Rhythm & Rye

aka. My weird and wonderful Wonderland story is coming out, so here's a recipe for the bread the protagonist munches on during the story. Cuz why not.

Howdy, y’all! Tis been a while.

Some of you are probably wondering, “What, who is this person? Did I sign up for this newsletter?” Which… fair. And so, if you wish to unsubscribe, no hard feelings.

For those who feel like reading on, hello! Quick refresher: I’m Sarah. Or Jake. Either works. I’m a boy mom, super tall, love to sew in the most chaotic of spurts, and tend to write fantasy stories with vibes of fairytales, tall tales, cryptids, and family.

I am writing today about one of said stories. Of the retelling variety. My spin on the world of Alice in Wonderland, found in the upcoming anthology…

The Wonder Tales Vol. I

My story is called ‘Ches’ and tells the tale of Alice’s adventure down the rabbit hole from a different perspective. That of Cheshire, a shapeshifting young man whose voice has been taken. By whom? He’d rather not talk about it. Though his best friend, Hatter, may be more than willing to spill the tea—hopefully, not literally—to this strange girl named Alice. A girl who is undoubtedly more trouble than Ches signed up for, regardless of her curious nature and pretty brown eyes.

Honestly, it’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever written, sprinkled with malaphores and made up words and possibly too many emdashes—though Ches would beg to differ—and I absolutely adore it!

It’s also the longest thing I’ve published yet, slipping in as a novelette (for those who don’t know the terminology, they are—in descending length—novels, novellas, novelettes, short stories, and flash fiction.)

And as a weird little celebration of this publication, I offer you, BREAD!

Specifically, my recipe for:

Hatter’s Rhythm & Rye Bread

In a large bowl, dump…

1 package instant yeast (none of this dry active business)

1 1/2 c. water

1/2 c. mild molasses

1 T. salt

…and mix until salt is dissolved. Immediately move on by adding…

1 1/2 c. rye flour

1/2 c. oat flour (can you use regular flour instead? yes. but why would you when this is better?)

2 1/4 c. all purpose flour

…and mix until combined. Continue to add all purpose flour by the scoop—aka. 1/8 c. -ish at a time—until the dough is your desired ‘bread dough texture.’ Mine is quite sticky, but roughly pulls away from the bowl when shoved about with a wooden spoon.

Now set a plate on top the bowl to serve as a lid and move on with the rhythm of your day.

Pause periodically—every 15-30 minutes is usually good—to flop & fold your dough, adding a little more flour each time if need be in order to make it more manageable.

((Note: If you don’t know how to flop & fold bread dough, check the internet. There are many variations, and different flops suit different folks. Honestly, mine changes depending on the day and due to nothing other than my own whims. Don’t overthink it.))

After about 4-6 rounds of flop/folds, shape the dough into something loaf-ish, settle it on a sheet of parchment paper, and drop it back into your dirty bowl—trust me, it’s fine—replacing the plate that serves as your lid.

Let the dough rise until just shy of “big and puffy”, then preheat your oven to 375 degrees with your preferred baking vessel within. I prefer a dutch oven, but a cookie sheet can work fairly well.

Once oven & vessel are toasty hot, lift your parchment perched dough out onto the counter, and slash it rather aggressively. Or less aggressively, if you prefer. Now drop your parchment and dough into the baking vessel—I add a couple ice cubes to my dutch oven before replacing the lid to trap a burst of steam—and bake for the appropriate amount of time, then cool.

dutch oven: 20 minutes lid on, 20-25 minutes lid off… -ish. Maybe longer.

cookie sheet: 40-45 minutes, give or take, I don’t really know because I don’t use this method often enough to truly keep track.

*You’re hunting for that sweet spot, where the bread sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom, but not far beyond, in effort to avoid dry bread and burnt crusts.

If your bread ends up undercooked? Well, cut around the claggy middle and enjoy the outer rim without shame.

If overcooked? Perhaps search for a “rye bread pudding recipe” within the previously mentioned internet. Bread pudding is a highly underrated dessert and more folks should partake in its delight.

So, yeah. I hope you and your loved ones enjoy this bread as much mine does!

And I hope you’ll consider getting The Wonder Tales vol. I on or after June 30th in order to read my story, as well as the other delightful stories within this anthology!

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cue book blurb:

Welcome to the world of madness, riddles, and wonder.

Within these pages, multiple authors weave short stories and novelettes that twist and turn everything you thought you knew about falling down the rabbit hole.

The hat seller is madly determined to leave Wonderland. A shape shifting Cheshire seeks to retrieve his voice. A Spade digs his fellow guard’s graves. A prince sets out to slay the Jabberwock. Alice‘s sister conspires to save her from the Madman’s Menagerie. Ginger wanders too deep into a looming forest. A hat tailor is in over his head with love. Madwomen band together to free the newest member of their institute. A vampire faces off with the White King and Queen to save his partner in crime.

So, turn the page if you dare. But you’ve been warned. We’re all mad here.