hello!

Hi everyone,

I'm a new member, but have been reading this site for years, mainly for tips and techniques. I've been baking bread for years, starting with a basic white straight dough loaf back in my undergrad days, where it was one of the rotating house chores. I got much more into it when I discovered "the Village Baker" in a bookstore (mid 90's, most likely) and realized that I too could make those wonderful, holey loaves that I had only tried in restaurants. I stuck to the poolish method for many years and avoided sourdough, having been turned off by a very sour example; but a few years ago, thanks to the pineapple juice method on this site, tried it again, and the rest is history. Nowadays, my standard loaf is a 50/50'ish white/whole grain (wheat, some rye, maybe buckwheat)/white sourdough loaf using old dough and a cold oven (also thanks to TFL!).

I'm always in search of methods for better and easier bread, so thanks to all on TFL who have shared their knowledge and experience.

Steph