Ingredients:

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
   1      tablespoon    active dry yeast
     3/4  cup           warm water
   2      cups          sourdough starter
   2      teaspoons     salt
   2 1/2  cups          white flour -- prefer, up to 3
                        corn meal
                        bly unbleached

Preparation:

Makes 1 large round loaf In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Then mix in the sourdough starter, salt, and about 2 to 2 1/2 cups of flour, a cup at a time, until the dough becomes hard to stir. Turn the dough out onto a floured working surface and let it rest while you clean the bowl. Scrape up the dough, slap it around a few times and then knead it, adding more flour as necessary, until it is smooth and elastic - about 10 minutes. Return the dough to the clean ungreased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until triple in bulk - 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, punch it down, and form into a large round loaf by molding it with your hands, stretching and tucking under, then pinching together the seams on the bottom to close them. Place on a baking sheet that you've sprinkled with corn meal, cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise until double - about 1 hour. With a sharp knife make 6 slashes going one way and then the other in a tic-tac-toe pattern across the top of the loaf, then brush with water. Bake in preheated 450 F oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 F and bake 25 minutes more. Cool on a rac