Loafing

This is a recipe from Bread that uses a pre-ferment for those of us too lazy to get our own sourdough starter going (and keep it going; they're like pets once you have one.) I made one freeform loaf, and threw the other half in a pan so I could put the first one on the stone with the peel and then plunk the other down next to it. They crusted up pretty well, though next time I will steam the oven more; another possibility would be to try it in the preheated Dutch oven like the no-knead recipe I tried a while back. But the crumb is nice, and the flavor is pretty great, especially with local cultured butter. Plus the house smells incredible.