When DS, an
enthusiastic baking intern at the home kitchen, noted how quickly the dough
rose as compared to his previous experiences, I commented on the role of sugar
to jazz up the yeast, and salt to retard yeasty over-exuberance.
Put it this way:
it’s a prized balance of the bready arts.
This made a literary
quote pop out of my memory bank:
Henry James
I use adjectives, and I use adverbs. I’m aware of
their effects and omit them where they add nothing. I kill them where they
detract. But they have their place, and the key is balance.
No slavish rule following will help achieve balance.
Great writing is just this, measured and effective. Like fresh bread, which is
neither too light nor too doughy.
Wow. So many adjectives in this post. Which should I
have cut?
