Bread Photographed Thirty Times

The bread, it has to be said, turned out well: a crackling crust, a crumb full of holes like the picture in the recipe, and it all began on Saturday with a starter you fed on schedule and called by name. Then comes the photo shoot on the board, by the window, sliced open, and of course a series with the cat who wandered into the frame, and out of thirty-four shots you pick the one where it looks most modest 📸

✨ The Moon spends the whole day in Leo, who likes being noticed, and early in the afternoon, right over lunch, she passes Jupiter — a conjunction. In astrology Jupiter looks after everything we want bigger, from portions to self-esteem, and it shows up shyly: the joy over the bread is big, talking about it is oddly awkward, and your hand adds “eh, first try” under the photo.

The modest caption, by the way, works as a safety valve: post “my first loaf, and I'm proud of it” and someone will reply “my grandma baked one like that every day,” while “eh, nothing special” protects you from that reliably. And it could have been a full Oscar speech, thanking the starter, the oven, the neighbor who lent the pan, and the cat for its patience.

By evening the photo has a dozen hearts, your aunt asks for the recipe, someone, as expected, remembers grandma's bread, and it turns out you were ready for that comparison all along. By then all that's left of the loaf is one heel nobody photographed, and everyone agrees it came out best 🧈

It could have been a full Oscar speech: the starter, the oven, the neighbor and the cat for its patience.