This is only the first part of the recipe. You can make this the night before you want to bake bread, or make it and then continue with the next recipe, all in one day.
Course: Bread
Cuisine: American
Author: Lois Carter Crawford
Ingredients
1cupwarm waterabout 115 F
1tablespoondry yeast
1tablespoon sugar or honey(optional)
1 ½teaspoonssalt
1 ½cupsof bread flour
Instructions
Dissolve the yeast in the water for about 10 minutes. (Add sugar/honey, if you are using)
It should begin to bubble.
Place the salat and the flour in a bowl of at least 8 cups of volume.
Add the yeast/water mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes off the sides of the bowl in strings. About 2 minutes.
The dough will be slightly sticky. (You may need to add a little flour if it is too wet or a little water if it is too dry. If you have never made bread before don’t fuss about it. You’ll be ok.)
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
When you take it out in the morning (I always bake in the early part of the day), the sponge should have doubled in bulk.