Step three: The recipe

Bread is like life. Everybody has her own approach, and while some approaches are unquestioned disasters and some are unparalleled successes, the truth is that there isn't much obviously different from one recipe to the next. As you get accustomed to baking, you'll find what works best for you and the ingredients you have.

This is the basic recipe I use, and it's always received rave reviews. It's simple and it makes a fine bread. You'll need the following:

• 2 cups of sponge
• 3 cups of bread flour
• 3 cups of whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons of softened butter
• ¼ cup of honey
• 1 teaspoon of salt

Measure out two cups of sponge. (Set aside the rest for later.) To the sponge, add the honey, salt, and butter. If you don't have honey, use sugar instead. If you prefer not to use butter, you can use olive oil, or nothing at all. Mix the ingredients well, then stir in the flour one cup at a time. Knead in enough flour to make a good, flexible bread dough. You can do this with an electric mixer or a bread machine on its dough cycle. I use a big bowl and my bare hands.

The recipe is a good guideline but it should not be viewed as an absolute rule. Flour amounts are approximate. Flour varies in absorbency, and your sponge can vary in wetness. Treat it like conventional bread dough, and use more flour, or less, according to your judgment. Always trust your hands and eyes more than the recipe.

Let the dough rise in a warm place, in a loosely covered bowl so that the dough does not dry out. To get my bread to rise well, I turn the oven on to 200 degrees for a few minutes, then turn it off again. This warms the oven and makes it a great environment to raise bread.

Sourdough typically rises more slowly than yeast bread. My starter takes about three hours to make the bread rise, but some starters take less time and some much more. Let the dough double in bulk, just like yeast-bread dough.

Punch the dough down and knead it a little more. Twist it in your hands to make two equal balls of dough, and place them side by side on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Place it in a warm place to rise again, until doubled in bulk.

Place the baking sheet with the loaves in your oven, and then preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake the bread for 30-45 minutes. The loaf is done when the crust is brown. Turn the loaf out onto a cooling rack, and let it cool off before slicing.

Your total cost for the bread? A little less than a dollar.

About that leftover sponge: Save it. It is your starter for next time. Put it into the jar, add a half-cup each of flour and warm water, and stir it all together before putting it in your refrigerator. When you're ready to bake bread next time, just bring it out and start the proofing process all over again.