In a bowl, put starter and water and mix well to saturate starter.

Add flour and mix very well.

Then knead for a couple minutes on a lightly floured surface. The dough will be kind of heavy and slightly tacky. You can also put everything in a stand mixer with your dough hook and knead until you have a nice ball.

Put in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap.

Let sit undisturbed for 12 hours. This maximizes the health benefits and really helps to develop the characteristic sourdough flavor. Don’t lessen the wait time!

In stand mixer bowl (or large bowl), combine sponge and water. Saturate the sponge.

Add salt and flour.

Mix until you have a soft ball forming.

Knead. If using a stand mixer, knead for about 2-3 minutes. Kneading helps activate the gluten to give you a beautiful rise and texture. If you don’t have a stand mixer, knead on a lightly floured surface for about 7-8 minutes. The dough should be soft, pliable, and just a little tacky.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise until doubled.

Depending on warmth of your kitchen and humidity, this can take anywhere from 1-3 hours.

After the dough has risen, separate into 2 equal portions.

Shape into loaves and place loaves into loaf pans that have been dusted with flour.

Cover lightly with a towel and let rise until doubled. This usually takes 45-90 minutes.

Finally, when loaves are risen, bake in a 400 degree oven for 35-40 minutes.

Take bread out of loaf pans. Thump the bottom of the loaf (its done if it sounds hollow).

Cool on a cooling rack for at least one hour. If you eat it fresh out often oven which you will tempted to do, it will taste very bland.