

So, I picked one up. Still hot from the oven, I broke it in half and bit into the edge.

“Haf, oof, hot… But the wheat’s aroma is so toasty…!”

The natural yeast bread, free of additives, delivered pure wheat flavor to my tongue. The yeast starter worked perfectly, yielding a fluffy texture.

“This’ll make them happy.”

For fillings, I prepared katsu, yakisoba, and hamburger patties, making them one after another. To keep everything warm, I placed the breads and fillings on plates in the Warm Storage.

“For sweet breads, Danish pastries are the way to go.”

A jam-centered pastry with a flaky, pie-like crust would be perfect.

I imagined it while slicing the breads and adding fillings.

“That’d be nice. But it takes time, so maybe I’ll start prepping today and bake tomorrow.”

Surprising and delighting those cute Cait Siths twice would be fun.

I arranged the yakisoba bread, katsu bread, and hamburgers on a large plate—nine in total, so we could each try all three.

“Lunch is ready!”

I called out loudly. Come to think of it, how does my voice reach Abel in the Farm Utopia, a separate dimension?

Ignoring my own question, the two Cait Siths stopped their tasks and came running.

“Wash your hands!”

““Okay!””

Our usual exchange.

While they washed, I poured milk into three glasses for the three of us. Bread just feels right with milk—or is that just me? I set the glasses on the table where we’d sit.