10,000 steps a day and Sourdough French Bread

With dd2's wedding looming in 200 days or so, I have been trying to lose weight. I joined Weight Watcher's and lost 20 lbs, but in the last few months the weight has been especially stubborn. Diet alone is not going to get me to goal weight.

Grudgingly, I have put on my sneakers and hit the road. To begin, I bought a pedometer and wore it a couple of days to see how many steps I took in a regular day. Shockingly, it was only about 2000 steps. I had a lot of work to do. In Louisiana, we tend to fight humidity and heat most of the year, so I also had to get up early...6 am. I set the alarm clock and hit the road. 3 laps around my subdivision in the morning and one lap in the evening, along with my regular chores, and I'm up to 12,000 steps. My joints are screaming, but I hope to kick the weight loss in high gear. I'll post results weekly. I'm going for a half a pound a week. Let's face it, I'm a girl who likes to eat. I'm not going to starve myself. Slow and steady weight loss suits me fine.

I'm continuing to experiment with my sourdough, and yesterday I tried Sourdough French Bread. We're having Mexican Corn Chowder tonight, so with a salad and French Bread, I'll have an easy meal tonight.

Sourdough French Bread

Take your sourdough out of the fridge and set it covered on the counter for about an hour to "wake" it up. Add 1 cup warm water and 1 cup flour and mix well. It will be lumpy, and that's okay. Cover it and leave it until it starts to bubble.

Measure out 3 cups starter sponge.
2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup warm water
5-6 cups whole wheat flour (or you can use a combination of flours or ap white)
Toss it in the Bread machine on the dough setting. When complete, separate the dough into half. Shape the dough into logs and set on baking sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Cut slashes in the dough. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until double in size. Bake in a 375 degree oven that has a pan on the shelf below with hot water. My bread baked for 35 minutes. The bread should sound hollow when tapped and be golden brown on top and bottom.

Note: To the leftover starter, add 1 cup warm water and 1 cup flour. Stir, cover and place in fridge. If you don't use it at least once a week, throw out 1/2 cup of starter and add 1/4 cup warm water and 1/4 cup flour.