I am a good cook and baker.  I'm not bragging--ask just about anyone who knows me.  I enjoy it, and I always have.  I remember making scrambled eggs on the stove when I was little.  I remember baking chocolate pound cake and taking to the state fair in South Carolina and winning blue ribbons.  One Christmas, my mom got my sister and me both cookbooks, and we each took turns making dinner using recipes from the book.  My sister and I cooked together often, dinner and cookies and cakes, even when we got older and moved away from each other.  It is something we do when we visit each other.  I cook from recipes and also have some dishes I make without a recipe, just by taste or look.  Not long ago, I was reading an article that had a quiz about food addiction--and, it looks like I might be addicted to food.  It seems like I am always cooking, eating, shopping for, or planning meals.

The one dish or recipe I had never conquered was risen or yeast bread.  I had tried several times over the years.  I remember another kid's cookbook that featured bread shaped like teddy bears.  Very cute!  When I was in middle school, for a home ec class final project, we had to plan and make a meal.  Turns out I am a whiz at making chocolate pudding from scratch, but my pull apart bread was a real dud.  I still got an A, but that was enough failure to keep me from trying again.  There was something so defeating, this great anticipation that was never fulfilled.  All I ever ended up with was lumps of dough.

Recently, I had several friends mention a book called Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.  A baker and a scientist got together and created an almost fool proof recipe for making artisan bread in your home oven.  There is a lot of information about this on the web, including the master recipe, videos, blogs, discussion boards and more.  Still, I was gun shy, and got the book from the library.  I read the whole thing, paying special attention to the sections that talked about the chemistry of baking and trouble shooting the recipe.  I was interested to note that the recipe didn't require warm water to rise, that if the water were a little cool, it would just take longer to rise.  I really wanted to try it.  I asked my friend though, because I didn't have the special equipment--a baking stone and pizza peel.  She suggested baking on a cast iron skillet and using parchment paper for shaping and resting the loaf. 

I mixed up my first batch of master dough, and it did exactly like it should, rising on the counter, increasing in volume and flattening out.  Several days later I baked the first loaf, a free form boule.  It was PERFECT!  It had 'oven spring.'  It had crispy crust and wet crumb, even when hot from the oven.  It was a dark caramel color.  I couldn't believe it, but I was able to replciate the same thing 5 times now, with the only problem being a loaf that I undercooked slightly, which I think is due to the fact that each loaf has not been uniform in size.  Some loaves have been bigger, so I have added a few minutes when I thought it was needed.  I am now seriously considering the purchase of a bkaing stone, because I want to try different shapes and sizes and recipes.  And maybe I'll try traditional bread again.  A little success goes a long way!