Baking and other sweet lessons

Soft rays of sunlight streamed through the large windows, drenching the cozy country kitchen in a golden light. This old yet lively kitchen has seen many generations. 

It was a bustling center of hard work and exhaustion, but also joy and laughter. 

Today, it was occupied by a young girl and her grandmother. Both wore plaid linen aprons, Grandma wore a gingham headscarf to keep her snow-white curls tied back. 

Granddaughter Abigail was about to learn how to bake a prizewinning apple pie from scratch. The annual pie baking contest was coming up, and with it a certain sense of anticipation in the Thompson household. Seven years in a row the family proudly won this contest. This time it was young Abigail’s turn to participate in it, thus carrying on the family tradition. 

As they gathered all the ingredients they would need for the dough, Grandma spoke encouragingly to her excited granddaughter.

"You’re going to do just fine dear! It is a basic apple pie, nothing to worry about. I’m going to make sure everything goes smoothly!“ 

"Thank you, Grandma. I can’t wait for it to be done so we can eat a slice of it!“

"Patience is a good virtue my dear, good things come to those who bake!  So just enjoy the process of baking your very first pie!“

Abigail sincerely agreed to that, after all, it always looked quite fun when her grandmother worked in the kitchen.  Grandma went across the room to a little bookshelf and took out a very old and used-up book. 

As she wiped off the bit of dust that had collected since the last use with her apron, Grandma announced joyfully to her expectant granddaughter:  "This book Abigail, is the family cookbook, passed down from generation to generation. Everyone contributed their part to it, adding a favourite recipe every now and then.   The classical apple pie I’m teaching you today is based on a recipe from my mother. She added it to this book when she was a young woman, baking it so very often in my childhood.“

Grandma paged through the book until she found the faded handwriting of her beloved mother, instructing precisely how to bake the perfect apple pie. Abigail traced her finger along the neatly written lines.

"First we have to mix all the ingredients for the pie’s shortcrust dough.“ 

Grandma sieved the flour into the sturdy bowl, and Abigail diced the butter. Then the young girl tried to knead the dough with her fists, which ended in quite a mess. 

"There there, let me show you how it’s done!“ Grandma transferred the batter onto the floured workspace and gently pressed the dough away from her with the heel of her hand. Then she folded it back together, repeating this procedure for a little while until the batter was neatly shaped into a little ball of dough. 

Abigail was amazed at how quickly and practiced her grandmother did that.  "There you go Abby, the dough is pretty simple, and is mixed together as easy as pie!“ Grandma laughed heartily at her own wordplay.

"I am sure to remember doing it like this the next time!“ Retorted Abigail, as she read the next passage of the recipe: "Now we need to put the dough into the fridge to chill Grandma.“

"Well, then we’ll use that time to prepare the filling for the pie. Hand me these apples over there, will you dear?“

Grandma swiftly pealed the juicy, brightly red apples, and as soon as she finished one of them, Abigail would cut it into even pieces. They carried on pretty quickly, cheerfully chatting about this and that. 

Next, they preheated the rustic, old-fashioned oven that stood in the corner of the kitchen, just waiting to be used.  "We’ll preheat it now so that by the time we’re done with the pie, the oven is ready to bake it. That way we use the time given as efficiently as possible!“ Said Grandma wisely, not only meaning the baking hour, but lifetime in general. She was a practical woman, always making the best of the time she had.

Soon enough the oven exuded its warmth throughout the kitchen and created a cozy atmosphere. 

"Now it is time for the spice mixture, my favourite part!“ Grandma showed Abigail how to split and scrape the sweet vanilla bean, and how to squeeze the lemon evenly to get just the right amount of juice fit for the pie. 

They mixed all of the other ingredients for the filling into a bowl, although Abigail was quite surprised when her grandmother brought some ginger too. Grandma explained to her that candied ginger was the special ingredient the Thompson family used to make their pies stand out. 

"An old family secret dear, it works every time!“

As they rolled out the dough, the cinnamon sticks exuded their warm and woody scent in the cozy kitchen.  The spicy aroma of minced ginger wafted through the air. 

"That smell reminds me of the time when my mother would teach me how to bake such a pie myself!“ Exclaimed Grandma lost in nostalgic thoughts of times long gone.

She told her granddaughter about the first pie she ever baked, and how proud she was of her first insufficient creation.  "I am sure to remember that it was actually quite burnt, but I was way too excited to notice back then, and my mother was tactful enough not to remark.“ 

A soft smile rested on the old lady’s lips as she remembered this amusing milestone of her life. 

"But look at your pies now Grandma! Everyone is a masterpiece of its own, you can be really proud of that!“

"Well child, practice makes perfect. You know how the saying goes:  If at first you don’t succeed, pie, pie again!“ Both of them laughed. 

"And I am sure that your pie will taste just as good as mine, maybe even better!“ 

Empowered by this encouragement Abigail placed the last strand of shortcrust pastry on the fragrant pie. "Now I sprinkle it with a little extra cinnamon, just as you said. That’s it, Grandma, we’re all done!“ Abigail proudly examined her sweet work. 

 "Good job, it looks really pretty!“ That was Grandma’s stamp of approval.

It was ready to be baked.

She opened the cast iron oven door and a hot cloud of steam rose to her face. Grandma’s glasses instantly fogged up from the hot air.  Both, grandmother and granddaughter laughed out heartily. Abigail carefully slid her first creation into the hot oven.

As their pie baked away, grandmother and -daughter used the time to tidy up the disordered kitchen. As they cleaned their supplies and put everything back in its place, Grandma taught Abigail a favourite song of hers, and soon one could hear their cheerful voices echoing through the kitchen window.  

It was mid-April, and the weather was as changing as dough rising in a drafty kitchen.

When they started baking, the sun was shining and it was the most beautiful spring weather, now black clouds darkened the sky, and shortly after, thick raindrops hit the windowpane.

It was such a comfortable feeling to be in the warm and cozy kitchen while the storm raged outside. 

The ringing of the little clock on the countertop joined in their song, announcing the end of the baking time. Abigail held her breath in anticipation. 

Grandma opened the large oven door with her cooking mitts and brought forth a magnificent, golden-baked apple pie. "It’s perfect Abigail!“ She announced proudly, closely examining it from every side. 

Abigail happily clapped her hands together, excited to finally savor a piece of it. The warm pie smelled wonderful, the kitchen was filled with an exquisite smell. 

"Let’s set the table Grandma, and enjoy it! I hope it tastes as good as it looks!“

Abigail and her grandmother were sitting at the small table by the kitchen window, cutting the fresh cake. As they watched the raindrops running down the window, they tasted the apple pie and found it delicious. 

"I must say, Abigail, your first pie is a complete success! There, please give me another piece of it!"

"Sure, and thank you so much for helping me Grandma! I will always remember and cherish this afternoon, baking together is a really beautiful tradition. I hope we will keep this up, and still bake many other recipes from the family cookbook.“ Grandma smiled, moved by her granddaughter's enthusiasm. 

"Of course Abigail, I am sure the two of us will still bake a lot of delicious goods together!“ Abigail wholeheartedly agreed to that. 

"And when I am teaching my own grandchildren how to bake a cake, I will tell them the story of my wonderful grandmother, and that she taught me how to bake my first apple pie!“