Wow, Sharon that looks and smells delish! Way to go.

janet
ps did you get me email yesterday, we are having delivery issues.

Is the recipe posted somewhere?

Theresa, did you start your own starter???

chase, you can come back bread for me anytime!! That's a beautiful ball 'o bread!!

Deanna

That is gorgeous Sharon!!!!!!

Wow, I'm impressed! I've baked bread exactly twice in my life and have no desire to do it again.

Perfect....absolutely perfect!!!!

I bet it tasted wonderful too...there is nothing like homemade sourdough bread.

Michelle

Sharon,

All in all, your bread is just beautiful!

Lucy

Now tha's what I call a beauty! A perfectly round boule.
Did you use a lame' to slash it? I should get one, my knives just don't "cut" it! hee hee.
I bet the flavor is out of this world with the starter Theresa sent. Yum.

So you've been lying to me all these years?

Oh well, at least you're smart enough to make a lovely loaf of bread, you deceiver.

Sol

Wow! Sol, I think that Sharon has been holding out on us.

Perfect loaf Sharon. Bet it tastes just as good as it looks too.

Ann

Chase

Wonderful ! I love how you slashed the top ... looks yummy :)

What delicious toast that is going to make! Great job, Sharon.

Nice job Sharon.

Think how nice it will be to take a little starter up to the cottage and make a loaf of bread when you get there... and the smell of fresh baked bread is so intoxicating....not to mention how good it tastes compared to bread you buy.

Nancy

Thanks for all the nice comments

Well I may have slashed it bit too deep on the centre cut but I'm a happy enough camper.

Deborah I didn't use a lame I used a box cutter from Home Depot...but a good one! LOL

Sol and Ann....don't know what it is about me and flour. It's sort like wallpapering and sewing, I have no patience, I go too fast...... like some other things in life, slow is better! LOL

licking my monitor

gee Sharon please do share what in life is 'slow is better' snicker

Oh my - thinking all kinds of thoughts here.

Congrats my buddy! Beautiful bread, Sharon! A little soft brie and a glass of red :)

GORGEOUS! Count me as another person who has never slashed bread successfully, so I am doubly impressed with your beautiful criss cross pattern... Time to slather with butter and chow down!

Emily

Sharon, at Paney Camp last August, Teresa taught us how to slash, ie. how deep and all that. Looks like you didn't need a teacher. It is a gorgeous loaf. Teresa also sent home sourdough starter with all of us, but I have not tried any yet.
She is a great teacher, and I learned a lot from her.
Your loaf makes me so hungry for homemade bread that I can hardly stand it. I am trying to not eat it since I went through an unnatural craving for it while on the prednisone, and ate wayyyyyyyy too much. Between the prednisone and my bread eating, I gained 10 lbs. in one week. I just weighed in today, and lost 4-1/2# of it.
However, looking at this, I think I just might go home and make just one more loaf. Drool.
Sherry

Lordy Sharon that looks perfect !! Way to go !

I'm so proud! (she says beaming!) Beautiful, Sharon - just beautiful!

Beautiful! You should be proud. I am yeast inhibited also.

Wowzers! That is your first attempt? You're a natural, girl! That is a gorgeous loaf of bread!

What recipe did you use? (Post, pretty please?)

I am confused about the starter thing. You can save it and send it to people? Do you dry it out first and then rehydrate? I can't wrap my brain around this concept. When I made sourdough the starter was a gooey, flour water and yeast glop.

Linda

Nice job! I like your fancy top.

shame on you EJ (although I agree with you)!snickering too.

Linda, don't feel alone with that starter. A prior poster at harvest sent me some dried and frozen starter. Sure enough, it was a flat, icky mess and never did "start" anything at all. so I made my own, but it was last winter and the kitchen was too cold. Finally it got warm enough and I made my own starter but it was an interesting adventure in failure for a bit there!

Sharon, that's a gorgeous loaf of bread. That end piece, still hot and with some nice melty butter would be good with coffee right now....

Annie

Oh Sharon - that's gorgeous! You're a fast learner - must be your hooking experience.

And your photos look great - I'm glad you figured out how to post full size - lol.

You must teach me how to slash - I always mess that up.

Stacy

From one Teresa protege to another...that looks fabulous!

Pass the butter please....that looks fantastic!

Here is the Alaska Sourdough recipe I sent Sharon with her dried starter:

Alaskan Sourdough Bread  full recipe makes 4 large free-form loaves (Teresa's note: I usually make half this recipe for two loaves, but still use the full 1 cup starter.)

1 cup sourdough starter  at room temp, which has been fed, and left to expand for about 4 hours
4 TB melted lard, shortening or vegetable oil
1 t. baking soda
8 cups bread flour (approximately)
2 ½ cups warm water
½ cup sugar
1 TB salt

The night before, combine the starter, all the water, and 3 cups flour (1 1/2c. flour if making half the recipe) in a large bowl, cover and place in a warm, draft free place.

The next morning add the other ingredients and knead until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled. Knead down again, and shape into free-form long loaves or put in loaf pans. Let rise until doubled, covered. Slash the tops of the loaves. Bake at 375 for about an hour until done. Turn out on racks, cover with a towel and let cool.

If you want to make this recipe with whole-wheat flour, you may need to add 1 pkg. dry yeast (2 t. bulk instant yeast) when you first mix the starter, water, and 3 cups flour.

If anyone wants some dried starter, just send me an email from My Page. It takes me a week or so to dry the starter, so please be patient.

~ Teresa

Teresa you are so generous.....

The starter worked like a charm and the Alaskan Sourdough Bread recipe, as posted above, made a heavenly loaf.

Thank you so much

Sharon

Beautiful sharon!

It is as pretty (and I bet as tasty) as any bread I've ever seen!

You Go Girl!

Alexa

I'm not buying this I don't bake thing ever again pal! Flippin' beautiful bread and pic!!

What's a lame'? Never heard of one before.

David

A lame is a special tool used to score the top surface of your bread dough before baking. Scoring can affect whether the dough rises up or out during oven rise. The correct score can also prevent "blow-outs" of the dough which are not a good thing. It's a pretty lethal double-edge razor sort of thing.

Teresa

Sorry I'm late to your "bread thread" Sharon, but I've got to agree with the others - you've been hiding your talents:-) It looks so delicious and very professional too. I really love sourdough bread, but have never attempted to make it because making bread with a starter always scares me away. You have inspired me to give it a try. Teresa, sharing your knowledge and your starter is a very lovely thing to do.
DONNA

Good for you Sharon!

I'm sure you are now over your flour phobia with this stunning sucess!

It looks really professional and I bet it tastes good too.

SharonCb

Chase,
What amazing bread! I don't think you cut it to deep, it makes me want to lick the screen LOL
Teresa thank you for sharing your recipe, can't wait to get it so I can make some and post pics too. LOL

Linda P

Gorgous bread....! I was trying to spell that like Barbra Streisand said it in Funny Girl....but don't thnik I can!
I also use a box cutter to slash bread....and often I will use a razor blade
Did it taste as good as it looks? And when are you going to make more?
Linda C

That loaf makes my mouth water! I'm going to buy a box cutter tomorrow - I've used a lame, I've used a sharp knife & neither have produced satisfactory results.