Into The Oven! (Updated!)

Documenting my first-ever loaf of bread here. It's ready to go into the oven now, which I'm waiting for to preheat. My anticipation is high, but my expectations are tempered.

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UPDATE

And here is the finished product. My contained expectations were heightened as I watched the bread bake beautifully in the oven. However, my original tempered attitude was probably justified. But it's not a bad first loaf, either! As you can see from the close up, the density is about that of a sandwich loaf, and the crust has a nice chew to it, but is lacking in crunch. The flavor is nice- I used some whole grain flour with the all purpose flour, and the long resting time I gave it (from about 7pm last night to noon today) seems to have imparted a nice flavor.

Meanwhile, my sourdough starter is looking like a horror movie prop in the most fascinating way. It bubbles! It's alive! I looked forward to baking sourdough bread in a few days with it.

And the ginger ale is also looking tempting. There's gradually more and more sediment collecting at the bottom of the bottle, so I'm assuming that means the yeast is working its magic. I might try to get some root beer going in a second bottle.