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I decided to try something new and make bread from a sourdough starter. I made a comment on a friend's Facebook page about giving it a try, and she told me to drive over and she'd leave me some starter on the front porch.Bless her heart.

So, we drove over and picked up the starter. It had to be fed and set on the shelf until the next day.

In the morning I started my sourdough bread-making journey. First you mix flour, water and salt with the starter and let it sit for 30 minutes. Set the timer. Then you do a stretching and folding of the dough, and set the timer for two hours. Repeat in another two hours. Stretch and fold the dough again,let set for one hour. Repeat and let set for another hour. Pour a glass of wine; yes, that is the most important step. Pour the dough out onto the board (lightly floured) and stretch and pull the dough and shape for the first time, then letset for another hour. Repeat and set for another hour.

Ok, I'm sure I'm exaggerating by now, but who can keep track, really? Finally the time has come to shape your loaves into the pans and put them in the fridge to sit overnight. Oh, I forgot aboutthe water spritzing for each step. I didn't have a spray bottle, so my husband ran to the drug store to get one for me. You have to spray the dough before it rests. Who knew?

In the meantime, several times during the day my husband asks me when the bread will be ready. I got so tired of saying, "It will be tomorrow when it's baked" that I proceeded to get out my yeast white bread recipe and start making two loaves (you know, with yeast packets instead of what he called my science experiment). Of course, that dough had to be punched down and reshaped also, so I had two timers going at the same time. I was then trying to remember which timer went to which bread and almost got them confused (No, it wasn't the wine!)

When the timers started going off at the same time, I had to work quickly to do what the separate bread demands were at that moment! Finally, I got the loaves of yeast bread in the pans, with fully risen dough, and threw them in the oven. I was so proud when they came out 30 or so minutes later and looked so pretty. We sliced off some bread and that's what we had for dinner. It was very good.

The next morning, I had to do one more prep with the sourdough bread and heated the oven. I placed it carefully on the parchment paper and into the Dutch oven with the lid and threw it in the oven and set the timer. Now mind you, I was supposed to place the loaves on an oven stone with a tray full of boiling water underneath for steam. I decided instead to use another method I'd seen on a video to bake the bread (hence the Dutch oven). At least this time I knew which bread the timer was for. I felt proud.

I took the bread out of the oven when the timer went off and stared at my half-done loaf. I ran to the computer to see what went wrong, remembering that many videos were available to sourdough newbies who make BIG mistakes. Finally, after the bread had cooled, I realized that the Dutch oven was supposed to be heated in the oven at 500 degrees for 30 minutes BEFORE I put the carefully placedparchment paper and dough into the pan. I cut it open with my serrated knife (per instructions) and it was all gooey in the middle and there was very poor "crumb" (the holes made by the bubbles showing what a great bread maker you are).

So, what did do? I mean what did I have to lose at this point? I turned that oven back up to 500 degrees, threw the bread in the pan and back in the oven. I cooked it until it had that nice brown crust! Alas, the inside was far too gone to eat ☹. And that is my story for the week. I contemplated moving to another state. Near my kids. They wouldn't care if my bread turned out. They would just be glad I was there. But we are in lockdown. I can't move right now. Life is so unfair. But wait, I still have some starter left over...

- Diane Nagle

Diane Nagle lives with her husband in Henderson, Nevada, where they are retired. She designs quilt patterns for fabric companies in her spare time.