Bread Week - Update

My personal Bread Week didn't pan out quite so well (nice pun, don't you think?). That lovely starter that I shared in my post earlier this week was pretty much deceased. I tried for days to resuscitate it, dumping some out, adding milk and flour, but it never really came to. Midway through the week, my mom was kind enough to share some of hers. Now I have some happy, active starter, so today I finally got a nice bowl of sponge happening. Tomorrow it will be a beautiful loaf of homemade sourdough bread. I'll be sure to take some photos to post.

In the meantime, please click on the links in the original post for some fabulous bread recipes, photos, and tutorials (okay, I said click the original links and now I provided them here):

Beth at From the Stovetop shares a delicious-looking Basic Bread recipe. If you live at a high altitude, you'll definitely want to check this out - she's baking at 8,000+ feet. But she clearly indicates what adjustments are made for high altitude, so you can still use her recipe anywhere else. Also, if you have a bread machine you'd like to put to good use, she makes good use of it for the first part of the process.

Susan at Scraps of Life (who kindly got me heading down this path in the first place), provides not just one post, but two. Go here for her Super Yummy Cinnamon Rolls (I can almost taste that cinnamon-sugar goodness) and here for her beautiful herbed focaccia bread. Looks like the perfect accompaniment to some homemade spaghetti.

Donna at Way More Homemade offers up her sourdough recipe which looks incredibly good. Hers appears to be a much crisper, crustier bread than mine. I love the variety in sourdough. Her bread is stunning. It looks like what you would buy in a bakery. But don't let that intimidate you. Just like the rest, she has clear instructions.

Kristin at We are That Family shares not only the successful side of break baking, but also the pitfalls that sometimes happen. But you know what I love about her post? They found good in an even a less-than-perfect loaf of bread. Not only that, but her husband jumped on board the challenge of baking good bread. And he succeeded. But not without a little, um, damage. The final product, though? Beautiful!! And now, according to Kristen, they're bread making machines at their house.

Connie at Six in the Northwest shares a famous no-knead crusty bread. This one looks as tasty as any artisan bread you'll find at your local bakery. It also has its own special oven within an oven which promotes that lovely crust.

It's not too late to join in. Feel free to share your bread baking experiences with us. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Or at least come back later Sunday for my sourdough bread. In the meantime, go leave some comment love for the above ladies.