In Good Eats, Alton Brown used a sponge to make his white bread. He said it would help develop flavor. So I did the same. I follow Alton's techniques, but Joy of Cooking's recipes.
Sponge
yields 1 cup
1/2 C water
1/2 t yeast
3/4 C flour
Alton's technique is to use mix this together and store in the refrigerator overnight. So I did.
Bread
1 C sponge
2 C water. Tip: if using sponge from refrigerator, then use water at about 105°
4 1/2 C flour
1 T Salt
Joy of Cooking called for bread flour. I didn't have any. I used standard all purpose.
Here is the sponge starter
All the players
Joy of Cooking says "the dough should feel sticky to the touch, but not actually stick to your hands." I don't think I followed that recommendation, which is why I didn't get a high final rise.
Starting the first rise
3 hours laters in my oven. This was a good rise. I was very happy with it. Notice the rubber band is an Alton Brown technique to aid in measuring volume growth
After a little hand kneading and "punching down", I shaped and panned the bread.
They rise again. This was a decent rise. I am thinking it should be more. Perhaps I need to be more patient or not have so sticky of dough. That very sticky dough might not have been able to hold its weight as it expanded.
Final Product
Location: PostList