Sitka spruce is in the big leuegas as far as trees are concerned along with other west coast giants like Douglas-fir and western red cedar. Sitka spruce is the largest of the spruce species with strongly out-thrust limbs and a fringe of drooping branches.

Thank you all so much for your comments. Baking is a pain when it doesn't work out, isn't it? Hearing from all of you makes me feel a bit betetr. :)Sally, I also had dried active yeast (it's the main one sold here in Hong Kong) and I added it to the warm milk and waited for 10 minutes--I even used the thermometer to check the temperature of the milk was right... I have had some poor experiences in the past. I think that because so few people bake at home here the yeast quality can be a bit questionable. (Most people don't own an oven, so bakers are a very select few.) Oh, well, betetr luck next time, I'm sure!