I'm not sure why...perhaps it's all the rockstar bakers in this neighborhood, with Tartine around the corner and our weekly delivery from the amazing Josey Baker, but in recent weeks I've become a bit obsessed with making bread. (I suspect any decent psychologist (or drinking buddy) might also suggest my newly inspired passion has something to do with the other thing we've got "in the oven"....) Whatever the reason, it's been a delicious distraction, and I encourage everyone to give it a shot. My first attempt was the loaf you see above. It's Anadama bread, which is made with molasses and coarse cut cornmeal. It was rich and hearty with a cornmeal crunch. Yum.

Next I tackled a recipe I'd been hearing about for years, the famous No-Knead Bread. I hadn't tried it before, mainly because I thought, "C'mon! Seriously? What's wrong with a little kneading?!" But having now done it myself, I'm a believer. It was super easy, you really don't do much of anything at all, and you get a wonderful, flavorful loaf better than most things you'll find at your local bakery...Unless your local bakery happens to be Tartine, which brings me to my latest creation...

Tartine bread! The World-Renowned Best Bread In The Universe. The Bread of All Breads. Yes. That one. Well, I'd been curious about making bread from a natural yeast for a long time (Flour + Water + Air = Huh?!?!?), and then this past Holiday a friend gave us a sourdough starter (which I promptly killed...Sorry Aurora!). But...following the meticulously written and photographed instructions in the Tartine Bread book, I was finally able to get a nice and active starter going on my own. And then, well, there's not much to it. It's a beautifully simple and fascinating process of letting the yeast and flour and water do their thing. A couple folds and stretches later (still no kneading!), a quick visit to the oven, and you've got yourself 2 loaves of the best genu-Ine San Francisco Sourdough bread you've ever tasted. YUM!!