An Introduction to Bread Making

Many letters I've received over the years are from people who want to bake with sourdough, which I approve of, but who have no baking experience. Like "Bob", played by Bill Murray in the wonderful movie "What about Bob?", I strongly feel that it is best to start with "Baby Steps," taking things one small step at a time.
The place to start in baking is with simple yeast based baking, so, I've put this page together to get people used to the mechanics of yeast based baking with as little hassle and pain as possible. All three of the recipes in this section of the web page use yeast.
Once you get these techniques down, then we have the Fast Track to Sourdough and Sourdough Starter Primer pages that will help you build on your newly honed baking skills and enter the seemingly mysterious world of sourdough. Please don't skip ahead. The yeasted introductory pages will help you develop important skills that will serve you in good stead in sourdough baking.