Hi folks -

Well, I just failed at my first attempt to make bread.  I tried making french bread using Carol Field's cookbook "The Italian Baker" and never made it past the biga.  I was unable to get my dough to rise and I don't know why since I followed the instructions.  Can anyone suggest what I may have done wrong?  Could my room temperature have been too low?  (It's about 70 degrees.)  It was supposed to rise within 1.5 - 2 hours.  I even used the author's tip to help speed up the rise by heating up my electric oven at a low setting for 3 minutes, and then turning it off before putting the dough in.  After several minutes, nothing seemed to happen.   Should I have left it in longer?

Any help provided will be greatly appreciated as I am determined to make my own bread!

Thank you!

P.S. I accidently posted this question on the blog, so if you see it there please ignore it.