Casual Heroing

Chapter 68: Because

So, today well be learning something completely new about baking. Ill teach you both my recipe. This is not in the contract, but its something that people will soon pick up. Its not that complicated, and Ill give you both an edge over the rest of the city.

Its time to finally showcase the one thing Im truly good at.

This recipe comes from a despicable land. The original one, actually, comes from a neighboring country of theirs, but thats not important. Just know that the main peddlers in this are the French. Thats the people of France. Its a small stupid country in the world, dont worry about it.

I finally take out a huge pot and look to make sure that all ingredients are on the kitchen table in front of me. First rule of cooking have everything prepared in front of you. Even if you are a professional baker, otherwise you might forget something. I know more than one arrogant cook who forgot salt, or another integral ingredient from his recipes, because they did not prepare the ingredients beforehand.

Hybris takes the best cooks away.

Now, I know that you [Bakers] and [Cooks] have a skill to make the bread rise, right?

Its one of the first things you get as a [Baker], Joey, Flamina looks at me. She has no idea where Im going with this, does she?

Sure thing. But what if I told you that I have a much better solution? I tasted your bread and its plain. You need spices and whatnot to make it taste good, dont you?

It doesnt cross my mind at first that they could take this as an insult.

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When I look at their narrowed eyes, though well, they might be a little angry about the remark.

Sorry, I didnt mean to insult you. Its true, though. You are just making the bread puffier. Skills cannot really change the taste, can they? So, where I come from, very far, far away, we do this thing.

I take one of the containers where Ive stored the yeast and show it to them.

This is yeast. I got it fromshould I tell you? I scratch my beard.

There is a clause in the contract that says you are obligated to tell us where to fetch the ingredients, Camilla smiled thinly.

Sure. The where could be from me, though, couldnt it?

Thats a lot of money.

[Bakers] go through an insane amount of yeast every day.

Huh.

If I hire that [Brewer], I might make an insane amount of money just in yeast-sales.

Hes staring at the wall but hes not smiling like usual, Camilla says darkly.

I think hes going to rip us off, Flaminia nodded.

Well, girls. Never mind. Ill sell you the yeast when you need it. Ill make sure to have a lot of it.

Anyway, yeast, I keep going, is a living organism. Its super small and you cannot see it with a naked eye. While what you are using is similar to baking powder, yeast adds flavor and nutritional components to the bread. You know how stuff ferments? Well, theres a similar process involved here.

I take the sludgy substance that I got from the [Brewer]s beer barrel and slap it inside the massive pot.

You want to add some sugar to it before anything else, so that it will start eating and grow stronger. The yeast is not just a dough-raiser, but a truly important part of any baking process. Based on which yeast you use, how much, how long it stays, the flavor will change completely. I have in mind to create different types of yeast, especially for bread, Flaminia. That would make your bread demands skyrocket.

The two [Bakers] are looking at me with rapt attention.

This particular yeast is very sludgy already, so we dont need to add any warm water to make it more alive. Or to activate it, as people say. Now, lets start adding the rest. Its your usual stuff.

I take a pot of melted butter I had put on the stove a while ago and unceremoniously dump it in the pot. People always freak out when you do this, thinking you have to be gentle.

Amateurs.

Now, melted and normal butter in huge quantities. The butter is supposed to be extremely fat to get the best results. Plus, lets add a little bit of milk because.

Because? Camilla asks.

Because.

Thats your answer, lady.

Baking is a bit like being a witch. A real witch doesnt really know the why of every single step. She executes the recipe. Only extremely foolish chefs look for an answer to everything in the food world. Humans barely know enough about how the gastrointestinal part of their body works, even less about proper food. So, better not to speculate, and just keep experimenting with what works and what doesnt.

If you ever meet a chef that claims to be cooking by scientific principles, hes probably just a douchebag full of himself.

This may sound like a very douchy claim, but its just me being humble about cooking. We dont know much about the science behind it, and a few fat cooks saying otherwise wont change the fact. Lets focus on what we know and what we can control. It doesnt make sense to just claim wild stuff to sell more. If your food is good and does good to the body, it will sell.

Trust me.