Ingredients

Poolish

• 227g (1 cup) lukewarm water
• 0.5 tsp active dry yeast
• 150g (1 1/4 cups) flour
• 28g (1/3 cup) whole wheat flour

Dough

• all of the starter (above)
• 227g (1 cup) lukewarm water
• 0.75 tsp active dry yeast
• 14g (1tbsp) sugar
• 450-480g (3 3/4 - 4 cups) flour
• 1.5 - 2.25 tsp salt, to taste
• cornmeal or semolina for dusting

Instructions

Beforehand, prepare the starter

1. Stir all ingredients together, it should have a pudding-like consistency
2. Cover tightly with plastic wrap
3. Rest for 2-16h

Then,

1. Stir the starter down with a spoon
2. Add water, sugar, yeast, 390g (3 1/4) of flour, and salt
3. Combine into a loose, shaggy mass
4. Let rest for 15-20 minutes, it should become smoother and more cohesive
5. Knead the dough on a floured surfaced while adding up to 90g (3/4 cup) of additional flour for 10-12 minutes until it forms a soft dough
6. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with greased plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, 1-2 hours
7. Gently deflate dough
8. (optional) Divide dough in half if you’d like two loaves
9. Form the dough into round balls
10. Place a parchment on the baking tray and dust lightly with cornmeal or semlina
11. Place the dough ball(s) on the tray and cover with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let rise until 50% larger, from 45-90 minutes
12. Preheat oven to 475F
13. Slash or cross-hatch dough balls with a knife and lightly dust with flour
14. Spritz water into oven, reduce head to 425F and start baking the bread. Spritz additional water every 3 minutes for the first 15 minutes of baking. Bake for a total of 25-30 minutes until the loaves are rich golden brown with an interior temperature of at least 190F
15. Remove bread and let cool on rack. Store loosely wrapped in paper for a couple of days, or wrap in plastic and freeze for longer storage