Bread

Lately I have tried a new method of making bread. You make a starter and let that double (2-8 hours). Then you make a sponge let sit overnight, til double. Then you add flour and salt, knead, let sit til double. Form in to large round loaf, let sit til double. Cook 45 min until golden brown and 210 degrees inside). So all in all it takes (in our house) 8 hours for the starter, 12 hour for the sponge, 4-6 hours to rise and 45 min to bake. 24 hour bread. The slow rising and small amount of yeast used is supposed to improve the texture and add a nutty taste. Now I admit I was skeptical, especially concerning the "nutty" taste but it actually resulted in bread that was significantly tastier. Especially the second loaf which was made using second generation starter. I have discovered that when bread is this tasty I can make almost a loaf a day and it will get eaten, which was not the case when I made 6 hour bread. I am sure you have all found this just fascinating, next week we will discuss the finer points of macaroni and cheese. But if you should be a bit bored with nothing better to do, or already make your own bread, you should give this a try.

From "How to Bake" by Nick Malgieri
Starter
1 cup warm water - 1/4 tsp yeast
mix and let sit 5 min - add 1 cup flour (wheat if you are making part wheat bread)
let double
(add 1 cup flour and 1 cup warm water to left over starter to propagate, let rise and then you can refrigerate up to 48 hours))

Sponge
1 cup starter - 3/4 cup warm water - 1/2 tsp yeast
mix then stir in 2 cups flour
let double (over night works well)

Bread
All of sponge - 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cup flour - 2 tsp salt
knead till smooth - let double
punch down - shape into round loaf
set on greased or corn meal sprinkled pan - let rise til double

preheat oven at 500 - put in bread and turn down to 450
cook 45 min til golden brown and inside is 210 degrees or sounds hollow when thumped.