A golden-brown loaf with a sweet tang.

There is more sourdough information on the Internet than you can shake a stick at, so I will only post one recipe below. If you want to learn more about sourdough, there are lots of online resources. In the meantime, here's a bread that's just a little tangy, substantial and good.

The night before:

Mix the ingredients for the sponge in the order given. It will look like oatmeal. Cover the bowl – plastic wrap works best – and put the sponge away in a warm place overnight.

The next day:

The next morning, the sponge should be light and bubbly. Beat in the salt, sugar, soda, and oil.

Knead, adding smaller sprinklings of flour, until the dough is smooth – about 10 minutes. Smooth a thin layer of flour over the dough ball, cover it again, and put it away another 2 hours, or until the dough is light again.

Working gently, cut the dough into two. Knead each half briefly, shaping the loaf you want.

Allow the dough to rise another half-hour to an hour, or until it’s light and a few blisters are visible under the skin surface of it. Start preheating the oven. I preheat my oven to 475° F (250° C), but lower the temp to 375° F (190° C) right after I’ve put the loaves in the oven.

Decorate the surface of the loaves by giving them an egg-wash, pressing flakes of oats on top.

Bake for 1 hour or until a golden-brown.