The Lady of Shallot, by John William Waterhouse
Yesterday I finished reading a manuscript about a young girl who was raised in post-Edwardian England, a product, she claimed, of both the Victorian (mother) and Georgian (grandmother) eras. A collective thirty pages detail her aristocratic genealogy from both English and Scottish lineage. Throughout the novel she is referred to as The Lady __________, and it got me to thinking, all this talk about ‘lady’-dom amongst my female friends lately, well what does that mean, really?
Thanks to some clarification from the author, a few encyclopedias and the internet, I came to identify the main principles of Ladyhood, so, Ladies, here we go…
According to the Brits, nobility is a hereditary right, meaning my mother or father had to have been born noble in order for me to be given a title…. unless I marry, let’s say, a Duke or Baron. **How to Find Yourself a Duke or Baron will be included on DailyMade once I figure out that recipe** Since I am a single princess these days, I’m gonna stick with my hereditary nobility, which I have not for a single second ever doubted.
So, let’s start with my name: Pascale B. I am not married so I have no right to call myself The Noble Lady because Noble denotes marriage in the Scottish tradition. I could choose to call myself The Lady Pascale, but since I am the eldest daughter I am actually The Lady B. Dukes and Barons, feel free to call me Your Ladyship but don’t even dream of saying My Lady.
“A lady is 1. the female equivalent of a lord, 2. the counterpart of a gentleman, or 3. any adult woman”
1. I have been considered a woman for three years according to some, six years according to most, and eleven years according to my grandmother (mazel tov), but I certainly haven’t been a lady all that time.
2. I am certainly no gentleman’s counterpart. Even my ex-boyfriends aren’t gentlemen!
3. Female equivalent of a Lord? What the hell is a Lord? According to the Peerage of the United Kingdom, a Lord is a more commonplace term for Baron, the lowest rank of Peerage in the noble order. The word itself comes from the Latin baro meaning free and warrior. The first King William of England (1027 – 1087) introduced the title “baron” to distinguish men who had pledged him their loyalty. Interesting. As a female equivalent, I suppose I must learn to embrace my freedom think about where I pledge my loyalty. Ladies, baronesses, where do you lay your loyalty? Lovers? Friends? Your school? Your job? I pledge my loyalty mostly to my family and to my kitchen. Yes I am The Lady B, a Kitchen Baroness …
But there’s more. “The courtesy prefix of “Maid” is granted to the eldest daughter of a Lord.” And if I am the heir apparent to my father’s fortune (hah!) I can choose to add “Younger” to my title. So I could be called Miss Pascale, Maid of Kitchen, or, since I am the heir apparent to my father’s fancy imported salts: The Lady Pascale B, Younger. Mmmmm, I don’t think so.
But then…
The word comes from Old English hlǣfdige; the first part of the word is a mutated form of hlāf, “loaf, bread“, also seen in the corresponding hlāford, “lord”. The second part is usually taken to be from the root dig-, “to knead”, seen also in dough; the sense development from bread-kneader, or bread-maker, or bread-shaper, to the ordinary meaning, though not clearly to be traced historically, may be illustrated by that of “lord”.
Well, this is something I can relate to! As a liberated Lady, a warrior in the kitchen, I am happy to be at the end of a long line of bread-kneaders! I guess its time for me to make a loaf of bread, something I’ve never done before. And since it is the day before Channukah, I could bake a loaf of Challah bread and make my grandmother happy. Maybe I have been a Lady all this time. And so, without further ado…
Homeade Challah Bread
by The Lady B, Baroness of Gastronomy, and the Daily Maid
what you’ll need.
1 1/2 packages active dry yeast (1 1/2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup olive, plus more for bowls and cooking sheets
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon salt
8 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup raisins per challah, if using, plumped in hot water and drained
Poppy or sesame seeds for sprinkling.
preparing the dough.
1. In very large bowl (you’re dough is gonna rise in here) dissolve yeast in 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water and then mix 1 tablespoon sugar. Sugar is the necessary fuel to feed the growth and development of yeast
2. Whisk olive oil into the yeast mixture. Beat four of your eggs, one at a time. Then pour in half a cup of remaining sugar. I used white sugar for my Challah, but reliable sources tell me brown sugar or even honey works well. I haven’t tried it yet. Then add your salt and mix well with a whisk.
3. Add flour gradually, and switch from whisk to wooden spoon. Once the dough is firm, take it out and knead it on a floured surface. I don’t have any kinda money for a standing mixture, so I can’t advise you if that’s how you usually make bread. I always use my hands.
raising the dough.
4. Once the dough is smooth sit back for a moment and remark at its beauty. In fact there is little more that I find satisfying than a plump mound of perfectly kneaded dough. Siiiigggggghhhh. Clean your mixing bowl and grease it, well, with olive oil. Return your dough to the bowl and rest a sheet of plastic wrap on top of the bowl. Let it rise in the oven (previously preheated to 170 degrees and then turned off) for an hour, or until its doubled in size. At this point, take the dough out and place it on the hard, floured, surface again. Now I’ll tell you this is what I did tonight when I made my Challah, I kneaded it with my hands in fists, from the surface of my knuckles, and pushed dough from the edge, inward. I don’t know what inspired me to do that, but it felt and looked professional, so if you can make any sense of that direction, do it, or do whatever motion comes to you. Breadmaking is a beautiful and sensual experience and you should pay attention to your inner Lady when you handle it, gently and with control. Return your well loved dough to the bowl and let it rise in that warm oven for another half hour.
braiding the dough.
5. Now you’re gonna form your loaves. You must all know that Challah bread is braided, but what you may not know is that you can increase the number of braids when you’re making it. I opted for six instead of 3 braids, because I know another food blogger who did that and I got competitive. To do so, cut your dough in half (since the recipe yields two loaves) and divide each half into six equal sized balls which you’ll stretch into foot long strands of equal thickness. Now, to quote Deb from SmittenKitchen:
“Place the 6 in a row, parallel to one another. Pinch the tops of the strands together. Move the outside right strand over 2 strands. Then take the second strand from the left and move it to the far right. Take the outside left strand and move it over 2. Move second strand from the right over to the far left. Start over with the outside right strand. Continue this until all strands are braided.”
baking the dough.
6. Make the second loaf this way and let them rest for another hour, after brushing one thick coat of a beaten egg on top. After an hours rest, brush with a second thick coat of beaten egg, and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Then, bake for about half an hour at 375º, or until golden.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
goodnight.
