Is there enough care for bread to merit discussion? I hope so. When I think about my favorite sandwiches, it all comes down to getting the bread right. Yet, until recently, I've sort of appreciated bread from afar. I don't go out of my way to buy anything but my standard stone ground wheat loaf at the grocery store, but I love so many types of breads. Yesterday I ran all over town to find the right bread for a sandwich and ended up finding a new favorite go-to for bread needs; a commercial bakery we used to use for po' boys at a place I once worked. Still, I think I might start making my own. Let's talk, F&D.

my wife makes our own sourdough bread about twice a week...its her new passion, she's been doing it for about 6 months now..she's even attending a "bread camp" later this summer

I told my girlfriend yesterday that I want a new hobby and that I want that hobby to be bread and pizza dough. She's 100% on board.

I imagine the only investment (besides ingredients) would be proper baking pans, yeah?

Is Tartine Bakery putting it on? That would be cool.

we tried the normal baking pans but found that the small, round le creuset works much better with a bit of cornmeal spread on the bottom to prevent the sticking...the tough part is to get a good starter going...there will be a lot of hit and miss with that but you learn as you go

Starter refers to yeast strains, right?

I believe its put on by the Gourmandise school in santa monica

yep, so basic with minimal ingredients yet so hard to nail down consistently.

Perfecting pizza dough was one of the most frustrating endeavors I ever embarked upon. I gave up in a fit of rage.

did the center always end up a bit gooey?

I don't know why, but this made me really laugh.

I still have "sourdough starter" at the top of my iphone grocery list ever since Doug posted about it a while back. Time has just stood in the way...

I don't make a lot of bread, with the exception of pizza dough. My mom always made different breads, and I'm in a similar boat to WM in that I have identified my go-to retail loafs for various needs.

For pizza dough, I've been trying to perfect my recipe since Xmas, when we first got a stone. Right now I'm working with 2 parts bread flour to 1 part semolina, plus a little yeast, water, salt, and EVOO. I'm pretty happy with it, but it's still coming out just a little too crispy, almost like a flatbread. I do try to make a very thin dough, and I suspect the altitude here (somewhere between 6000-7000 ft) is playing a big part. Any tips on getting a thing crust that's just a bit more chewy than crunchy?

This was a disheartening read.

I should try again some day. My nephews loved helping me knead the dough.

No offense to your nephews, but that right there was probably the problem all along.

Nah, they only helped a couple of times. The problems were persistent.

What did you learn the most about making dough from the experience? Where you a total rookie, or had you already had some baking experience prior to setting out to learn?

Total rookie. I learned that the water matters.

PH levels, soft/hard water and whatnot?

Bread grilled on the bbq is pretty choice, especially when brushed with a little truffle oil.

My fave is rosemary bread.