Accompaniment: Ciabatta

Ingredients:

1 teaspon active dry yeast

5 tablespoons warm milk

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon olive

2 cups Biga (recipe follows)

3 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 tablespoon salt

cornmeal

Instructions:

1. Stir the yeat into the milk in a miser bowl; let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Add water, oil and starter and mix until blended. Mix the floudr and salt, add to the bowl and mix. When ready knead the bread without adding additional flour. The dough will be very soft and sticky. (You can also mix this in a mixer, using the paddle first for 2-3 minutes. Then switch to the dough hook for 2 minutes at low speed, then 2 minutes at medium speed.)

2. Dough should be velvety, supple and very springy.

3. First rise: Place in an oiled bowl, let rise until doubled. Should be full of air bubbles, very supple, and sticky.

4. Shaping & second rise: Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll up each piece into a cylinder, then stretch into a rectangle. Pleace each loaf, seam side up, on a sheet of parchment paper. Dimple the loaves vigorously with your fingertips so they won't rise too much. Let rise for 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

5. Baking. Thirty minutes before baking, heat the oven with the baking stone to 425. Invert each loaf onto the stone. Bake for 20-25 minutes, spraying 3 times with water in the first 10 minutes.