Instructions: Mix yeast with warm water and let sit till creamy, about 15 minutes. Measure flour into bowl, stir in salt, then add yeast mix, cool water, and biga. Mix until thoroughly combined, then knead 15-20 minutes by hand (instead, I use a bread hook on my KitchenAid for several minutes). Shape into a ball, place in bowl with covering, and let rise till doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch down, fold edges into the bottom to make a ball again, then let rise again till doubled (about an hour). Sprinkle cornmeal on a baking sheet. Divide the dough into two, form each half into a round or oval, place on baking sheet. After 30 minutes start the oven at 425, with a baking stone inside if you have one. Let dough rise 45 minutes or so, till the dough springs back slowly when indented with a finger. Mist the oven with a spray bottle containing water. Put the bread tray in and mist again. After 5 minutes mist one more time, and reduce the oven to 400 degrees. Bake another 40 minutes or so, till done.

NOTES : Italian bread is simple, but making it is not. A good recipe is a two-day process. The first day you make "biga", a firm sponge using just flour, water and yeast. This sits in the fridge overnight. The next day you mix some of the biga with more flour, water and yeast to make the bread. (Leftover biga is frozen for future bread- making, so succeeding sessions complete in one day.) Note, no oil or sweeteners are used. The biga seems to supply the elasticity or chewiness that makes it something like French bread. Its delicious, but as I say, more work than you think.

A complete recipe follows, based on "The Il Fornaio Baking Book" by Franco Galli. Their recipe is a little more sophisticated, but I like the results I get from this slightly simplified procedure.

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