It makes one large loaf.
• 1 package (1 Tbs.) dry yeast
• 1⅔ cups warm water
• 1 Tbs. sugar
• 3 Tbs. molasses
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup white flour
• 1 cup yellow corn meal
• 1 Tbs. salt
• 2 Tbs. butter, melted
1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the sugar and molasses. Mix together the flours, corn meal, and salt, and add about 1½ cups of the dry mixture to the liquid. Stir vigorously until smooth, and put this sponge in a warm place to rise for about an hour.
2. Stir down the sponge, add the melted butter, and gradually stir in as much of the flour mixture as you can. When the dough is too stiff to be stirred, sprinkle the remaining flour mixture on a large board, turn the dough out onto it, turn it over, and begin gently kneading. Knead the dough until it is even-textured and elastic, working in as much of the flour as necessary to keep it from sticking, but no more.
3. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a buttered bowl, turn it over once or twice, and then cover the bowl with a towel and leave the dough to rise in a warm, draft-free place until it is double in size. Punch it down, knead it a couple more times, and form it into a high, round loaf, pinching the seams together on the bottom. Place the loaf on a baking sheet that has been buttered and coated with corn meal, and leave it to rise until it has almost doubled in size.
4. Cut a shallow cross in the top of the loaf with a sharp knife, and brush the loaf with cold water. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes.
