Give Us Our Daily Bread

When we lived aboard Nine of Cups, we did a lot of baking—especially during long ocean passages. Any store-bought bread was usually gone within the first few days, so baking our own not only kept us supplied with fresh bread, it also helped pass the hours during those long night watches.I made French bread, Italian bread, focaccia, croissants, pizza dough, and pretzels, while Marcie specialized in scones, brownies, cakes, and English muffins. I even tried making bagels—but only once. Bagel dough needs to be boiled before it's baked, and even with a gimbaled stove, dipping limp bagel dough in a pot of boiling water on a rolling, pitching sailboat wasn't one of my better ideas.Provisioning for a long voyage meant stocking dozens of pounds of flour and sugar, a couple of jars of yeast, and extra propane tanks. Bread wasn't just something we ate—it was an important part of preparing for life at sea.Once we sold Cups and moved ashore, our baking gradually came to an end. Store-bought bread…