A sourdough starter is one of those things that always seems like a good idea, and recipes that use them sound and look delicious. The problem is you never have one around when you need it, and when you have the time to think about it, it always seems to be too much trouble.
What crap.
You need five things for a starter. Go get them now. Right now.
Baking bread during the winter months in a cool, drafty kitchen is a particular challenge. Yeast likes a fairly warm environment to do its thing, and trying to proof dough on countertops that register 50°F are going to result in flat, dense loaves.
Proofing boxes are temperature and humidity-controlled walk in monsters found in professional bakeries. Home bakers need something a little less unwieldy. As it turns out, a simple incandescent light bulb will do the trick, providing enough heat to proof a couple of loaves worth of your favorite bread dough.
