Last week I made French bread rolls. From scratch. If you’ve ever made bread from scratch (not with a bread machine) you know how time consuming bread is. If you’ve ever made French bread, you know what I mean when I said, “What the hell was I thinking? This takes so much time! I can buy a loaf for $1.50!”

So you mix the ingredients (See Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook – yeah, the red one your mom or grandma has) and knead. Then you let rise for 2 hours. Then you punch dough down and let rise 45 more minutes. Then you shape into a loaf or rolls and baste with water. Let rise 30 more minutes. Then you baste with more water. Then you bake on high heat 10 minutes. Baste with more water, bake 10 minutes on low heat. Do you see what I mean?

It was a hell of a lot of work for 16 rolls. But… when I was kneading the dough in the warm kitchen, the smell of yeast and flour in the air, I thought, “How many women before me have done this? How many women have filled their families stomachs, staved off hunger, brought a smile to someone’s face, sent a taste of home to a battlefield, soothed a sick child, made someone remember the past… all with simple ingredients, the movements of their hands and time?”

I have time for that.