Italian Country Bread with Pecans

Here's how:

• 1

  Mix together the yeast, sourdough starter, and water. Add the flour to the pre-dough, mix into a dough, and let it rest in the bowl for 60 minutes.

• 2

  Add the remaining ingredients, except for the salt.

• 3

  Knead until the dough is elastic and smooth, about 10 minutes in a mixer or about 15 minutes by hand. Add the salt toward the end of the kneading process. The dough should be loose, but not sticky.

• 4

  Shape the dough into a smooth, even ball. Let it rise until doubled in size in a bowl covered with plastic wrap for about 1.5 hours.

• 5

  Pour the dough onto the table; handle it as little as possible.

• 6

  Divide the dough into 2 pieces (for loaves) or 4 pieces (for baguettes) and gently roll them out to the desired length. Finish by rolling the pieces in all-purpose flour.

• 7

  Place on a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for about 1 hour.

• 8

  Preheat the oven to 260 °C and, at the same time, place a pan with 1 liter of water in the oven.

• 9

  Make 2–3 cuts in the bread just before placing the baking sheet in the oven, and lower the temperature to 220 °C.

• 10

  Make sure the bread gets a nice deep color for about 20–25 minutes.

• 11

  Let it cool on a wire rack.