Food Description

1 cup fully active culture 2 cups water 2 cups bread flour 2 tsp salt 3 cups bread flour 1 Mix manually. Let sit covered for 8 or 10 hr. 2 Manually mix in: 2 tsp. salt & 3 more cups flour. Machine knead ~10 min. at low speed while adjusting consistency by adding 1 cup more or less of additional flour, until the dough no longer sticks to bowl or fingers. 3 Remove from mixer, hand knead briefly, and split dough. Work in more flour while hand kneading each piece. (total cups flour=6+, possibly<6) Well, I also bat each piece around in the bowl with the dough hook, at medium speed. (Bat one while kneading the other, repeat twice.) 4 Form and reform each piece several times during 20 or 30 minutes, otherwise keeping covered. The dough should be soft enough to easily reseal a seam, but should not stick to hands. Finally form to oblong and cut tops with a razor blade, 10 or 12 diagonal cuts. Dough as finally formed should be silky smooth. 5 Place in pans*, allow to rise 5 to 8 hrs., enclosed to retain moisture, until top is an inch or two higher than the top of the pan. (3 in. is possible!) Bake 40 min. at ~375°F. Cold start OK. (Expect little "oven push", or none.)