"It resembles the bread described for district three in Catching Fire. And I don't know why but there is something comforting in being able to eat bread that reminds me of one of my favourite book series'." You see, either way, that's true. There is something very comforting in having a piece of your imaginary world come to life. It makes it seem real. it makes the life you're living more bearable. It gives you something to look forward- an escape. People say that reading is an escape; a chance to get away to a different place, a different world. And I guess maybe it's nice to be able to go into that world, where this one doesn't matter, by eating bread; not even having to reach for the book.
And you're there.
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| District 3 |
District 3 bread
500g wholemeal strong (bread) flour
250ml water (skin temperature)
50ml milk
2tsp easy-rise yeast
As much sunflower oil as necessary
Probably the simplest bread recipe you'll find full-stop.
Mix the milk, water and yeast. Allow a layer of foam to form on the top- this is your only clue to whether you've killed your yeast or not. If your water feels warm and a foam hasn't formed within ten minutes, start again with slightly cooler water. Mix 2/3 of this solution into the flour with a wooden spoon. Add the rest after mixing the dough. Begin to knead the dough. Add sunflower oil one teaspoon at a time until all the flour is combined into one ball of dough. It should feel greasy and soft. Continue kneading for 6 minutes. Roll into a long cylinder then cut into 8 rounds. Cut each round in half so they form semi circles. Squash each roll with your palm and place on a greased baking tray in a warm room to rise for 1-2 hours. Cook in an oven at 230*C for 15-20 minutes.
In Catching Fire the bread from district three is shared out between Beetee, Finnick, Johanna, Peeta and Katniss, after Wiress is killed and Mags has sacrificed herself. They have 20 rolls and it is described as small, square, grainy rolls. Peeta also talks about it in The Hunger Games when he tries to teach Katniss about bread from different districts in the Training Centre.
District 11 bread
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| District 11 before baking |
500g Strong (bread) flour
220ml milk
1tbsp honey
1 egg
1/2tsp nutmeg
1tsp ground mixed spice
2.5tsp easy-rise yeast
2tsp sunflower oil
(2tbsp poppy seeds) - optional
Mix the yeast, spices, nutmeg (poppy seeds) and flour. Warm the milk slightly and stir in the honey. Add 1/3 of the milk mixture to the flour mixture. Stir thoroughly. Mix in the rest of the milk. The consistency of the dough should be crumbly but soft, not yet combining. It may look like bread crumbs depending on the flour brand you use. Beat and add the egg with the oil. Mix then begin to knead. If flour remains in the basin, add a little more milk. Knead for 8 minutes then divide into half. Roll into two balls and cover with a damp tea towel. Leave to rise in a warm place for 2 hours. Gently deflate the dough and roll into flat rounds. Divide each into 8 pizza-like slices. Roll up, starting with the wide end and finishing with the pointed end. Gently mould the pieces to curve into cresent moon shapes. Cook for 15-20 minutes in an oven at 230*C or until light/golden brown.
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| District 11 |
District 11 bread features heavily in The Hunger Games, firstly when Peeta teaches Katniss about the district breads in the Training Centre, and secondly when district 11 send the bread intended for Rue after her death in the arena. It is said to be sweet, a cresent moon shape and dotted with seeds, taken to be poppy seeds. In Catching Fire on the Victory Tour, Katniss thanks the district, finishing with "Thank you for your children. And thank you, for the bread".
Firstly I'll point out the fact that I'm re-reading the series, secondly I'll add that the first recollection happened on Monday when I was playing super Mario 3D world with one of my brothers, Ben and thirdly I'll tell you that I've made bread this afternoon. I intended to also paint, inspired by Easter ever-so recently, but unfortunately, like most things I intend to do, I seem to have had motivational misjudgment. On Monday, I allowed myself to admit that The Hunger Games (by Suzanne Collins) is my favourite book series, second only to Chaos Walking (by Patrick Ness).
Bread has a great significance in the trilogy and you'll understand how if you read them. From the first mention of the Games by Gale, to the first meeting of Katniss and Peeta, to the saviour in the arena, to the prep team in Mockingjay and Octavia in particular interacting with Katniss twice through bread. It is the only book series I've read where bread is not only a prominent, but also very strong, reoccurring theme.
I like baking bread. I like seeing something come from nothing. I like the smell that fills the house when I leave a loaf to bake; I like the comfort of eating the bread I made less than an hour ago and inhaling warm fumes from inside the rolls. I like watching it rise and I love the outcome. It would be a very tiresome process if it weren't for the reward you get at the end. I like the anticipation when you're proving the dough. I like the way different styles represent different cultures. I like the fact that it can turn a snack into a meal, and it is a basis for bringing people back from the brink of starvation.
Bread isn't readily available for everyone. There are many, many cultures where all bread is baked from scratch- just like in The Hunger Games. Grain and oil has to be bought at a price, and the grain has to be ground, refined and baked into bread. I took the liberty of doing a very tiny bit of research into bread for different cultures around the world today.
Sri Lanka - Appa: fermented rice flour; shaped by the cooking utensil; look like thin, bowl shaped pancakes; neutral taste and often eaten as an accompaniment to spicy condiments or curried for breakfast or dinner.
Japan - Anpan: A sweet bun filled with red bean paste or sometimes chestnut.
Russia, Poland and Ukraine - Babka: This one is particularly interesting for me. A heavy, sweet yeast cake glazed with fruit flavoured icing, filled originally with some sort of fruit. Some these days contain chocolate or cheese fillings. When I was very young, my sister and I were added into a chain of 'Friendship Cake'. The current craze is Herman The German Friendship Cake. Our chains were essentially Bobkas made in shifts. This also makes the name inaccurate, considering they're not German... They were made in 10 steps, and at each step you divide the mixture in four and pass it on to three friends, keeping a portion yourself. You could receive this cake at any of the 9 first stages- the 10th stage was cooking- and get exactly the same quantity as anyone else in the chain. This was because it was a yeast cake and the batch was constantly expanding. The idea was that you and your friends could begin to make the cake from step one. By the time you and your three friends were all done, over 1,000,000 of these cakes could be in circulation from your original strain of yeast and still all be growing, demonstrating the connection of friendship that brings so many people together. Unfortunately, the recipe was on email and Sister's friends' mum had received the email and then printed it for her daughter. This girl then split the mixture, made her cake, crossing out each stage as she went, whilst she waited for the other three batches to expand (as per the NB on the email). She gave my sister a batch of the primitive yeast cake and her own sheet of instructions. We followed the one instruction Haley hadn't crossed out- step 10 'add chocolate chips and bake'. We didn't have any chocolate chips so we chopped up a couple of Animal Bars and threw them in then baked the batch. Little did we know that Haley had divided the batch at step 1, and we had skipped the next 8 steps... Oops. I think we realized our mistake somewhere between having a flat, dense, chewy cake with chocolate crud lining the bottom and reading the whole instruction sheet. YAY CHILDHOOD. The 'cake' didn't do any harm (apart from the major dents to both our egos), but the yeast was all killed in the fiery throws of the oven.
UK/Canada - Bannock: Traditional flatbread made in a round, made of barley or oatmeal. Unleavened then cooked traditionally on a bannock stane (Scottish word meaning stone), but more recently a griddle, giving a circular shape.
Native Americans, North America - Bannock: Similar to the UK and Canadian bread, but slightly more primitive flour and not a flatbread (they used a leavening agent), made from tree sap, maize, roots and leavening agents.
Poland - Bublik: A small, round, sweet wheat bread. Usually made with egg whites, milk and butter.
Chile - Hallulla: A flatbread baked with butter. Usually small and used for a type of sandwich, cooked in four-scored rounds and broken to vague squares once cooked. (In my opinion slightly resembles an unleavened district three bread)
Ethiopia - Himbasha: A flatbread with a slightly sweet taste. There are a wide variety and are usually used for celebrations such as anniversaries and coming-of-age celebrations. Most commonly flavored would be with ground cardamom seeds.
Yemen/Israel, Somali - Lahoh: An unusual bread in my opinion; a leavened flatbread! Made with water, flour, self raising flour, yeast and a pinch of salt. A sweet tasting variety is made with eggs. They appear pancake-like and have a unique spongy texture. A Somalian breakfast is traditionally three Lahoh with honey and a cup of tea.
Norway - Lefse: Made with cream, flour and potato. A soft flatbread, cooked on a griddle.
China - Mantou: A steamed bun, made of white flour and often sweetened.
Serbia - Proja: "Small muffins or loaves of cornbread, was popular in times of widespread poverty, now is a common everyday meal"
"Was popular in times of widespread poverty."
That's one thing that really stands out to me. A lot of people won't think twice about eating their breakfast, their Proja or their Lahoh or their Pita. But to that man, that woman, that child even, the type of bread they're eating could well have been the reason they're alive today. After all, if their ancestors hadn't lived, they wouldn't be alive. If their ancestors hadn't survived poverty, famine, drought- if their ancestors hadn't laid their hands on that loaf at that very moment they did, that person now might not ever have existed.
Yet again bread has made a reoccurring theme in the lives of people in our world.
Our world, not the world I escape to when I read, not the one I live in when I sleep.
No.
This world, right here, right now.
The one you can see, hear, feel all around you.
The one that is as real to you as I am. Writing this. Reading this.
Bread.
Who knew I could get so deep on bread.
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