"The Olie" - A Work of Fiction, My Culinary Dream

I rarely remember my dreams, and even when I do, they are usually pretty incoherent.

In the wee hours of this morning, however, I had an unusual dream. The dream was different both in the fact that I remembered it and that it played out as a more or less coherent story. Welcome to my dream world.

Morning At The Bakery Cafe
Photo courtesy of Luke Chesser and http://unsplash.com

I'm sitting in a bakery cafe, enjoying a bit of breakfast.

I am by myself, and so as I sip my coffee, I am reading, as is my wont. I happen to glance up at the wall beside me, where I see hanging what appears to be a work of art. It is a sheet of galvanized metal with a wooden frame, and something that looks like pastry dough, rolled flat, is stuck to the metal. The dough is in the shape of an inverted sock.

I go back to my reading.

A while later, I notice that there is a woman now sitting across the table from me, but down at the opposite corner. This is not remarkable, because seating in the bakery is open, offering long wooden tables where patrons feel free to sit individually or in groups.

She Is A Matronly Woman Wearing A Scarf
Photo courtesy of ctvgs and http://pixabay.com

She Is A Matronly Woman, Wearing A Scarf.

I somehow feel that she may be Dutch. For a moment, I wonder, but then conclude that my impression is probably based on the scarf she is wearing and the shape of her face. Noticing that I am looking her way, she smiles at me. I smile back, and then look away.

Looking up again at the "art" on the wall, I am surprised to see that something about it has changed. Upon closer inspection, I see that the dough on the metal sheet is now whiter, fresher. It looks as if it has just been placed there minutes ago.

Working The Olie Dough
Photo courtesy of PublicDomainPictures and http://pixabay.com

My natural curiosity overcomes me.

Turning to the woman, I ask her if she knows why the picture was changed. Smiling again, she explains to me that she has just used the original dough from the picture to make some "olies" and she asks me if I would like one? Apparently, part of the process for making these "olies" involves rolling out the dough, but then allowing it to "set" for some time before baking.

I answer that I don't want her to go to any trouble, to which she replies that it's no trouble at all. She gets up, goes to the back room. I suppose that she either works here, or perhaps may be a friend of the owners? She returns a moment later, handing me a curious kind of roll. The "olie" as she calls it looks for all the world like a hacky sack. Except for one square open edge, the doughy bread is covered with a red and blue mesh covering. I'm unsure what to do, and so I ask "Do I eat this covering, or peel it off?"

It Looked for All the World like a Hacky Sack
Photo courtesy of Anna Langova and http://www.publicdomainpictures.net

With a laugh and a twinkle in her eye,

she tells me to just eat what's inside. I begin tearing off bits of the inside and eating them. I've never had any bread quite like this. The taste is very mild, subtle, slightly sweet and slightly savory. While I don't immediately love it, I realize that it has a taste and a texture that could grow on me. The texture is unnaturally even, as though every bubble in the dough is precisely the same size. As I continue to eat and enjoy the olie, I wind up turning the red and blue "hacky sack" casing inside out in order to get at all the contents.

I'm finished now, and it's time to go.

Thanking the woman, I take my leave, and then awaken, hungry.

Now all I have to do is figure out how to make myself an olie in the real world.

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Thanks for your time and attention.

I'm here on Steemit because of you, my readers. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you!

This post is intended to count towards @dragosroua's Challenge30.

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I have very eclectic interests and hope, over time, to write about all of them.
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