We had a new addition to our family last night . . .

Coming in at just over 4lbs and 8oz, neither boy, nor girl, nor bulldog (one is enough for now), we welcomed our first levain into the family. Here's a picture of him peeking out of his swadling.

 With proper care and feeding, he could outlive us all and provide a start to tasty boules, pizzas and flatbreads all along the way. That’s perhaps more than I can say about myself.

A note about gender assignment - levain doesn’t come with one easily discerned. I argued that because the levain doesn’t ambush me with stories of all the minutiae of the day the minute I get home the levain must be male. The three women of the house considered my position and then responded that since it doesn’t seem to do much around the house and is a bit gassy, I must be correct: the levain is male.

As with any new family member, it’s important to introduce the little one early to other family members, especially household companions.

Daisy regards the levain: