Face it a man needs hobbies. One of my favorite indoor hobbies it so experiment in the kitchen. Though I've tried my hand at baking it's never been my strong point nor have I really had any interest in the production of cakes and pies. That was until I had a project which not only tasted great but utilized two staples of my herb garden.

A while back a guy at work gave me a container of San Francisco yeast starter and a recipe for focaccia. The recipe calls for plenty of basil and rosemary which I have in great store. Honestly I had no idea what to do with most of the herbs since only the wife enjoys pesto and I only use a few springs of rosemary when I grill. Over the past several Saturdays I've tried my hand at sour dough focaccia and let me tell ya the results were exceptional.

The key is to culture the yeast so that you have enough starter to make the bread rise. Obviously it doesn't hurt if you have plenty of fresh rosemary and basil on hand as well as some high quality olive oil. The finishing touch of this recipe is to use stone ground wheat flour, but even without this relatively expensive component the bread is quite tasty.

To make the bread you simply remove the starter the night before. Then mix two cups of flour in and add non-chlorinated water. If you're on a city hookup like I am you can just use bottled water. Mix the concoction and allow it to ferment overnight. The next morning mix half the starter in with approximately four cups of flour and the ingredients. Knead the dough by hand, bread machine, or bread hook mixer attachment until it forms a nice ball.

Spread the ball out on a double layered cooking sheet or baking stone and rub olive oil over the top. Make several dimples in the top with your finger to catch the excess oil and lightly sprinkle the top with salt and extra basil/rosemary.

Next put bread in the oven but don't turn it on. Wait for the dough to rise, doubling in height, and then turn on the oven. Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a bread rack to cool. Rub additional olive oil over the top if desired.

When the bread is ready you can mix up some black pepper and olive oil in a small dish or saucer and dip the bread it in. By this point your house should smell quite nice and you'll have a delicious loaf of focaccia bread to enjoy.