For Senior Religion Majors Bethany Ringdal and Brendan Wilkes and Senior Philosophy Major Alex Legeros, baking bread is more than just a fun hobby.

“Bread brings people together,” Wilkes said, “You invite people in and you share it.” While they all share a common philosophy about making bread, the three bakers became interested in bread at different times of their lives.

Ringdall grew up making homemade bread and learned the skills among her family. She has continued making bread while at college. Wilkes had been cooking for years, but one day thought “Bread! What a cool idea!” Ringdal and Wilkes, the dynamic bread making duo, bought a bread machine a while back and “it migrates” between their rooms, Ringdal said.

Legeros became interested in bread after an encounter kneading clay for his father, a sculptor. After finding that he was successful with clay, Legeros decided to transfer his newfound skills to bread dough. “I’m a huge fan of carbs in general,” Legeros said, so making bread was a perfect match for him anyway.

Besides the normal challenges of mastering the bread making process, being able to even utilize their skills in the kitchen comes with some obstacles when living on campus. Time, cost and availability of space often become issues for all three of them.

“The dorm kitchens are really horrifying,” Ringdal said. “[The refrigerators are] full of molding Gustie Ware, and there is always the potential of having things stolen. It can be really frustrating.” Wilkes cautioned that if you have a roommate, it can be hard to find enough space to store your utensils. For Ringdall and Wilkes, who are Norelius Hall Collegiate Fellows, “There is often equipment that we don’t have access to,” Wilkes said of the lack-luster Norelius kitchen.

Legeros, who lives in the Swedish House with a large kitchen, doesn’t have an issue with space. His problems coincide with the logistics of making the bread itself. “A lot of my problems occur in the trial process,” he said.

All three agreed that the cost of materials was a big complication, as well. Another deterrent is having the necessary time to make bread at all. However, all three agree that making bread is a priceless experience. “It’s so worth it,” Ringdal said, “but it’s hard to justify when there is so much else to do.”

Their philosophy about making bread is central to why they consider it to be priceless. “[Bread is] the foundation of our eating,” Wilkes said, “the basic food of life.”

“There’s something really empowering about being intimately connected to our most basic needs,” Ringdal said. “Being able to create the things that nurture yourself and your family is very precious.”

“As long as you follow some basic structure, you know that bread is going to turn out [well],” Legeros said. “Bread can be a very stable thing to be a part of.”

Wilkes outlined a basic structure of making bread for students interested in making their own. For yeast rising breads, start by mixing wet ingredients, then dry ingredients together. Knead for about 10 minutes (depending on the bread) and let rise (usually until it doubles in size.) After it has risen the first time, shape the bread into the desired shape and let it rise again. “Then you take it, eat it and it’s really good,” Wilkes said.

The group had a few helpful tips for beginners, as well. Their first piece of advice is to avoid a common bread-making pitfall of “killing the yeast.” In the average yeast-rising bread, beginners often “kill” the yeast by adding ingredients to the mixture that are too hot and ruin the yeast needed to raise the dough. As a good rule of thumb, remember this phrase: “If it’s too hot for your finger, it’s too hot for the yeast,” Wilkes said. “[Always] err on the side of being too cold,” Legeros said.

Legeros advised to place bread on a drying rack to cool instead of sitting it on a solid surface to avoid soggy bread.

Wilkes encouraged students to utilize online resources when looking for recipes and helpful guidelines. “You don’t have to go buy a book,” he said.

“Find some friends to do it with,” Ringdal said. And most of all, “don’t be afraid of it.”

Brendan’s Favorite Irish Soda Bread

This is not a yeast bread, but it is both delicious and easy to make in a college dorm. Real buttermilk, while the ideal ingredient, can be substituted by getting milk from the cafeteria (2% or skim) and adding either a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar per cup of milk (a little less lemon juice or else your bread will have a lemon zing to it!). Vinegar is cheap and the cafeteria often has lemons.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups flour (all white or 3 cups whole wheat to 1 white are good combinations)
• 2 tablespoons white sugar (skip if you’re a purist)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar (this is actually not an essential ingredient, but it adds a nice flavor. Skip it if you want)
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (depending on your taste)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 tablespoons softened and 1 melted) (again, not for Irish purists)
• 1 1/2 – 1 3/4 cups buttermilk (usually more butter milk yields better taste and texture, but it makes the dough a little harder to work with. Go with 1 1/2 your first time and go from there.)

Instructions:

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk flours, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt in large bowl. Work softened butter into dry ingredients with fork or fingertips until texture resembles coarse crumbs.
2. Add buttermilk and stir with a fork just until dough beings to come together. Turn out onto flour-coated work surface; knead until dough just becomes cohesive and bumpy, 12 to 14 turns. (Knead as little as possible, otherwise the bread will be tough)
3. Pat dough into a round about 6 inches in diameter and 2 inches high; place on greased baking (cookie) sheet or in a cast iron pot/skillet, if using. Cut a cross shape into the top of the dough.
4. Bake until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center of loaf comes out clean or internal temperatures reaches 180 degrees, 40-45 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with the melted tablespoon of butter.

Alex’s Red Onion Focaccia Bread

Ingredients:

For bread:

• 1 cup warm water
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cups white bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon rapid rise yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage
• ¼ Red Onion, chopped

For topping:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ red onion, sliced strips
• 4-5 fresh sage leaves
• 2-3 teaspoons coarse sea salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine water, yeast and 1 cup of flour into a bowl. Cover and set aside for 10-15 minutes, or until the mixture begins to bubble.
3. Sautee chopped red onion in butter until it beings to golden. Combine with sage and take off heat.
4. Add the olive oil, salt, and sugar to dough mixture. Once onions have cooled to touch, add the contents of the frying pan into the bread (even the buttery oils… that’s the secret).
5. Stir in the rest of the flour ½ cup at a time until dough is sticky and the flour has no lumps.
6. Knead dough on floured surface for 8-12 minutes, or until dough is happy. Tips: oil hands for kneading, and be sure to love the dough as you’re handling it.
7. Place dough in oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit until doubled in bulk (25-40 minutes).
8. Transfer dough to oiled pan (can be circular or round) and punch down to size. Let sit 5 minutes, and then correct the size as needed. Cover and let stand another 15-20 minutes.
9. Dimple dough with fingers (bread should not spring back too much). Brush on the olive oil across the bread, and arrange the rest of the topping on the surface. It is optional to add cheese (Parmesan or other good Italian variety) on top.
10. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden. Place on wire rack and serve warm.