Now that I have new sourdough starter (posted after this) to work with, it’s time to bake some bread with it. My attempts with the SFBI sourdough recipe have gotten progressively better, with my most recent try (Loaf 41) being good enough that I’d let someone else taste it. I...

I’ve only had marginal success making sourdough bread from a starter. My first attempts were with a homegrown starter that never worked (loaves 15 and 18). We made great bread at my SFBI sourdough class, but I only had moderate success with sourdough I made at home with their starter...

All my loaves so far (except Loaf 1 – Beer Batter Bread and Loaf 32 – Irish Soda Breads) have been simple flour + water + yeast + salt + maybe things like grains or nuts or eggs. I haven’t yet made any enriched bread. Enriched breads typically have milk and sugar added to...

The method I have been using to simulate a hearth oven with steam is to use a pizza stone in the oven and put about a cup of water in a broiler pan at the bottom of the oven. Everything is pre-heated to 500° before the dough and water go in. Another popular method is to use an inverted Dutch...