PJ & Mary Jane - Tried this a few weeks ago with sourdough, and after ordering first clear and rye improver from KA, made it again with the following: Doubled the recipe, as I wanted two larger sandwich loaves. Used 1 cup of sourdough starter (8 oz), substituted for 4 oz of flour and 4 oz of water. From the older KA recipe for Steph's rye, got the idea to make a small sponge, but did it by feeding the starter with 1 cup of the rye flour and 1 cup of water (with a pinch of yeast) and letting that sit over night. Next day added the other cup of rye flour and rest of water, and let sit 20 minutes as per recipe, and then added other ingredients for dough. Used all first clear flour and the rye improver. Ended up with 57 oz of dough. Split into two loaves, and used 4 1/2" x 8 1/2" pans. Very tasty, soft and beautifully shaped. Next time, I think I will make the sponge with the sourdough and all of the water and all of the rye flour for overnight. I may also use KA bread flour half and half with the first clear (cost per loaf would be less). I think the sponge really improves the quality. Fantastic ideas! I would certainly try the all-starter method (no yeast) and see how that improves the taste and texture. The sponge definitely improves the taste of the bread, but it does often need to be worked with in about 8-12 hours depending on how much food the starter has (8 oz of starter--approx. 1 heaping cup--will go through 2 cups flour, 1 cup water in 12 hours, just so you know! After that 12 hours, it will need to be fed again). Best of luck! Kim@KAF

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