Another Dave in New York

Hello from Dave K. in Brooklyn!

For the past two years I've been making the Pain au Levain from the King Arthur Whole Grain Baking cookbook. I've had good success with it, and I feel like a proud papa to the whole wheat sourdough culture I've kept alive all this time. But I'm really ready to branch out to other recipes and to learn more of the ways of bread baking.

Like a lot of people here I baked my first loaves many (many!) years ago from "conventional" recipes using packaged yeast. I stopped baking when I moved to New York -- I found so many great old-fashioned neighborhood bakeries here that it seemed redundant. But one year my brother had an operation, and passed the time during his rehab by learning the King Arthur recipe. I was floored when I tasted it, and vowed to try it myself some day.

Also, I just got married & as a wedding gift got a Victorio grain mill. I'm eager to start mixing some cracked spelt or buckwheat or what have you into my loaves.

I'm excited to finally be jumping into this site & looking forward to tapping into the wisdom of its members!