Col Cooks: Multigrain Sourdough Bread

I am in the middle of four good books at this point, which I admit is becoming a bit obsessive. So in my spare time I'm thinking about bread, which withstands a lot more book neglect than, say, children. Yes, homemade bread takes some time, but most of it is "hands off," waiting for me to finish the next chapter. This is the basic bread I make weekly for sandwiches. A thick slice toasted with goat cheese and a perfectly ripe tomato is my favorite breakfast.

1 cup sourdough starter*
1 cup warm milk
1/2 cup rolled oats
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons neutral oil (like sunflower or safflower)
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 -2 1/2 cups white bread flour

1. Bring starter to room temperature in mixing bowl.

2. Soak rolled oats in milk for five minutes.

3. Add oat and milk mixture to the sourdough starter. Mix in honey, oil and salt.

4. Add cornmeal, then whole wheat flour, until incorporated completely. Then add bread flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough is no longer sticky.

5. Knead until the dough is completely smooth (feels like an earlobe when pinched -- this takes about 5-7 minutes with the bread hook on my KitchenAid mixer).

6. Let rise in an oiled bowl until doubled (depending on the temperature and the starter, this can take several hours or even a day).

7. Punch down bread, reknead until smooth, and place the loaf in a bread pan. Let rise in the refrigerator (preferably overnight).

8. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for about an hour, until crust is golden brown and bread sounds hollow when rapped. Let cool 5 minutes in pan, then remove to a wire rack.

*The sourdough starter I use has been around for about a year at this point. I used the "Foolproof" Sourdough Starter recipe on Alaska.net's Sourdough page. It worked like a charm.