The Baker's Daughter

I love to bake.  I love to eat.  I love a good story.

From very little substance but with much love and effort a country rose up to take back its power much like what happens when you make bread.  Like when capturing yeast from spoiled milk, the milk goes sour and starts to breed bacteria which is similar to when a people have had enough of their leadership and soured by them breeding dissension.  Feed the bacteria and it will grow into its own culture.

I lived in Germany for three years and enjoyed my travels in Europe.  The food, the sites, the culture in Germany are more than just the costumes and castles.  They are survivors that have rebuilt.

I lived on the economy in a small town called Markt Einersheim in Bavaria.  My apartment was sandwiched between the landladies quarter and her daughters' apartment above me.  Omi was located in the basement.  We became a family for three years.  We laughed and cried and quarreled at times.

In the spring I would grow plants and share the seedlings with my landlady.  One year I had  too many tomato plants and gave her a dozen.  She repaid me that year with plums and butter head lettuce.  Little gifts would appear on my door step like cookies and I would bake some for her too.  The holidays were extra special with the baskets of wine and sweets.

The German hospitality is something to be appreciated.  One must remember to reciprocate too.   If I was invited to a dinner party I would bring two bottles of wine one white one red.  I didn't always know what was on the menu so I played it safe.  My German friends loved a good home cooked meal and their love of cooking really showed with how they displayed the foods on the table.

This novel brought back some of my most favorite memories of Germany.  I can't wait to try out the recipes at the end of the book.


This post is inspired by Sarah McCoy's The Baker's Daughter. In a small Texan town, Reba discovers Elsie's German Bakery and falls in love with more than the pastries. Shes drawn to Elsie's life in Germany during the last year of WWII. Join From Left to Write on August 29  as we discuss Gone Girl. As a member, I received a copy of the book for review purposes.