Tartine bread

I had heard a lot of great things in blog land about Tartine bread and the Tartine Bread book. Just look at the pictures. Sigh. I love bread and have been using this book successfully for some time now. The whole family loves the bread every time I make it. The difference in the recipes has not been very obvious to me. It has all sort of turned out the same. I have also been longing for an airier silkier texture to the crumb. And, there is a little piece of me that feels like I have been cheating and not making REAL bread. So, when Martha had an article in the January issue I was thrilled. To my delight it featured a recipe! Here we are and it's almost March and I am just getting around to making up a batch of starter. Admittedly I am a little intimidated by this whole process. Three weeks on the counter before I can even make leavening?! Will I remember to feed the starter every day? I feel like it's a great time for me to have a project. I have the extra time to devote and hopefully I will stay motivated. We'll see how it goes and hopefully this bread will be all I have been dreaming of.