Bread?

I don't ordinarily make too many resolutions, because I tend to drop them very quickly. Because I spend a good 40% of my time thinking about food, however, I figured some kind of kitchen-skill-improvement would stand a fighting chance of lasting past February. We'll see if I'm singing a different tune once another semester is underway...

I love bread. Possibly more than any other food. I can make a passable loaf of bread. When Blake visited in the fall, we made this:


We were quite pleased with ourselves, because it was delicious, and because we could make these with it:


We had to make three because we had three kinds of cheeses...


Hungry yet?

Anyway. I can make bread, but when I see an artisan loaf at the store, it calls to me. I would LOVE to be able to make them on my own. I know it will be tricky with a conventional oven, and with an apartment that has crazy temperature fluctuations. But, I'm going to try. And to make myself accountable, I'll post progress reports here.

I've got a lovely new book to guide me, and a rather obscene amount of flour stashed in my cabinet, so I think I'm ready to go. Also, I've got the beginning of a starter hanging out in my hall closet (weird place, I know, but it's the most temperature-stable...)--more on that in a few days; right now it's just a bowl of unimpressive goo. Should be fun!