For David Molina, bread making is a labor of love – literally.
“I began making bread because I enjoy eating it,” Molina said. “I really honed my skills once my last child was born. I have a son with autism spectrum disorder.”
At 16 years old, the teen communicates primarily through action or visualization and he’s made it quite clear he loves his father’s bread.
“When my son wants me to make bread, he takes out the flour canister, the sugar, and my bread pans,” said the Destrehan High School teacher. “He gets giddy and begins laughing hysterically as he runs throughout the house. He is proud that he got his message across without using a single spoken word.”
As a toddler, Sam spent every minute seated in front of the oven door waiting for this bread.
“Today, he gives me the cutting board to alert me that he is ready to sample the goods,” said his proud father. “Before my son ever eats a single piece of my bread, it has to pass the ‘smell test.’ He lifts the bread to his nose and momentarily covers his face as if he were using the sliced bread to give himself a facial. His acute senses take it all in with seconds before he devours the bread.”
Whenever Molina makes bread, he always makes one for his son, too.
“I do hope that I shall be able to teach him how to make bread one day, too,” he said.
It would certainly put his son on a path to making a lot of new friends who equally love bread.
“Many men are bread makers and bakers,” he said. “The dough kneading is my therapy. When the entire process is work, the results are aromatic and yield a palatable product that everyone enjoys.”
There is no aroma that compares to fresh baked bread.
And there is little more aromatic and cultural in Louisiana than to make king cakes, too, and Molina has been doing both since 1995.
“The process began with the purchase of a bread machine,” he said. “I learned quickly that handmade bread, specifically the kneading process, makes for a ‘creamy’ loaf while a bread machine makes a loaf of bread that has more air bubbles with a more ‘spongy’ texture.”
Molina already shares his experience in a bread class with the parish’s Community Education program, which he will again offer this year. He also will offer a king cake baking class.
“My bread class is no different from my full-time day job,” he said. “I am a teacher. I share knowledge and experience with others. The only difference in the Community Education class is that the numbers are smaller, which means the participants get more one-on-one assistance on a personal level.”
Molina said community education is the perfect title for what occurs in this setting.
“All present learn (education) and work together (community) toward a common goal,” he said. “The end result is a real treat that can be taken home and shared with family or given to a friend.”
Molina got into teaching the courses by the only way any baker earns his reputation – baking.
“Every year, I make certain relatives, friends, and colleagues a loaf of bread for Christmas, their birthday, or some other special occasion,” he said. “The bread I give gets eaten within one to two days. It never goes to waste. Everyone I know enjoys it because no one else gives this item as a gift. Since some people have told me that bread making isn’t easy and that they would love to learn how to make it, I contacted Susan Dempster about teaching the class. A colleague with whom I worked many a year ago loved my bread. He compared it to the job I do daily in my classroom. It’s a gift that comes from the heart.”
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