So I baked the remnants of my inaugural batch of "artisan" bread dough. I was afraid of how it would turn out, since the dough was really, really wet. I practically threw it on the pizza stone and hoped for the best. I forgot to put water in the broiler pan as recommended, but the bread turned out really well in spite of (perhaps because of) my omission.
I find bread somewhat confounding (and fascinating) because, unlike cooking, you are dealing with elements that are alive. If the yeast gets too hot, it fails. Moisture affects bread, the humidity of the day, the relative temperature of the water. So much can, and often does, go wrong that making bread (especially without the benefit of a bread machine) can be so overwhelming and intimidating. That's why this artisan bread book is so fascinating. I still maintain total respect for bakers (the challenge of a good pie crust is one that I am going to put off for now), but now bread seems so much more approachable. I've always maintained that if you can read a recipe, you can cook. Maybe this is true for bread now too.
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