hello

New to the site.  I just started baking bread a couple weeks ago.  I took about a week to get a sourdough starter going, then made my first loaf in a Lodge Dutch oven we got for that.  Actually came out quite good.  Second loaf I did was in a loaf pan, and can't say I liked it nearly as much, although the first loaf in the DO was made after retarding the second raise after shaping in the fridge for 24 hours, and the loaf I tried to se how fast it could be done.  We really prefer the taste of the retarded dough much better, and the crust from the DO.  I generally make all my own pasta so this isn't a big stretch.  I have a neighbor who is in a flour co-op so I have access to good flours.  So far I've been using King Author unbleached bread flour but am looking forward to seeing what other stuff taste like.  I'm curious about using ancient flours like Einkorn or spelt just to see what it's like.  I make a pretty good bread pudding for the failures.  Also found out that extra discard or extra starter makes nice crepes.  Needed to do something with it and never made crepes before; came out yummy.  For kicks I made my own ricotta and mascarpone cheeses to go in them with fresh strawberries and a blackberry drizzle; powdered sugar of course.