Sourdough Bread - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 cup sourdough starter
12 cups flour
4 cups water
4 teaspoons salt

Preparation

Mix the starter with 2 cups of flour and l c water in a large non metal mixing bowl. This is the working culture. Proof for 12 hours at room temp (68-72 degrees).
Add 2 cups of the flour and 1 cup water. Mix and knead until smooth. Proof 8 hours at room temperature. After proofing, this is the fully active culture.
Punch down. Dissolve the salt in the remaining 2 cups water and stir into the dough. Reserve 1 cup of the flour for flouring the board.
Mix the remaining flour into the dough 1 cup at a time. I use a heavy duty mixer for this, but it can be done nicely by hand.
Knead until a smooth satiny dough develops, (5-10 min).
Form 2 loaves and proof them until they've doubled in size.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350\u00b0F for 40-45 minutes. Remove from the pans and cool on wire racks. I line my pan with parchment paper which gives a nice crusty finish to the loaves bottom and sides.