With the economy in a bit of a tailspin, I have seen many, many bloggers turning to home-baked bread. I am fortunate that I have a bit of head start in this field of baking. Years ago, finding dairy-free loaves of bread in the stores was no easy feat; most contained milk in some form, whether it was milk powder, whey, butter, cream, or plain old nonfat milk. Not willing to give up sandwiches and toast, I started baking bread from scratch. Some good brands of bread have since emerged which are in fact dairy-free, but I stick to homemade. Both my husband and I agree that it tastes infinitely better, and it is still much less expensive. Plus, it gives me control over the ingredients used. When you are first starting out, baking bread can seem intimidating, but recipes like this one for Hearty German-Style Bread are so simple that you will wonder why you didn't begin baking your own bread long ago. Just ask Heather (a bread-baking newbie) and Miss Yumbo, they have already given this recipe a test run to prove its ease and deliciousness!