Italian Olive Oil Bread

I must admit, I've never really been one for the artisan style bread, I just don't like things super crusty. I've always been all about soft and gooey! Well everything deserves a chance and I do want to represent all the recipes in this fabulous book so I made this recipe. And LOVED it!!(Definitely 5 stars) It wasn't to crusty and it also made an AWESOME French Toast!! Check out Alton Brown's French toast recipe here (Note: It really does make a difference to slice your bread and let it sit on the counter overnight!) And a note on the french toast, we used 1% milk, and it was good!

Anyhew, here goes...



To prepare the sponge:
In a large bowl: 1 cup lukewarm water, 1 cup lukewarm milk, 1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast, 3 cups whole wheat flour (It recommends stoneground, but that's not what I had and it was fine)
Cover loosely with cheesecloth (or plastic) and let sit at room temp for 8-12 hours. I made the sponge around 10-11 in the morning, then mixed the dough about 9 pm that night. You also let the dough raise for an extended amount of time, so I let it sit all night and then baked first thing in the morning.

Add to the sponge: 1 tsp. active dry yeast, 1 tablespoon salt, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup wheat bran, raw wheat germ, or Roman Meal Cream of Rye cereal, along with 1/2 a cup of unbleached all purpose or bread flour. Beat hard for 2 minutes, and then add the remaining 1 1/2 to 2 cups of flour a little at a time until you are able to knead the dough without getting to sticky. Knead about 3 minutes, set aside uncovered, for 5-10 minutes, then knead another 3 minutes.
If kneading by machine, switch from paddle to dough hook and knead 5-6 minutes. Place dough in a greased deep container and let rise until tripled in bulk, for 3 hours or overnight.

Gently deflate the dough, shape into two free form loaves and place on a greased or parchment covered baking sheet. Let rise about an hour. Slash a diamond design with a serrated knife no more then 1/4 an inch deep. Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 375 F and bake another 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!