I know some of you expected big things, blogwise, from my artisanal baking class, and I failed to deliver. I’m wracking my brains trying to figure out how to translate what I learned there to my home kitchen and wimpy little home oven. I know I have been converted to baking by weight rather than using measuring cups; it’s clearly much more accurate, and I believe it will actually save time and be easier once I get in the habit of it. I wish more cookbooks routinely listed ingredients by weight as well as volume.

I will no longer be too lazy to use a starter, poolish, biga, or sponge when making yeast breads. It doesn’t take that much extra time and makes a big difference in flavor.

I will search the attic and basement for my baking stone and put it back into service. Evidently the combination of the baking stone, high heat, and ice cubes thrown into a sheet pan in the bottom of the oven can somewhat approximate the atmosphere of a professional oven at home. I’m going to try it, anyway. And I’ll be preheating the oven for a lot longer when baking any kind of yeast bread, including pizza and other flat breads. Apparently 15-20 minutes isn’t anywhere near long enough to get the kind of heat you need to get a good crust.

I won’t be getting a job in a bakery any time soon; I’m just too old to do that kind of physical work, to stay on my feet for that long, lift that kind of weight, and endure that kind of heat. One day I held up my instant read thermometer and the ambient temperature read 94.3º. And I know that professional chefs routinely put up with hotter kitchens than that. I thought I was going to collapse and have to be carried out of there on a stretcher that day! Despite the discomfort, I enjoyed the class, made and ate some wonderful breads, and was on a great team, ranging in age from a darling high school girl to the father of one of the other chefs at the school.