I thought I’d make bread for lunch. (It’s a semi-retirement day.) The idea occurred to me too late, so I decided to try the bread-machine’s fast-bake setting. I measured my ingredients carefully, but evidently not carefully enough. It came out underdone: solid, squishy, and pale. Pasty – as in complexion, not the Cornish kind.
I could fix this. Into the oven it went, and then I sat down to reply to Checkatrade. My dealings with them have been wholly positive. (More than can be said about one of their traders, but let’s not go there.) I composed one of my best replies, because I do appreciate the care they’ve taken with my complaint.
My nose alerted me to a problem. I had forgotten about the underdone loaf. ‘Well-fired’ is a thing in Scottish bread products, admittedly. But I’m no’ Scottish, and I can tell a burnt loaf when I smell it.
Ah, well. I sent my email, and the dead bread proved surprisingly edible. I won’t be using ‘fast-bake’ again. Neither will I bake it myself – I’ll just stick to what I know!
Karen McAulay, Musicologist 