Today we made bread! We started off, in the morning, to the bread maker, Eucaris Domínguez’s, house where we saw the large furnace or horno. After that, we watched as she formed a bowl shape with a large pile of flour and proceeded to incorporate in oil, water, eggs, and yeast. Some of us helped to mix in the ingredients, and after the dough was mixed we let it rise for 45 minutes. While the dough was rising, we started making another type of dough that had coconut and molasses. After we finished mixing this we waited for the doughs to rise and lit the furnace. Once the dough had risen, small pieces were cut off and rolled into small strands. These strands were used to make small circles, double braids, and triple braids. For the sweater coconut dough, we simply formed and placed small circles onto a tray. After we had used all of the dough, we watched as they placed the trays full of our bread-to-be into the glowing, fiery depths of the furnace. While we waited for the bread to cook, some of us tried mangoes that were growing nearby. As each wave of the different kinds of bread slowly came out of the furnace, we got to try them, and it seemed like they just kept getting better. After trying all the delicious bread and sweets, we returned home for our second to last afternoon in Guararé. While we were relaxing, torrents of rain suddenly erupted from the skies and some of us jumped at the opportunity to get soaked and play frisbee outside.
– Ian Hill and Jonah Levy
Click here to see photos of artisanal bread making, April 19
Click here for short video of bread making sequence