When You Can’t Tenkara… Try Baking Bread?

Winter is here. My rods, boots, and waders are cleaned and set aside, and my fishing bag has been emptied of old snack wrappers, loose flies, and bits of grass from the past glorious season. I think back on the adventures—camping trips with my dog, days on the water with dear friends. As these memories settle, I hear a familiar whisper: “It’s time to start making bread.”

Some folks fish right into the winter. Braving the cold, frozen lines, and fingers. Not for me. Maybe it’s the cold or the fear of slipping on icy rocks. I can also argue for leaving fish undisturbed during these months to support their survival. This is my usual personal way of thinking about it. So I stop for a few months, and embrace a different rhythm—filling my practice of simplicity with bread baking instead.

Tenkara and Baking: Simplicity at Their Best

At first glance, bread baking and tenkara fly fishing seem worlds apart, but they share profound similarities: simplicity, mindfulness, and connection to the natural world. Tenkara is just a rod, a line, and a fly. Bread baking is flour, water, yeast, and salt. Yet, from these basics, something amazing happens.

Baking bread in winter becomes a meditative practice for me. Like casting a line into a stream, making and baking dough pulls me into a quiet rhythm. Both processes strip away distractions, grounding me in simplicity. The rewards? A perfect loaf or a well-landed trout… both are reminders of the beauty in life’s simple joys.

Patience and Presence

Both tenkara and bread baking demand patience and presence. In fishing, you pause to read the water, feel its flow, and place the fly with care. Bread baking mirrors this perfectly. You mix ingredients with intention, wait for the dough to rise, and trust the process. In both, rushing leads to flat bread or missed fish. But when you embrace the pace, the journey becomes as rewarding as the outcome.

Mastery Through Feel

Whether fishing or baking, true mastery comes from feel. In tenkara, casting relies on intuition through practice and having the rod be an extension of yourself. Feeling the line pull then go forward where you want it. In baking, you read the dough through your hands, feeling its elasticity and adjusting as needed. Over time, both baker and angler cultivate an intuitive connection to their craft, creating something beautiful through presence and care.

Rituals and Rhythms

Both tenkara and bread baking unfold with a comforting rhythm. In fishing, there’s the flow: finding a spot, casting with purpose, savoring the moment. Bread baking follows a similar cadence— mixing, fermenting, shaping—each step flowing into the next. In winter, when I let the rivers rest, bread baking is one way that I have been able to fill the space in my life and still have soothing rituals.

Connecting with Nature

Tenkara connects you directly to the natural world—syncing with the stream’s rhythms, observing its life. Bread baking, though indoors, carries its own connection to nature through fermentation. The living yeast transforms simple ingredients into nourishing bread, a quiet reminder of the life cycles that surround us.

Meditative Moments

Both activities have a meditative quality. On the water, tenkara encourages mindfulness—watching the current, feeling the subtle pull of the line. Bread baking offers a similar focus. Kneading dough and watching it rise become acts of presence, grounding you in the moment. In winter’s stillness, baking bread offers the tranquility that fishing provides in warmer months.

Nourishment for Body and Soul

Tenkara nourishes more than the body. The act of fishing, immersing ourselves in nature, feeds the soul. Bread baking does the same. A warm loaf provides comfort not only when we eat it, but also in the process of making it; the mixing, waiting for the rise, shaping, proofing and baking are just as fulfilling. In the quiet of winter, baking bread becomes a way to nourish mind, body and spirit.

Why Bread Belongs to Winter

Winter draws us inward, making it the perfect season for bread baking. While the days grow shorter, temperatures drop, perhaps snow falls, and we find ourselves putting on warmer clothing, there is no better time than now to fire up our ovens and let the scent of fresh bread fill our homes. Without a doubt, the slow rhythm of baking mirrors the deliberate pace of tenkara, offering a quiet counterpart to summer’s energy.

Bread baking in winter fills a space in my life so similar to tenkara that it can embrace it and pass the down time from fishing by with a productive and rewarding practice. Both activities remind us that connection—whether to nature, ourselves, or the moment—can be found in simplicity. They ground us, showing that life’s most meaningful rituals often come from its simplest acts.

In closing, if you decide to take a break from fishing during the winter or find the weather less inviting, consider channeling your energy into bread baking. At worst, you’ll enjoy fresh bread and a warm kitchen. At best, you might discover a rewarding new hobby that enriches your life. Plus, bread freezes wonderfully, so you can easily stockpile loaves to enjoy during your fishing adventures in warmer weather.

Here is a very easy no-knead bread recipe that will hopefully get you started into this world of bread baking. It is a great supplement for those days when you wish you were on the water but are perhaps stuck at home. Like tenkara, despite the seemingly simpleness of it all, bread baking has many nuances and of course a great history to explore. I hope that you enjoy your winter and the bread you make.

No-Knead Artisan Bread

Recipe Card

Ingredients:
– 4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour
– 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
– 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
– 1 2/3 cups (400ml) warm water

Equipment:
– Large mixing bowl
– Spoon or spatula
– Dutch oven or heavy oven-safe pot with a lid

Instructions

1.      Mix the Dough (Fermentation)

In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and yeast. Add the warm water and stir until a sticky dough forms. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel, and let it rest at room temperature for 8-12 hours. For a longer ferment, you can let it rise for 18-24 hours in a cooler spot. While you could spend some time at this point kneading the dough, you really don’t need to. If you want to feel a little more involved, then have at it. Knead the bread for about 5 minutes and put it back in the bowl to ferment.

2.      Shape the Dough and Proof

After the dough has risen, it should be bubbly and soft. Dust your hands and work surface with flour. Gently scrape the dough out of the bowl and let it flatten slightly. Shape the dough by folding the edges up and over toward the center to form a round loaf. Turn the loaf over so the seams are on the bottom, and gently tuck the sides underneath to tighten the dough. Place the shaped loaf on a sheet of parchment paper for easy transfer to the oven later.

3.      Preheat the Oven

Place in a Dutch oven or heavy pot with its lid in the oven and preheat to 450°F (230°C) for at least 30 minutes.

4.      Second Rise (Proofing) and Scoring

While the oven is preheating, cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rise for 30-60 minutes. Just before baking, score the top of the loaf with a razor blade or sharp knife. A few shallow cuts will allow the bread to expand during baking and prevent it from “blowing out” on the sides. I have a little fun with this part and cut shapes or initials into the bread. You can also coat the bread with a light egg wash and add your favorite seeds.

5.      Bake the Bread

Carefully remove the preheated pot from the oven (use oven mitts, not a towel, as the pot will be very hot!). Using the parchment paper like a cradle, lift the dough and place it directly into the pot. Mist the top of the dough and sides of the pan with water using a spray bottle. If you don’t have a spray bottle, you can toss a couple of ice cubes into the pot for steam.

Quickly cover the pot with the lid and bake for 20 minutes. The steam will help form a beautiful crust.

6.      Finish Baking

After 20 minutes, remove the lid and reduce the temperature to 400°F (200°C) and continue baking for another 20 minutes. If desired, spray the bread with water again. Bake until the crust is deep golden brown. To ensure the bread is fully cooked, check the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer—it should be 200°F (93°C).

7.      Cool and Enjoy

Remove the bread from the pot and place it on a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. The bread will continue to cook while cooling and will develop even more flavor during this time.

Tips for Success

• Flour Options: All-purpose flour works well, but for a more robust loaf, consider using bread flour, which has higher protein content. You can also experiment with mixing in flours like rye, oat, or whole wheat.
• Add-ins: Add flavor by incorporating chopped nuts, dried fruit, herbs, or garlic into the dough. For a richer loaf, substitute part of the water with milk.
• Storage: Keep leftover bread in a bread bag or wrapped in a kitchen towel to preserve the crispy crust. You can also freeze your bread and reheat it later. Just pop it back into a 350°F (175°C) oven for about 15 minutes or until crisp and warmed through.

This rustic bread is perfect on its own, with soup, or as toast. Its flavor and appearance will make you feel like a baking pro. With simplicity and mindfulness, baking becomes a rewarding ritual!

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Dennis Vander Houwen is an early adopter of tenkara, he lives and fishes all over Colorado.  For more information on living simply or approaching a richer life with fewer things check out his blog, Tenkara Path, where you can also support his tenkara lifestyle by purchasing one of his amazing, handmade tenkara line spool, fly keepers. Learn more about Tenkara Lifestyles here.

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