Where's the Butter?

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to lie (or at least not tell the whole truth) when you are eating something that someone else has made?  How many times have you told someone that you thought their cooking was great when it really wasn't?

I've certainly found myself in this predicament.  You know how it goes: you don't want to hurt someone's feelings, or you know that they tried really hard, or you trust that their intentions were good... and so on and so forth.  But, it's not so nice when you're on the receiving end of hollow compliments.  Now that I'm making bread on a pretty regular basis, I really want to get good at this.  And, I really want people to genuinely like what I make.  I need to know what people honestly think.

That's why I got pretty excited when somebody told me last week,

"Hey, this bread is the real thing isn't it!  But, I gotta offer you some constructive criticism:  Where's the butter?" 

I don't actually put butter on my bread very often, and as a result, I don't always provide butter with my bread when I take it places.   But after this encounter, I think that's something that's going to change.  Not only will it make my bread more enjoyable for others, but it's also a good opportunity to practice humbly accepting criticism and seeing things from somebody else's perspective.  That's an important skill for someone who aspires to put their creative energy into the public arena.  Friends and family may mince words, but editors probably don't.

As an interesting side note: a new bakery is opening in Fort Collins.  The name?  Butter: A Bakery  (not to be confused with the Buttercream Cupcakery).  Check out the recent press here.