Fresh bread

Today I'm talking bread ... the kind you eat, not the slang for currency.  I bake my own bread.  Is there anything that smells better than fresh baked or baking bread as that wonderful aroma from those wholesome loaves wafts its way throughout the house out open windows filling the area with a sense of warmth and goodness? There is a saying that "_____ is the best thing since sliced bread."  (I"ll let you fill in the blank.)  Sliced bread certainly is a novelty when one stops to think about it, but it doesn't necessarily fit the total picture of wonderful.  Each culture has their own version of bread each providing a sense of home and satisfaction.  In many places in the world one would be hard pressed to attempt to slice bread.  To name a few, think about the Middle Eastern pitas which are folded, the tortilla which is also folded, the Norwegian lefsa which is rolled and the Ashkenazic bagel ... Ok, so modern culture has decided the bagel may be sliced latitudinally to force them into the guise of a sandwich; still, the bagel did not begin with this intent and many sticklers refuse to give in here.  While we are talking sandwiches, this was the revolutionary idea of the 18th century which developed into the notion of slicing bread and credited to the British 4th Earl of Sandwich who refused to leave off gaming for meals and required his servants to bring him a piece of meat between two pieces of bread.  Before this time, chunks of bread were broken from a loaf and slathered with creamy butter and jams.  It did not need to be sliced to enjoy its savor.  I submit that hot fresh baked bread is better than sliced bread anyway you cut it.   One can almost smell the delicious atroma ...