THE SANDWICH DIARIES: S1.E9. "Fear of Failure"

When I phoned my dad, who used to be a professional baker, to ask him for some hints on how to make rye-bread his answer was: "It is very hard and I could never really perfect it myself, so I haven't got tips for you". As you can imagine, this in combination with self-inflicted pressure of a typical perfectionist was about as discouraging as looking for a well-payed job while being a "creative arts" degree graduate.

Nevertheless, I thought I'd give it a go. After all, what is there to lose, except a certain level of self-expectation and a fair hit to public image. So I woke up earlier than anyone could reasonably expect from me (I.e. before 11am) and got on with it.

After covering my whole kitchen in flour, sticky dough and tears I have successfully managed to get a couple of loaves going. One followed the recipe, the other was a controlled improvisation and 4-5 hours later the bake was done. Both loaves turned out to be a little flatter than I hoped, but after tasting them I realised that they were actually pretty great.

So don't be afraid to fail. Do your research, try your best and it should all work out. And even if it doesn't, don't worry, you could always try again or have a plan B, like going to one of the very many craft bakeries and getting an amazing loaf there and maybe getting some tips ready for your next bake, or whatever it is you are doing. Or in the words of wise Jake the Dog "Don't worry dude, sucking at something is the first step to becoming sorta good at something", so don't give up.

Peace and love.

P.S.

It's meat day tomorrow guys.