San Francisco Style Sourdough French Bread

Crispy crust, sourdough flavor in an easy french bread recipe.

In a large mixing bowl dissolve yeast in warm water , mix with starter.

Add 3 cups flour , sugar and salt , stir vigorously 2 or 3 minutes.

Cover with a cloth , set in warm place and let rise 1-1 / 2 to 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Mix baking soda with 1 cup of remaining flour and stir in , the dough should be stiff.

Turn out onto a floured surface and begin kneading.

Add the remaining 1 cup of flour or more if needed to control stickiness.

Knead until satiny , between 5 and 10 minutes.

Shape into 2 oblong loaves or 1 large round loaf , place on lightly greased cookie sheet.

Cover with a cloth , set in warm place free from drafts and let rise 1 to 2 hours or until nearly doubled in size.

Before baking , brush outside with water and make diagonal slashes across the top with a sharp single-edge razor blade.

Put a shallow pan of hot water in the bottom of the oven.

Bake at 400 f for 45 minutes or until the crust is a medium dark brown.

water, yeast, sourdough starter, bread flour, sugar, salt, baking soda