Freshly-baked bread dipped in homemade chicken soup is a meal of humble origins craved by gourmets and kings. Kids love chicken soup. Mine often request canned chicken soup through which a chicken once sprinted. How much healthier to create, simmer, and serve them homemade chicken soup? Aah, chicken soup for the soul, - but what about the tongue, and the belly?
Perhaps the cook is her own worst critic, but in truth, my family and my conscience have discouraged me from making homemade chicken soup. More than twice I've tried. More than twice, the dog staved off the common cold.
But this past week, I took up the cause again! Into a water-filled pot went the carcasses of two frozen chickens, left-over meat from a third, numerous brightly-colored vegetables, two handfuls of barley, dashes of seasonings, advice from two patient friends, and reassurance from the Joy of Cooking bible. All simmered together in a bubbling broth.
"What's that smell?!" some underage critic underfoot in my kitchen dared ask.
"That's dinner!"
"Oh."
I'd better have a back-up food, I realized. I chose bread.
So, yesterday afternoon, the kids and I went to the Silly Yak Bakery and Bread Barn in Madison. The bakery specializes in delicious breads baked without gluten for those suffering from celiac disease, but they also bake traditional breads and pastries. I requested a crusty bread to accompany my homemade chicken soup. Adeptly sizing up my kids, the friendly baker recommended Granny's White, - a hearty, wholesome bread, but white enough to fool those resistant to whole grains.
We paid, thanked him, dashed to the car, and passed out bread slices while buckling into our seats. With the quiet skill of a grandmother, Granny's White freshly-baked bread pacified the squabbling siblings. Munching happily, we drove home in peace.
The baker had recommended that I heat the bread to make it crusty and best for soup-dunking. So I laid slices on a baking pan, topped them with thin pads of butter, and toasted them in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes. The rest of the loaf, I served in a basket on the table.
This ages-old supper of chicken soup and crusty bread looked perfect. As expected, my hungry children devoured their slices of bread. Meanwhile, I urged them to eat the soup, which they dutifully tasted. In fact, they consumed spoonfuls. 
Pleased, I allowed them another slice of bread. They discussed how good the bread would taste in the morning with raspberry jam. They eagerly planned their next meals with Granny's White while surreptitiously using the backs of their spoons to flatten the chicken and vegetables into the bottom of the bowl. I knew this trick to create the illusion of consumption; I'd used it myself. But I did get momentarily deceived when Lauren pushed all the contents of her bowl to one side, making it appear that she had eaten half. I praised her good-eating, then realized, as the soup slipped back to the other side, that the half was really a quarter. Dave liked the chicken pieces and picked them out with his fingers. That's okay, I thought, at least he's eating it.
I denied their next request for bread. "You have to eat your soup." I said.
"I'm full." they said.
I'd lost, I knew. With a sigh, I released them from the table, and began to clean up. Momentarily distracted by Dave, I glanced toward the table and saw Lauren sneak another piece of bread. I scowled. She smiled.
Well, no matter, the dog and I enjoyed the chicken soup. It really was my best attempt. I especially liked it with my table-side addition of habanero hot sauce. Plenty of healthy, homemade, chicken soup remains, -two more meals wait in the freezer, and left-overs are ready for tonight. I'll have to pick up more bread though.
And Granny's White bread was so good that I'm entering it in the World Bread Day '08 food-blogging event.
Today, bloggers who bake and care about bread are showing off their favorites. The round-up of entries will be posted the weekend of Oct. 25-26th. Check them out!
If you're reading a food blog you likely already know how to make chicken soup. And I imagine that yours is pretty tasty, so I won't bother giving you my recipe. But I will tell you how to get the bread, because it's hard to make homemade bread this good. If you don't live in Madison, you can order the bread on-line. Here are links to fabulous, freshly-baked bread:
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Green Bay Homemade Gluten Free Bakery Pack
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Sheboygan Fresh Baked Hard Rolls
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Kid's Homemade Gluten Free Bakery Gift Package
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Madison Gluten Free Homemade Bakery Pack
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New Glarus Bakery Bread Sampler
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Receive $5.00 off the purchase price of any Wisconsinmade.com product by entering this offer code with your order: FBLOG1008. Offer expires Novemember 1, 2008.
I would like to have such a nice bakery near to my house.
Thx for your participation in WBD'08.
Posted by: zorra | October 23, 2008 at 01:48 AM