The Vanishing Half

I kept hearing about this book through various networks and was so excited to read it! Let’s just say I wasn’t disappointed 😉

A little about the book

The Vignes sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern Black community and running away at age sixteen, it’s not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it’s everything, including their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her Black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. Across the country, the other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, although separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined.

A little about the author

Brit Bennett is the author of New York Times bestselling novel The Mothers, a finalist for the NBCC John Leonard Prize for the best first book, the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction, and the New York Public Library Young Lions Award. She’s one of the National Book Foundation’s 5 under 35 honorees.

The Vanishing Half book review

What can I say other than it was utterly captivating? I didn’t know what “passing” meant before this book, but found the juxtaposition of Desiree and Stella’s lives to be heartbreaking as they pursued much different journeys yet both suffered from various afflictions. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about their backgrounds and found myself wanting to know more and more about the lives they chose to lead.

At first, I thought the book’s name was solely derived from the relationship of the sisters, but then realized that the vanishing half Bennett describes also encompasses gender, marriage, and self identity.

My one (teeny) complaint is that there was so much time spent on the relationship of the daughters (particularly Kennedy). I was craving to learn more about the sisters themselves. I understand the daughters make up the sisters’ stories, but still would have loved more time on just Desiree and Stella. Otherwise, it was definitely my favorite book of 2020 and I’m so happy to hear it won Book Of The Month’s Book of the Year award as well!

Highly recommend: ★ ★ ★ ★

PS: yes, that present on the left says “To: Bre, ❤️: Bre. I mean, you don’t get yourself Christmas gifts?! 🤣

Banana Oatmeal Bread Loaf

I don’t know about you, but I’m obsessed with banana bread. Give me all the different variations and inclusions and I’m a happy gal.

So when I came across this recipe on Weight Watchers, I was stoked. Not only delicious, but healthy too? Is that even possible?

I’m here to tell you that yes, yes it is. This banana oatmeal bread loaf was cozy, dense, and filling, with such great flavor. I made it as part of my meal prep for the week and ate it for breakfast each day with an apple on the side. While it’s not too sweet, it is sweet enough to be a dessert if you’re into bread as dessert (*raises hand).

It was super easy to make — check out my video below for evidence! — and could not have been a more perfect repeatable, warm breakfast for the workweek on these chilly mornings we’ve been having.

If you wanna give baking this a try, check out the full recipe on Weight Watchers’ website.

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Classic Artisan Bread Loaf

THIS is the bread that made me fall in love with bread-making. It’s the Overnight 40% Whole Wheat Bread recipe from Ken Forkish’s Flour Water Salt Yeast. Ken Forkish is a well-known restaurateur here in Portland, with his own bakery and pizza place (highly recommend both!).

When I first made the recipe I was convinced it was going to turn out like crud. It just seemed so precise, but even though I probably didn’t do everything perfectly correct, it turned out perfectly. Since then (a few years ago), I’ve probably made bread at least one time per month, but often more, and what I’ve learned along the way is that baking your own bread really is both fickle AND forgiving... but I haven’t messed up a loaf yet 🙏 

I’m not going to write up the recipe for you here because it’s his life’s work AND I truly believe the book is worth purchasing so you can learn from an expert. There are whole sections on what equipment you should invest in (see below for items similar to what I use), fundamentals and methods, how to handle dough gently, how to properly fold, and more.

Ingredients

The book is called Flour Water Salt Yeast for a reason. Those are the only ingredients he uses in the majority of the recipes throughout. Yes, you read that right. The ingredients are really that easy… it’s how you use the ingredients (the process) that really counts. But while we’re on ingredients, I’ll take a minute to discuss some of my favorite flours.

Ken mentions King Arthur Organic All-Purpose Flour in his book. I’ve used this brand for both White and Wheat recipes, and it is divine. I’ve also used Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose, Wheat, and Artisan Bread Flour, and all have been amazing as well. The key to flour, as Ken mentions in the book, is to use the best-quality flour you can find with protein in the 11-12% range. But he also says to try a variety of flours to see which you prefer. That’s why I like to mix and match… sometimes I’ll combine Wheat, Artisan Bread, and All-Purpose flours and it’s super yummy.

Of course, you’ll also need water, salt, and yeast as the title suggests, but Ken goes into great detail about these as well in the book, so I’ll leave it to the professional!

Equipment

You’ll need some basic baking supplies like oven mitts and measuring cups, but there are a few items specific to bread-making that aren’t so every day. Below are similar to the things I purchased that have made all the difference in baking my own artisan bread.

From the top left:

1. Stainless steel dough scraper

2. Cambro 12qt round container with lid

3. OXO digital kitchen food scale

4. Lodge 4qt cast iron dutch oven (Ken recommends a 4qt size. This one looks like it’s currently unavailable, so I’m also linking the closest thing in a 5qt size here.)

5. 2 cane banneton proofing baskets (Ken recommends 9-inch. I’ve linked a 10-inch version that looks exactly like mine. I LOVE these. They are amazing for proofing, and give your bread a beautiful artisan-looking design on top of the loaf.)

6. Precision instant read thermometer

Love

Ok, now I’m going to sound cheesy, but baking bread is really all about the love you put into it. It brings me SUCH joy every time I make an artisan loaf, dinner rolls, pizza dough, loaf bread, and more. And the more I do it, the more I love it. There is just something so grounding and peaceful about being able to create such sustenance from scratch for you and your family. If you embark on your own bread-making journey, I truly hope you find the same joy I have. It’s a wonderful thing.