Baking Bread as a Philosopher (With Original Photographs)

I am constantly finding myself overthinking everything. I don't know if this is due to the vast amount of whisky I drink, or if it is due to my personality, but when I am not doing something with my mind, my mind is free to wander off into the great unknown. When kneading the dough of the bread, you have time to think. I am fortunate to have a beautiful view of the mountain, so when I knead the dough, I look at the mountain, and my mind just wanders off into the unknown. But because I see myself as a philosopher, or a philosophically inclined person, I am also constantly aware of my thoughts while the wander off.

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But how does the philosopher bake bread? One can ask what is philosophy (or what it a philosopher, what does a philosopher do)? Philosophers and non-philosophers both have tried to answer the question, but like the question "What is art?" it has remained unanswered due to the fact that no one can agree. The philosopher, in my viewpoint, is someone who loves knowledge, and someone who wants to gather more knowledge. The path to the truth is neverending. You can always read one more book, see an argument from yet another viewpoint.

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How does the last translate to bread baking? It is easy (in my opinion): there will never be a perfect loaf. You can search for the perfect loaf. (There is a book, I think, with the name "In Search of the Perfect Loaf", and a website "The Perfect Loaf".) Like the philosopher, the baker can always bake another bread, a bread better than the previous one, a more fluffier one, a better tasting one, a better looking one. But this is not a bad thing, this is a good thing. If you know that you are on the road toward something better, you will keep on walking on the path. But if you can convince yourself the road is not leading to something better, the road will become hell. So if you see the road toward knowledge, toward the perfect bread, toward the truth, and you know it leads you to something, you will keep on searching with a smile on your face.

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