Bread of Heaven

I decided to cook on Sunday night. I made a lovely chicken and sausage gumbo to go along with the delicious French bread I made from scratch. I've been making homemade French bread for about 4 years now and have just arrived at the point where I'm making the kinds of loaves that I want. Other than the few things I've read, this has mostly been a self-study. My goal is to bake the kinds of loaves that when you bite into them, the crispy crackle of the crust immediately transports you the the French countryside. Baguettes (as they are called) are the most difficult form of bread to make. With only flour, water, yeast and a little salt, it is entirely up to the baker to create the kinds of texture and flavor that he desires. A recipe for classic French bread is only an approximation--everything from the weather, to the age of your flour, to the type of yeast and how many live organisms make it into the dough affect the outcome. So it's a skill I'm quite proud of and there's something symbolic about the bringer of bread. With a couple of baguettes, a few bottles of wine and 12 of my gay friends over, I feel like Jesus!