Dallas-based 37 year old food influencer Maria Baradell flew American Airlines coach from Chicago O’Hare to Barcelona on August 18th – and made bread at her seat inflight to enjoy at her destination.
I wanted to surprise my sister with a fresh loaf of bread. Making sourdough on a flight to Spain.
She mixes flour, water, and a sourdough starter in a collapsible bowl, and then stretches and folds the dough. She explained that “sourdough bread-making takes time, so I figured a long trip like this would be perfect for it.” And she used hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes throughout the process to maintain cleanliness in a space that doesn’t get well-cleaned between flights.
@leafandloaf Let me know if you want to see the final results or if you have any questions #milehighsourdoughclub #sourdough #milehigh #milehighclub #sourdoughbread #makingsourdoughbread #inflight #americanairlines #AA ♬ Barcelona Spain – Kikot
Video of her breadmaking escapade has been viewed millions of times, and most commentary is negative. For instance, people frequently complain that she’s exposing other passengers to gluten which seems odd considering American Airlines serves bread as part of inflight meals. This isn’t a unique exposure!
And the breadmaker says she mixed ingredients before seatmates arrived and asked for their permission once they were seated. Her seatmates were excited by it!
Unfortunately she had no access to the galley ovens on the Boeing 787, so had to wait until arrival to actually bake the bread she’d made.
Having been roasted online for her efforts, she shares that she’d previously tried to bring a jar of sourdough starter on a domestic flight in Canada, only to have it confiscated. Originally clearing TSA security in Dallas she had extra scrutiny, but was following all the rules, so was able to bring her ingredients through.
TSA inspected my bag in Dallas since I had flour in it (which of course can look suspicious). The flour, salt, and sourdough starter passed the TSA tests. A lot of people are wondering how I got past security with these items, but they are allowed and a lot of people in the sourdough community travel with their sourdough starters. We like to make bread wherever we go.
Four years ago a man posted video of himself grilling a steak in a Delta Air Lines lavatory so… I guess? That man was also known for cutting the hair of the passenger in front of him on a plane when the hair was draped over the seat back, covering his entertainment screen.
And no one will ever be as much of a hero as the man who cooked garlic shrimp in a Delta Air Lines lavatory and baby back ribs in a hotel bathroom.