THE FOODIST

Trends be damned – Katie Bridges goes traditional with a switch to homemade, no-knead bread.

IT ALL STARTED when I found a loaf of store-bought bread in my cupboard three weeks after it was purchased. The scariest part about this discovery wasn’t its inedibility – quite the reverse. There were no signs of mould and the loaf's shape and appearance hadn't changed, but that didn’t keep it from swiftly landing in the garbage. Bread often gets a bad rap, especially around this time of year, when we’re eating well and looking for a food group to neatly blame all of our past transgressions on. But as we head into a new decade of dining, perhaps it’s time to re-investigate the real culprit. While mass-produced loaves are known for swapping whole grains for bleached flour and additives, baking fresh bread at home is a great way to covet the carb without foregoing your favourite food completely.

A couple of months ago, I discovered a no-knead bread recipe that was so easy and so satisfying, I’ve had limited contact with the bread aisle ever since. While countless recipes float around on the internet, my tried-and-true uses four simple ingredients that are probably already hiding in your cupboard waiting to be turned into delicious dough: all-purpose flour, water, salt and yeast. You can prep the night before and watch as your dough mountain grows into a delicious monster, then simply plonk your baby into a Dutch oven or deep pot and wait for 45 minutes as that incredible smell (and your hunger) fills the kitchen.

Yes, it’s possible that my carb-addled brain is desperately seeking excuses for not kicking my floury friend out of bed (literally, my bed is full of toast crumbs). But in a world where guidebooks for juice diets, charcoal cleanses and dodgy weight-loss vitamins are runaway internet bestsellers, it’s unreasonable to make an enemy of the fibre-filled staff of life. f

LOAVES AROUND Baking is both art and science and these creative geniuses stand out from Toronto's bread basket.

1. PRIMROSE BAGEL CO. We didn’t choose the bagel life, the bagel life chose us. What started as a series of pop-ups and backyard parties has grown into a “bagel lifestyle brand” with its very own store on St. Clair West. Primrose’s hand-rolled, maltboiled circles of doughy goodness are baked every day and served with their signature schmears like wasabi-tobiko cream cheese and beet-citrus salmon gravlax. primrosebagel.com

2. DRAKE COMMISSARY At this busy corner in the Junction Triangle, chefs, bakers, patrons and artists come together over some darn good dough. The Commissary is more than a bakery, it’s an 8,000-square-foot community-and-culinary hub set in a refurbished condiment factory. Take a workshop, grab a made-fromscratch loaf togo or sit down and break bread in the art-filled eatery. thedrake.ca/ drakecommissary

3. BLACKBIRD BAKING CO. Blackbird Baking Co. is the Michael Jordan of Toronto bakers, the GOAT of gluten, the – it’s just really good, okay? Since opening in Kensington nearly a decade ago, Blackbird’s talented team has been working around the clock to ensure Torontonians have hand-crafted loaves and fresh pastries made with local ingredients. Their new Riverside location opened a few months ago. @bbirdco