Next to brewing beer this is the most fun I've had in the kitchen in a long time! I had been screwing around on occasion using the old bread machine and its recipes to knead dough but not bake the bread. After letting the machine do the hard work I turned the dough out into standard bread pans to bake in the oven. This method results in decent bread but I think I was ready to take it to the next level.

Then one day we were in Sur la Table and got to talking with an old sales guy who told me about a bread baker guru named Peter Reinhart. A short while later in Borders I bought one of his bread books and the rest is history.

Since then I've been kneading everything by hand and trying everything from French bread baguettes (above) to multi-grain to wheat to sourdough. I even made my own sourdough starter from scratch (watch out! It's full of wild San Diego County yeast!). I also was lucky enough to score a sourdough starter from my friend Bruce who comes from a long line of local bakers. His strain of starter has been going for over 150 years!

Basic but delicious white bread

Sourdough starters in various stages.

Finished sourdoughs.

Whole wheat bread with sesame seeds

Sourdough baguettes!

Sourdough batard.