Crusty Bread
Chapter 5: Dragon Inquisition
Svend headed to the agreed upon meet up site, a little clearing about a mile outside of the village. He and Gregory had decided that this was not a conversation they wanted overheard. As he approached, Svend kept his senses alert, knowing he could be walking into a trap. He suspected Gregory was a fellow dragon but he could also be a dragon hunter or another dangerous shape shifter. As he grew near, he smelled sulfur and the temperature seemed to rise, despite the setting sun. He kept his dragon form close to the surface in case he needed a quick transformation. He would never want to encounter an enemy in his fragile human form, but he hoped by approaching as a human he would show Gregory that he was not an enemy.
Apparently Gregory had no such scruples, Svend saw the massive dragon as soon as he entered the clearing. Gregory was at least the height of three horses and his scales were a beautiful gold trimmed with ruby, with huge ruby red eyes. Dragons grow as slowly as they age, usually reaching their adult height and maturity around year 200. Gregory was well past the two horse adult height which meant he was probably at least 500 years old. Dragons are usually deep gem colors, which is why they love collecting jewels so much, they remind them of their own inherent beauty.
Now, to be completely honest, Svend was immediately intimidated. He was only about 320 years old (dragons don’t keep very exact records of their age,) and only the very respectable height of two horses. He was also envious of Gregory’s deep ruby coloring as it signified royal dragon blood. Svend’s body was a dark emerald color, with sapphire trimmings on his wings and
The spines across his back . He had thought he was rather dashing, but for dragons, he paled in comparison to Gregory. Intimidation aside, Svend knew that he needed to immediately change forms so he could talk to Gregory in the mother tongue.
“So, it appears you have finally discovered the secret of the royals.” Gregory drolled. “We have been infiltrating the human villages for centuries as their ‘dragon spotters’ in order to stay ahead of their dragon weapons and mislead them with false dragon weaknesses.”
“Do you hurt the humans?” Svend immediately hated himself for showing such sentimental weakness in front of the royal dragon but it seems he had legitimately grown fond of his new fragile friends.
“We do not hurt them. They hurt themselves often enough with their fighting and diseases and foolishness. We merely keep a close watch on their technological advances, and enjoy the finer things of humanity while we’re at it. We also keep them distracted with occasional appearances so they stay focused on their idea of dragons and don’t come hunting us down in earnest. You know our numbers are small and we all live rather isolated lives. If the humans became aggressive in their dragon hatred, we could be in a spot of trouble.” Gregory explained as if speaking to a fragile child.
“Do you…. like the humans?” Svend could not help his own curiosity. If Gregory had been living among them this whole time, surely some of their kindness had rubbed off on him.
“Eh. They entertain me. But I know my place as a royal amongst dragons. I do not have time for their petty squabbles and affections.” Gregory was not offended by this question, as Svend feared for he had seen first hand the allure of their simple lives.
“Why have the royals kept this practice a secret?” Svend would have infiltrated the human village decades ago if he knew that was a thing.
“If all the dragons lived with humans, we would die out very quickly. Keeping our presence secret helps us remember the importance of returning to dragon form and keeping our emotions in check around the humans. It is also important that the humans never suspect our presence for they would surely hunt us down in human form and kill us while we are more vulnerable. The royals were the only line deemed responsible enough to keep our secret whilst interacting regularly with the humans. Which begs the question: what shall we do with you?” Gregory stopped to ponder this new predicament.
“If I may be so bold as to suggest, you let me stay in the village. I will gladly swear to follow your fore-mentioned rules and return to my dragon form daily to maintain my abilities.” Svend offered hesitantly, knowing full well Gregory could destroy him for discovering their long held secret.
“I think that will suffice for the time being. You will need to check in with me regularly, and come before the court to swear formally. I will, obviously, remain in the area to keep an eye on you. You know how we hate to waste dragon blood, I would hate to have to dispose of you.” Gregory eyed Svend dubiously, as if he really wouldn’t mind disposing of him after all.
“Thank you, my Lord. I shall endeavor to do the dragon race proud. Would you care to join me for a slice of bread at the blacksmith’s house?” Svend was certain there was nothing more comforting than a slice of warm crusty bread after a challenging conversation.
“I suppose that would be acceptable.” Gregory hid his smile, for bread was also his favorite human dish, but dragon forbid Svend know of his fondness for anything human. This is the bread that they ate.
Crusty Bread Recipe
This recipe is inspired by this King Arthur recipe: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/no-knead-crusty-white-bread-recipe
Ingredients:
1 ½ Tablespoons yeast
1 ½ Tablespoons sugar
3 cups warm water
7-8 cups flour (half all-purpose and half bread flour)
1 heaping Tablespoon salt
A few Tablespoons of olive oil
Method:
Mix yeast and sugar in a very large bowl.
Add the warm water and let sit for about 5 minutes
Add about half the flour and all the salt, mixing as you go.
Add olive oil gradually as you knead to help with the stickiness of the dough
Once the mixture is too stiff to mix with a spoon, continue adding flour and knead it in until you have a workable dough.
Leave at room temperature to rise 2 hours OR in an oven proofer for about an hour
Then move to the fridge to rise for at least two hours. I usually make the dough in the morning if I want bread for dinner or the next day.
You can leave your dough in the fridge for up to seven days. The longer the dough is in the fridge, the tangier your bread will taste
When you are ready to bake, pull off a large chunk of dough (about ⅓ of the total mixture)
Shape into a ball and leave to rise for about 2 hours. (Set it on parchment paper or floured aluminum foil to rise)
Preheat your oven and two large cast irons to 450 degrees. Leave the cast irons for about 30 minutes in the heated oven.
Slice the top of your dough two or three times
Carefully place the dough (with the parchment paper included) in one cast iron and place the other cast iron on top like a lid.
Bake with your “lid” on for 25-35 minutes depending on the size of your loaf.
Take the lid off and bake for another 5-10 minutes. This is when your bread will develop its crust so the longer this last bake, the crustier your bread will be.
Let cool for at least 30 mins and enjoy!