Scouting for Angeles

Bryan 's most recent script, the one that it's looking like we'll go into preproduction on in January, is called Presence. It's about a guy running away from his (literal) demons as he follows a path along the LA River that relates to the river he followed as a young boy with his brother when they were running away and something happened to create the demons that now plague him.

Bryan Hearts Power Lines & Telephone Poles

After seeing the movie LA PLAYS ITSELF, which is a documentary about how Los Angeles is portrayed in movies and television, Bryan decided that he wants to make the film as geographically accurate as possible. So yesterday we went on a mini scout to find the beginning of the LA River. Actually we knew where it started but didn't want to follow the main canal into the valley so instead we headed up to the Angeles National Forest, where the Tujunga Wash begins. The Tujunga Wash eventually connects to the LA River at a golf course, which we thought might be cool.

Mel appreciates the view of the Tujunga Dam

At any rate, we drove into the mountains and found the Tujunga Dam, which is a big one and we were sad to see that the road that leads to the dam is blocked off and for official trucks only.

Bryan tries to convince us the power lines are cool, Mel's not buying it

Still, the drive was lovely and we stopped many times to check out drainage pipes and power lines. Bryan loves power lines. Mel loves sticking her head out the window.

Manzanita - my favorite Cal forest plant

I've haven't spent much time in the Angeles National Forest so it was fun to just drive around and check out campsites and get a sense of the mountains. Sometimes all you need is to get above the smog line and breath some fresh air and see some native plants to make you feel better about the world.

Mel sticks her tongue out at the camera - that's my girl!

Mel loved the drive, especially after we rolled down the windows for her to stick her head out so her ears could flap in the wind. When we'd stop she'd hop out and start sniffing, but she'd stay very close to us, like she wanted to make sure we weren't tricking her and trying to release her back into the wild. I think she was a little relieved when we got home. She certainly snored like she was content.

Roots reaching out for us as we drive by

It was cold up there; low 50s, but it was that perfect crisp and sunny weather that 's my favorite. After a few hours of driving up and down dirt roads we stopped at the Hidden Vally Cafe on the side of the road for a late lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches and root beer. Never had it tasted better.

The Hidden Valley Cafe

We checked out a few more roads on our way home and then got caught behind some road construction. They were laying down new asphalt so one lane was completely blocked. By the time the cars coming the other direction had passed by us there were at least 30 cars behind us. We were excited to be the first car behind the official pilot car. It's the little things in life...

We'll follow you anywhere!

We may end up shooting some of the kids scenes in the forest instead of going to another state or to the desert. The thing about the Angeles National Forest is that it literally takes 15 minutes to get there from our house. We're also talking about possibly going camping at one of the sites next weekend. It was beautiful and empty and peaceful, and the PCT passed right by it. We'll see though, thus far our record of successful camping trips has been slightly pathetic. Maybe this park will turn it around.

When I got home I was reading the LA Weekly Best of LA edition and there was our trip, laid out in a map as one of the best mini road trips you can take within LA. I felt cool, because we figured it out without their help.

A Kramer Birthday

Bryan and his dad David share the same birthday. David says that Susan was frosting his birthday cake when Bryan decided to come along.

Bryan and David ready to blow out their candles

In celebration my parents and brother came up for dinner with the Kramers.

The Ladies Ready Their Cameras

Technically their birthday is on the 20th but they'll be out of town so we did Sushi on the 15th instead.

Bryan mid-blow

Dad and Greg particularly appreaciated a break from the deck, though they have now finished the framing.

Greg dodges a popper

Happy Birthday Bryan and David!

Perhaps I've Given the Wrong Impression of Myself

So the last time I posted, I wrote about fairly boring things like home made cayenne pepper and tamales from the farmer's market. WELL, I got a comment from someone who had read my profile and sympathized with my draw to the country. Then this person said this

Do you really love LA, or do you just like being near 'a scene?'

Perhaps one day you'll see that the farm is what mattered all along, and that the clubs were just an excuse to feel 'cool'.

Search yourself and you may find the answer.

So...Anyone who actually knows me, knows what an absurd thing this is to say to me. Therefore I fear that my profile must be misleading, but when I read it again, I noticed a distinct lack of mention of loving LA for it's "scene" or it's "clubs". And yet this is the response I get.

So then I went back to the comment and in the beginning the poster mentioned he/she was from New York (before moving to the beach). So now it makes sense. Clearly if I'm a young female living in Los Angeles, I must be:

A) an actress
B) so shallow that I would need to be near a club scene to feel cool
C) so stupid as to not know why I like a particular city
D) All of the above.

Am I insulted? No. I get that this goes with the territory of living in Los Angeles. I get that people actually believe that the movie CRASH is an accurate portrayal of how people in this city behave. And, not to reverse the stereotype or anything, but those from New York look down on us. I see that. I get it. We're NY LITE. But here's the thing: I AM NOTHING LIKE THE LA STEREOTYPE (with the exception of my car - that fits in solidly).

So to head off any future confusion about who I am, I'd like to break it down for the casual reader who doesn't know me at all:

26 Things about a 26-year-old Angelino

1) I am not an actress, nor could you pay me enough to get in front of the camera.

2) I am a writer/producer and have several scripts that I'd be happy to have an agent pitch all over town. (so I guess that stereotype fits too)

3) I DO NOT GO TO CLUBS. Ever. Period. End of Sentence.

4) I do occasionally go to bars where my friends' bands are playing. Often it's a little place like the Silverlake Lounge.

5) I don't drink chick drinks - I drink whisky. WITHOUT coke.

6) I have a dog but she doesn't fit into a purse. My dog could beat up your dog (unless you're Auna, in which case Bean wins, no contest)

7) I am not a scientologist nor do I condone their cult-like tactics.

8) I do go to a lot of theater. Some of it's good, some of it's terrible but I always try to see my friends' shows. (The last few have been good)

9) I do love going to Asskat at the UCB theater but I don' t think that makes me stupid - it's some of the best comedy around - thanks Eva!

10) I grew up on the beach in San Diego (it doesn't get more SoCal than that) but am a terrible surfer and a good swimmer. I used to live on Venice beach but the fact that it was usually too polluted to swim in just got depressing.

11) I often have big ideas that I don't always follow through on (i.e. running a farm in the country - what the hell do I know about running a farm? I can barely keep my tomatoes alive and most of my gardening thus far has been repairing things I've broken)

12) I like gourmet food and I cook better than most restaurants (that sounds like I'm boasting, but it's true - and I can cook a gourmet dish without it costing $40 a plate) which leads me to like living in a city where I can get an assortment of exotic ingredients within a 10 minute drive.

13) I hold grudges for an unreasonably long amount of time.

14) I rarely wear makeup and don't own any hot pants or short skirts.

15) I hike everyday (mostly).

16) I would rather wander around an art museum than eat at The Ivy.

17) I take Harper's (the mag full of essays, not Bazaar), the Atlantic Monthly, The New York Review of Books, McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Garden Design, and Sunset Magazine. Note the lack of fashion magazines (and they still let me live in LA)

18) I don't have TV. I have a TV but all it's hooked up to is a DVD player, a non-region DVD player and a VHS player.

19) I would rather watch an old foreign film than a new action film.

20) I have never been to New York, but I have driven to the most norther town in the Yukon because I was told I could pan for gold and buy a sandwich with the flakes.

21) I rarely "feel cool" and going to clubs would be the last thing that would increase my cool factor.

22) I don't like Stadium Seating. I don't like having a headrest that hundreds and thousands of people have used before me. I think it's gross. I'd rather go to the New Beverly or the Vista or the American Cinemateque any day of the week than sit in stadium seating to see the latest blockbuster.

23) I am a pescetarian (until recently I was full vegetarian) and I buy local, because I refuse to support factory farming as it exists in this country.

24) I am not afraid of growing old. I am not afraid of much.

25) I hate the way my beautiful city and the creative people in it, are portrayed on TV and in most movies.

26) I have a husband who shares my love of good film, good music, good reading, good politics (if there is such a thing), good art, good food, the good life and a general desire to avoid the Sunset Strip at all cost. I am constantly amazed by him and how much my love for him grows (that may be the last gooey thing I'll write on this blog).



That's all the searching of myself I can do in one afternoon - as far as I can tell there's very little of me trying to be near a scene to feel cool. Or maybe the lady doth protest too much. Hard to say - I'll have to search myself for the answers (that was italicized to emphasize it was dripping with sarcasm).

It always amazes me how other people perceive those of us who live in LA. I often had a similar experience when we were in Canada. People think they know us because they read the tabloids and watch TV. That's not the real Los Angeles. The real LA is a lot better.

Cayenne and Tamales

Last night I finally ground up the cayenne peppers that have been floating around the house drying for the past few weeks.

Cayenne Pepper Bounty

The thing about those peppers is that even when you've washed your hands a few times the oil still manages to find places to hide so that when you rub your eyes later it burns. So that's my lesson learned today: wear gloves when making red pepper flakes.

Bryan was hungry when he got home from work late last night, but lucky for him I picked up a couple of tamales from the farmer's market.

Steaming Tamales

I couldn't resist trying a pineapple one and while I thought it was a little weird, he really liked it. But then again the man loves pineapple on his pizza too (as well as anchovies on anything but that's another story). The other was a regular corn tamale and it was very very tasty.

Echo Park Farmer's Market

Or as I like to call it...a sign the neighborhood has officially gentrified.

A Potato Stand at the Brand New EP Farmer's Market!

The truth is I could not be happier about this recent development in the 'hood. Really the only thing that's been missing to complete my experience of living in Echo Park is a farmer's market. Today, Friday 13th, was the official grand opening of the market. It'll be every Friday from 3 - 7, which is a great time to go get some freshly prepared tamales for dinner and some fruit and veggies for the weekend.

People Picking Produce

It's not a huge market, not even close to Santa Monica or Hollywood, but they've done a really nice job of getting a variety of vendors. There's several fruit stands, the farmers stands cover a broad spectrum that includes end of season peaches, new oranges, dried fruit and nuts, salads, sprouts, veggies and tomatoes.

Perfect Persimmons and Pomegranates

I got there at exactly three and because it was the first ever farmer's market in this location, a bunch of the stands were still setting up. The arts and crafts booths were some of the first to be open so the first purchase I made was for a set of hand made salad utensils. I was thrilled to finally find something to serve with as I've been making pathetic use out of a rice paddle and spoon.

My New Serving Pieces (and no more alliteration)

There was also some jewelry at the adjacent stand but none of it caught my eye. What did was this one table where a VERY pregnant woman was selling handmade baby t-shirts. They all had patches that were 33 record covers and were really fun. I bought one for Harper Lee Terrell who's about to turn one and lives in the front house.

Crybaby Clothing Stand

The only slightly disappointing thing was the lack of flowers. There was only one stand and their selection was limited and mostly dyed. I decided to make the best of it and picked up some of these purple thistles for some color in the kitchen.

At about 3:30 everyone had their act together and the smells of tamales, chicken and Bar-B-Q started wafting. I spent some time checking out the herb plants for sale and decided that next weekend I'm turning the garden bed that's closest to my front door into a serious herb garden.

Nothing in the world is better than hanging out around stands where the french baker sells his bread, pastries and pasta, and the dairyman sells his homemade and home-milked cheese, and the hippie couple sell sugar juice (isn't that just sugar water?) with a big sign that says it increases energy - duh - and they chop the sugar cane in front of you to make your drink.

The best thing about the market were all the people from the neighborhood wandering around oohing and ahing at how great it was that we finally had our own market. I, myself, couldn't wipe the stupid grin off my face. It seemed fitting that the market take place in the parking lot adjacent to the corner where folks often sell churros and fruit. It was even more appropriate that this lady watched over us.

A Mural on the side of the building next to the market

It rained a little, and the vendors grew concerned, but when I left an hour later the place was rocking. People were eating dinner and buying all sorts of things. It would appear that not even rain or the fact that it's Friday the 13th could keep people away.

Mel couldn't come with me. No dogs allowed. This is the sad face that she made when I told her she'd have to stay home alone.

The saddest dog in the world

I'm sure we'll make it up to her. If only they sold bones at the market...

What Not to Do when Baking Bread (A Lesson Learned the Hard Way)

Tuesday I decided to bake another batch of bread. This time though I thought I'd make a sun dried tomato and herb bread. I followed the same instructions as the last loaf and fermented the poolish overnight in the refrigerator. Yesterday I brought it to room temperature, added the other ingredients and kneaded it for 20 min. It rose. It rested. It proofed.

Then came the disaster. The book, which anyone who wants to learn how to bake good bread should buy, said that when you put the bread into the oven to bake you should spray the sides of the oven with water to create steam. This makes for a crunchy crust.

The trouble began when I didn't have a spray bottle. Instead I tossed a shot of water into the oven and it did create steam. Unfortunately 20 minutes later when I went to turn down the oven and rotate my loaves I discovered the oven had gone from 450 to 350. Concerned, I turned up the heat and left it for another 20 minutes. When I returned to pull the loaves out the oven was at 200 and the loaves not even close to being ready.

That's when I discovered I'd doused my pilot light. For some reason, though the oven was on, the house didn't fill with gas. I haven't figured out why yet because surely my move of accidentally dousing the pilot light with a cup of water should have resulted in an ultimate gas explosion. But maybe that only happens in the movies.

At any rate, it took a very groggy Bryan (he'd been napping) and I a good half hour to get the pilot relit and the oven reset. Now that my half baked loaves had completely cooled off, I returned them and baked them again at the right temperature. I tried them this morning, they're not terrible, but definitely not up to their potential.

So let this be a lesson to all you potential bread bakers. Buy a squirt bottle. Don't throw cups of water into your oven. I know it should be obvious, but in a pinch, sometimes the brain convinces you that doing really stupid things is a really great idea.

Fortunately nothing blew up in the learning of this lesson.

Deadwood

I was going through all the pictures in iphoto and I came across these from when I was in Deadwood as part of the Sturgis trip. On a sidenote, if you google Sturgis 2006 my post comes up about 53rd. About a third of the random people who find my site, do so by searching for Sturgis 2006. Weird.

Main Street Deadwood

The only police office I saw in all of South Dakota

Bullock's hotel

The best-looking woman I saw in the entire state

Sigh.

The thing about Deadwood is that it's actually really depressing. The town has burned down several times since the days of Wild Bill, which means that it's been rebuilt to look old-timey, but it doesn't even come close. In an attempt to lure tourists, the town made gambling legal, so really it's just a main street of the worst casinos you've ever been in. We're talking one card table and 50 video poker and slot machines. Pathetic.

It did however, have the best restaurant anywhere around. The food was good. The service, not so much. It was a $30 entree kind of place and the waiter placed all of the wine glasses at one end of the table and had us pass them down. Classy. And this was after we spent 20minutes (I'm not exaggerating) convincing them to push 2 tables together to accommodate 8 people. The wait staff was terrified that the kitchen staff would get mad at them.

It didn't make sense to me either.

Ah Deadwood. Don't ever go there. Just watch the show.

Thanks Greg

I don't know if you've noticed but Green Urban has a new look thanks to the technical wizardry of my brother. Seriously, I look at a page of html and see gobbledy gook, he looks at it and speaks its language. Crazy. But thank God we have one in the family.

Also, when I was at Auna and Jake's new house I noticed that they were both running firefox as their web browser. I assumed this was because they are scientists and know about this sort of thing. I, in turn, switched, and discovered that firefox supports all kinds of fun features of Blogspot that I didn't know were there. Like a formatting palette.

So thanks Auna, Greg and Jake, for understanding computers, so that I don't have to.

Oh and in case you were wondering, yes that is Bryan sitting on the floor of our house. I think he's eating a burrito. This picture was taken before we painted the walls and stripped the floor.

Deck the Deck

I spent the weekend in San Diego at my parents' house helping my dad and brother build a deck in their patio. My family is well known for it's weekend projects, though when I lived at home I always made sure to avoid them as much as possible. Sadly I now wish I had the home improvement skills that I would have learned helping them. The irony is not lost on me.

Our goal for the weekend was to get as much of the framing for the deck done as possible. Greg and Dad had already set the pilons (I don't think that's what they're called) in cement last weekend and figured out the measurements and leveled the beam that the framing would affix to. It involved using lasers.

Greg reviews our work

Most of the work on Saturday was spent cutting the framing to the correct length. By the end of the day this is what we had.

Framing in place but not yet set

Because the patio was a concrete slab the builders had sloped it away from the house. Obviously we didn't want to trap any water that got into the deck in the deck (nor rats, but that's another story) so when blocking the framing Dad used 2x4's on the side towards the house

2x4 blocking

and 2x6's on the side towards the dirt because that end was already elevated several inches due to the aforementioned leveling of the beam.

4x6 blocking

To make sure the deck wouldn't sag there was some debate as to the material that would be best to use as footing.

A foot

In the end it was decided that we should use small pieces of wood sealed with a tree sealant. Saturday was a lot of planning and driving for lunch and lumber but Sunday we got a good bit accomplished. The three of us got into a rhythm of measure, cut, test, flip, drill, screw, spray, dry, glue, set, measure, cut, block. In that order.

There was one tricky corner where the wood would have created a little pool for water running down the wall, so Dad cut this 2x6 a little narrow.

Our tricky Corner

At the end of the day, we remeasured and found that we were pretty much exactly where we should be, which is a happy feeling.

Greg and Dad check our final placement

See how there's a tree at the edge of where the framing is right now. The next step will be to set another pilon and angle the beam around the tree.

Greg, explaining something of great importance to Dad

I actually had a really good time learning about the difference between a chop saw and a skill saw (which by the way, I cut with). The best way to screw in a nail and how to seal wood. It's always surprising how satisfying working on these kinds of projects can be.

Dad, relaxing after a day of hard work

Especially because it means you can end the day with a beer and not even feel the slightest bit guilty about it.

Once they finish the framing, I'm going to head back down again and help with the decking boards. I've gotten attached to the project, and want to be there when it's finished.

Happy Birthday Greg Lasagna

Today we celebrated my younger brother Greg's 22nd birthday. There's no better way to spend your birthday than doing construction work so he and I helped my dad out in the back of their house (more on this to follow).

For his birthday dinner Greg requested a lasagna, foolishly thinking of the kind you buy frozen at the market. There was no way either Mom or I were going to serve Greg frozen lasagna, but making a lasagna from scratch, while delicious, can take all day. Fortunately, Mom has become a Rachel Ray fan and recently watched an episode of 30 minute meals where she made a lasagna from ravioli, veggies, cheese and bashemel sauce. Or at least she saw the second half of the episode. I believe this is the actual recipe, though I don't know for sure since I didn't watch the show. At any rate it's something close to what Mom saw.

The point to all of this is that you much start with an unbelievable huge kitchen. Like this one:

That's not actually true. I just lust after my parents' kitchen as it has about 15xs the counter space that mine does.


In fact, what you need to start with is some veggies.

And I wasn't paying too close attention but I believe Mom sauteed green and red bell pepper, onion and eggplant with olive oil and garlic.


She also made a bechamel sauce using 3Tbsp flour, 3Tbsp butter and 3 cups milk. While all this was happening she cooked 1 package of ravioli to use as the pasta.

Then came the assembly. Bechamel, pasta and veggies first,

covered with cheese, Bechamel and some straight-from-the-jar Classico Sauce.
Repeat until all the ingrediants are used up. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Eat veggies and drink wine while the lasagna cools and sets.

Happy Birthday Greg!

Grape and Gorgonzola Pizza

About a month ago I was in the check out line at Gelson (just for a few of those hard to find ingrediants that seem to never be carried at any other grocery story) when I noticed in the rack beside me the most beautiful magazine I'd ever seen. Seriously, it was far more interesting even than the Tabloids above it. Gormet Magazine, the cover informed me and I immediately reached for it a bought it, as I often do in times of finding things of great beauty for under $5 (that could be a lie, I don't actually remember how much it cost.

So the brilliant thing about this particular issue was that they picked the greatest ingrediants of all time and had a series of recipes for each one. The ingrediants were things like Pomegranates, Duck, Mushrooms, and as in the case of this recipe, Grapes.

Lately I've been on a deconstruction kick where once a magazine arrives via mail or grocery bag I immediately flip through it and then take out scissors and disassemble it into categories. I have all these files now. One is recipes to try. When the recipe is successful it goes into my "Tried and True recipe box" which Bryan thinks I should rename "Fried and blue" but I digress.

This particular recipe caught my eye and since I've been on a now-successful bread making kick, I thought Pizza was the next obvious step. I freely admit that I am lacking pictures of the final result, which was not only pretty but extremely delicious, becuase the recipe calls for wine. I partook in the wine myself and misplaced my camera in the process. Not to worry, it didn't cat baked, I found it this morning in my purse.

So here's the recipe. It calls for Vin Santo, which I wiki'd and discovered is an Italian dessert wine. It is seemingly impossible to find Vin Santo at any of my regular haunts so I substituted a symphony white wine that I know to be very sweet.

Grape and Gorgonzola Pizza

Ingrediants

For the Dough
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour mixed with 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cups warm water (105-115F)
1 tsp salt
1/2 Tbsp olive oil

For the Topping
1/3 cup Vin Santo (or sweet white wine)
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cup seedless red or black grapes, halved lengthwise
5 oz Fontina cheese, cut into 1/4 inch dice
2 oz Gorgonzola dolce or creamy, crumbled
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

Pizza stone and parchment paper are ideal!

Make Dough: Stir together yeast, 1 Tbsp flour and 1/4 cup warm water and let stand until mixture appears creamy on surface, 5 min. (If mixture isn't creamy get new yeast)
Whisk salt into 1 1/4 cups flour in a large bowl, then add yeast mixture, oil and remaining 1/2 cup warm water. Stir in enough flour (1/4 to 1/2 cup) for dough to begin to peel away from side of bowl. (this dough may be stickier than others you're used to - says the recipe, like we all spend a lot of time trying different pizza dough recipes - please)

The dough also rises

Knead dough on a floured work surface with floured hands, adding flour as necceassary but as little as possible, until dough is smooth, about 8 - 10 minutes. Form dough into a tight ball and dust with flour. GENEROUSLY dust the inside of a bowl with flour, place dough in bowl, cover with a damp towell and let rise in a draft free place until doubled in bulk about 1 1/2 hours.

Shape Dough and Make Topping: At least 45 minutes before baking pizza, put pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500F.
Don't punch down dough, instead gently dredge it in a bowl of flour to coat, then transfer to a parchment-lined pizza peel. Lightly flour parchment. Pat out dough to form a 13-inch round, working it as little as possible. This is a lot harder than it sounds, but from my experience a little over-handling and punching down doesn't really hurt it.
Bring Vin Santo or wine to a boil, add sugar, dissolve and reduce to 1 Tbsp. Add grapes to cover and cook for 1 minute. Transfer grapes to a bowl, add cheeses and pepper; stir to combine.

Grapes, so many grapes!

Assemble Pizza: Arrange topping on dough leaving 1-inch border.
Slide Pizza on parchment onto pizza stone. Bake pizza until dough is crisp and browned and cheese is golden and bubling in spots 14-16min. Using peel, transfer to a cutting board. Cool 5 minutes, remove parchment and slice. It's important to wait the 5 minutes, otherwise pizza will seem to shloopy. It will firm and be perfect.


That's it. Surprisingly easy for a gourmet recipe. The trick with the parchment is that it keeps you from making a big corn meal mess on the pizza stone. The other trick is to trim the parchment to just an inch around the pizza. I didn't and it burned on the sides of the oven, filling the house with smoke. Otherwise it was a fairly disaster-free culinary adventure.

When I told Bryan and Kevin that I was making Grape and Gorgonzola pizza for dinner they both looked at me extremely skeptically - but then Kevin asked for the recipe when he left. So I guess it's fair to say this is Bryan and Kevin approved.

Bread Again

Remember that whole thing about how I was going to conquer bread? How I was determined to make an edible loaf? Well thanks to Mr. Daniel Leader and his book, I have succeeded. I've spent the last two days following his step by step directions on how to make a good loaf of country bread. I read, several times, the breakdown of what happens in the milling process of wheat. I can even tell you what the difference is between whole wheat and white flour.

The end result, however, was that tonight we actually ate the bread I baked. That's a first, and I've made a lot of bread.

So I started out fermenting the poolish. Here it is nicely bubbling.


Once I mixed in the other ingredients, I kneaded that sucker for 20 minutes. That's a serious workout.

Here are my two loaves proofing (that's rising for the second time in their baskets, or in this case bowls.


And here they are baking in my oven.


What I learned by using an oven thermometer is that if I set the oven to 400, it cooks at 475, and then if I turn it down to 350, in 10 minutes it'll be at 300. Fabulous, I know. So I'm working out the kinks of how to actually bake in it.

Regardless the final product was not only edible, it was tasty.


I think using organic stone ground flour makes a huge difference. It tastes like good bread instead of cardboard. Now I'm moving on to the more elaborate recipes.

If you've ever considered baking bread you must first buy this book Bread Alone. Seriously, do yourself and your bread tasters this favor. You'll thank me.