Bread from a Sponge

This is Alton Brown's recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 lb flour
  
• 10oz water
  
• 1tsp yeast
  
• 2tsp honey
  
• 2tsp salt
  
• 1tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1/6c water
  

Mix 5oz flour, all the water, .25tsp yeast, and all the honey in a container. This is called a sponge. Cover it and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours (or, for a stronger flavor, as far as I can tell, DON'T refrigerate for 8-12 hours). At the end of this period, mix the flour, salt, and remaining yeast in the bowl of a kitchen aid. Add the sponge and, using a dough hook, mix until combined. Cover with a towel and let it rest for 20 minutes, then start mixing the dough again with the dough hook to knead the dough, alternating between low and high speed for about 10 minutes - until you can pull the dough into a thin sheet you can almost see through without it breaking.

Now set the dough in a humid environment to rise until doubled, about an hour. I like to boil water in the microwave and then set the bowl in there. When it's doubled, turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Press into a rectangle with your fingers and fold in three, like a letter. Press it out again and fold it in the other direction (again, in three parts). Now draw the corners into the middle and turn it over in your hand. Now there are four "new" corners (what were previously the middle of each edge before you drew the corners the first time). Draw each of those into your hand to tighten the smooth side of the dough. Now, on a lightly floured surface pass the ball around in a circle between your hands, keeping it upright, to tighten the top and smooth out the bottom (as far as I can tell).

Set the dough on a surface well floured with cornmeal and cover for another hour. Preheat oven for 400. After the hour, paint the dough with the corn starch mixture, and then slash the dough a couple of times using a serrated knife. Place the dough on a pizza stone (or if you don't have it, a baking dish, I guess) and bake for 50 minutes, until brown. Let sit 30 minutes before slicing.

Thoughts: This recipe is amazing. I've had some difficulty with "kneading" the bread in the kitchen aid, but this may be related to the age of my appliance. Is it from the 1970s? Appearances say yes. Anyway, next time I make it I may knead it with my hands after combined. The hardest part so far has been transferring the completed bread to the pizza stone, which needs to be hot. Not sure what to do there. Suggestions?

One of our favorite breads after making it only twice.

Disaster Index: 1/10