Ah, bread. That nourishment which so well sustains us, that satisfies the belly, that fills us up, that gives us the energy we run on. It, as a word, can stand for the actual substance of bread made from wheat, water and yeast. Or it can stand for the money we use to procure our continued existence.

We can today, as we say, know what side out bread's buttered on, but we also know that we cannot live on bread alone. And if something really captures our admiration, we can say it's the best thing since sliced bread.

The actual English word bread tracks back to Old English, coming from the German Brot, which is related to the Dutch brood. And it is, as Martha would say, a very good thing.

It is, also, as is possibly already apparent, my latest obsession. I simply revel in bread and am soon to do more so. My book's on its way: my book on bread, my book on the making of it with so little effort it nearly shames me. The book's called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Google it if you'd like.

And so, from my house to yours, happy eating and may you have a blessed New Year.