Sometimes you have to improvise...

... and as a beginning bread baker I'm not quite comfortable with improvisation, but it works, some of the time.
I'd been looking for a wheat sourdough bread recipe, because I tried to make sourdough bread with wheat flour and it didn't rise very well. Since wheat flour is heavier than white flour, it needs a little boost, in the form of baking soda or yeast. I found the following recipe on breadbaking.about.com and tweaked it.

Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread
Makes 2 loaves

4 1/2 cups flour (1/2 white, 1/2 whole wheat)
3 3/4 cups warm water
1 cup sourdough starter

1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 cup olive oil
5 cups flour (1/2 white, 1/2 whole wheat)

The evening before, mix the first three ingredients in a large bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and let sit overnight. I used the largest of the three glass Pyrex bowls for this.

On the day of baking, stir down the sponge. Mix in the baking soda, salt, honey & oil. At this point, I poured the sponge into my Kitchenaid mixer bowl, as it was already too big for the Pyrex, and still didn't have the flour in it.
Mix in bread flour. Knead dough for five minutes in the bowl.
Let dough sit for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, grease two loaf pans. Divide the dough in half and put in each loaf pan. I used a glass loaf pan I use for banana bread, which I wouldn't recommend using for this bread as it is angled on the ends. I only have one loaf pan, so for the other loaf I used an Baker's Secret Nonstick 8-Inch Round Cake Pan.
Cover and let rise for 2 hours or until dough is risen over the edge of the pan. My kitchen was about 70 degrees, and it took closer to 3 hours to rise enough. After an hour and 15 minutes, I put the pans on the back of the stove top, turned the oven on for 5 minutes and then turned it off. This seemed to help.
Bake the loaves at 425 for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 and bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until it sound hollow when tapped.

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Bread that I made last week

.... That didn't turn out so well. I didn't let it rise long enough so it was flatter, like foccaccia, and dense like a bagel- not tall and fluffy like it was supposed to be! The cilantro in it was good, it had way too much pepper, which might have been better if the loaf wasn't so dense. The cornmeal made it a little painful to knead for 15 minutes; my palms felt very raw!

This recipe is from Bread Alone by Daniel Leader.

Country Style Hearth Loaf with Cornmeal, Cilantro and Coarse Pepper

This is a type of sourdough that uses poolish instead of a sourdough starter. But it's basically the same thing.

Poolish:
1/2 c water (about 75 degrees)
1/2 tsp yeast
3/4 c 20% bran wheat flour (3 parts white flour to 1 part whole wheat flour)

Mix together and let sit for 2 to 10 hours. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit until it has increased in volume.

Dough:
2 1/2 c water
1/2 tsp yeast
1 1/4 c cornmeal
1 Tbsp sea salt
1/2 c fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp black pepper
3 1/4 to 4 1/2 c 20% bran wheat flour

Add the water and yeast to the poolish. Mix in cornmeal until combined. Add salt, cilantro, pepper, and flour so it is difficult to stir. Dump onto well floured surface and knead for 15 to 17 minutes.

Shape dough into a ball. Lightly oil (I use olive oil) a bowl. Put dough in bowl and then rotate so oil is on all sides of dough. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 2 to 3 hours. It has risen enough when a finger poked into it leaves an indentation.

Punch down the dough in the bowl. Cover again and let rest for 30 minutes

Divide the dough into 2 loaves. Proof for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until about 1 1/2 the size. (The original recipe said to proof in bread baskets, which I don't have. I put floured parchment paper on the counter and let the loaves rise there. Then it was easier to transfer the bread to the baking stones, because the parchment paper can go in with the loaf.)

About an hour prior to baking, preheat the oven to 450. The loaves must bake in the center of the oven.After putting the loaves in the oven, spray the sides of the oven with water. BE CAREFUL NOT TO SPRAY THE OVEN LIGHT AS IT WILL EXPLODE. YES I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 and bake another 15 to 20 minutes. The bread is done when, if tapped on the bottom of the loaf, it sounds hollow. Cool on a wire rack.

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