The Doctor's Sourdough Bread

This is from the Carl Griffith site. I have made slight adjustments to the original recipe.

The Doctor’s Sourdough BREAD

1 c Sourdough Starter
2 c Warm Water
2 c Warm Milk
1 Tbsp Butter
2 1/4 tsp SAF Yeast
1/4 c Honey
7 c Unbleached Flour
1/4 c Wheat Germ
2 Tbsp Sugar
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Baking Soda

OPTIONAL: Add 1/4 c wheat bran, 1/4 c oat bran, 1 c whole wheat, rye, or kasha flour (adjusting the white flour volume) to increase the dietary fiber.

Mix the starter and 2 1/2 cups of the flour and all the water the night before you want to bake. Let stand in warm place overnight.

Next morning mix in the butter with warm milk and stir in yeast until dissolved. Add honey and when thoroughly mixed, add 2 more cups of flour, and stir in the wheat germ. Sprinkle sugar, salt, and baking soda over the mixture. Gently press into dough and mix lightly. Allow to stand from 30 to 50 minutes until mixture is bubbly. Add enough flour until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl. Then place the dough on a lightly floured board and knead 5 minutes until a silky mixture is developed.

Form into loaves, place in well-greased loaf pans 9 x 3 size or in French bread pans. Let rise until double, about 2 to 3 hours in a warm room. Place pan with 3 c water in bottom of oven for steam. Then bake in hot oven, 400 degrees F. for 20-25 minutes. Remove from pans and place loaves on rack to cool. Butter tops of loaves to prevent hard crustiness. Makes 4 1-lb Loaves (I have had it make up to 7 pounds of dough on a wet day. Yield will depend on many factors, including weather and humidity.)