Good Big Loaves

Yesterday I made the second batch of blended white flour/whole wheat flour sourdough sandwich bread. It came out pretty well. Here are the proportions:

1 1/2 cups sourdough starter
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1/2 cup milk
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 Tablespoon butter
1 cup whole wheat flour
5 cups white all-purpose flour

mixed together, sprinkled with two heaping Tablespoons kosher salt and left alone for one hour... then kneaded (working in another two cups or so of white flour) for fifteen minutes. It rose for about five hours. Shaped into sandwich loaves and placed in well-buttered medium pans, it rose another two hours or so in the oven with a pan of steaming water before being baked at 350 degrees (stayed in the oven, with the water removed, during the preheating time) for about an hour.

This time everything came out wonderfully except that the oven bounce (the rise in the first part of baking) was pretty weird. The loaves were close together in the center of the oven, and they each split along that inside edge and pushed out as if they were trying to touch each other. It was too late by the time I noticed, but they're still good; just a little awkward looking.

Next time: separate them in the oven before turning it on.