Whole Wheat With Honey (Pane Integrale Con Miele)

This makes a nice breakfast bread, with a pat of butter and a drizzle of honey.

• Ready In: 48 hrs 40 mins
• Serves: 16
• Yields: 1 round loaf

Ingredients

• STARTER

• 1⁄4 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 2⁄3 cup warm water
• 1 1⁄2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (200 g)

• DOUGH

• 1 3⁄4 teaspoons active dry yeast (12 g)
• 5  teaspoons honey (or you could go with 2 T)
• 1 1⁄2 cups warm water
• 3 3⁄4 cups whole wheat flour (500 g)
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt (8 g)

Directions

1. STARTER, stir the yeast into the water, let stand until creamy, 10 minutes.
2. Stir in the flour with 70 to 100 strokes of a wooden spoon.
3. Let rise covered 6 to 24 hours.
4. Measure 1/4 cup (50 g) for each loaf.
5. DOUGH (1 loaf), stir the yeast and honey into 1/4 cup water, let stand 10 minutes.
6. Chop the starter into small pieces and add to the dissolved yeast.
7. Pour in the remaining 1 1/4 c water and squeeze the starter between your fingers until the starter is in little shreds and the water is chalky.
8. Mix the flour and salt and stir 1 cup at a time into the yeast mixture until the dough comes together.
9. Knead on a floured surface until the dough is fairly smooth and has lost most of its stickiness, about 8 to 10 minutes.
10. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours.
11. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and shape into a round loaf without punching the dough down.
12. Place loaf on a lightly oiled baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal.
13. Cover with wax paper or a towel or lightly oil the top of the loaf and cover with plastic wrap.
14. Let rise until doubled, 1 hour.
15. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
16. Bake 10 minutes, spraying every 3 minutes with water.
17. Reduce the heat to 400°F and bake 25 minutes longer.
18. Cool completely on rack.