My friend Gökhan Sökmen recently got in touch with me via Facebook. I'm a big admirer of his bread, and he seems to think mine make a passing grade. Anyway, apparently he was transplanted to Tokyo. The kid has talent. But as we know, Japan suffered a natural and man-made disaster. This is a shout out to him and, of course, a moment to remember those living in Japan.

Recently I had tried a formula he had made at my Turkish host and friend, Dilara Erbay. When I first attempted the bread while in Istanbul, I noticed the difference with his and mine. He pointed out a missing ingredient: carob molasses! This time, I used the molasses, and made my levained version with both rye and wheat in the starter mix, as well as a soaker of oats, sesame, flax and what I hand on hand: broccoli and alfalfa sprouting seeds. It worked.