INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

Place the yeast and warm water in a large bowl and stir with a fork to
dissolve the yeast. Let stand for about 3 minutes.  Whisk the whole
wheat flour, unbleached flour, oats, and salt  together in a medium
bowl.  Add the sponge starter, cool water, honey, molasses, and oil to
the  yeast mixture. Mix with your fingers for 1 to 2 minutes, just long
enough to break up the sponge (the mixture should look milky and be
slightly foamy). Add the flour mixture to the bowl and stir with your
fingers to incorporate the flour, scraping the sides of the bowl and
folding the dough over itself until it gathers into a shaggy mass.
Don't be concerned if the dough feels very sticky at this point.
Lightly flour a work surface. Remove the dough from the bowl and  knead
it for 6 to 8 minutes, until it becomes compact and elastic. It  should
be very moist but not mushy. If it feels too stiff to knead,  add water
1 tablespoon at a time until you have a soft, malleable  dough. If it's
sloppy wet and impossible to knead, add another 1/4 to  1/3 cup (1 1/4
to  flour. Shape the dough into a loose ball and let it rest, covered
with  plastic wrap, on the lightly floured work surface for 20 minutes.
(This rest period is the autolyse.)  Flatten the dough and stretch it
gently into a rectangle about an inch  thick. Spread the pecans and
raisins evenly over the dough. Fold the  whole mass into an envelope
and knead and fold it gently until the  nuts are well distributed,
about 2 to 3 minutes. If the dough  resists, let it rest for 5 minutes
and then continue kneading. Some  of the nuts may pop out of the dough,
but they can easily be  incorporated again after the first rise, when
the dough has softened.  Shape the dough into a loose ball and place it
in a lightly oiled  bowl, along with any loose nuts. Turn the dough to
coat the top with  oil, and cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap.
Let the dough rise  at room temperature (75 to 77 degrees F) until it
has doubled in  volume, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. (You can also
refrigerate this dough  overnight and shape it and bake it the next
day: Let it rise for 1  hour at room temperature, or until it looks
slightly puffy but not  doubled, before refrigerating. The next day,
let it rise for 2 hours  at room temperature before shaping it.)  When
the dough has doubled, loosen it from the bowl with lightly  floured
hands and gently pour it onto a floured work surface. Press  any loose
pecans into the dough and divide it into 2 equal pieces.  Shape each
piece into a log. Spread the oats for topping on a flat  plate or
baking sheet. Use a pastry brush or a plant sprayer to  lightly moisten
the top of each log with water, then roll the tops of  the loaves in
the oats. Place each loaf seam side down in an oiled 9  by 5-inch loaf
pan. Cover them with plastic wrap and allow to rise  for about 2 hours,
or until they have doubled in size (a finger  pressed into the dough
will leave an indentation).  Thirty minutes before baking, preheat the
oven to 425 degrees F.  Place a baking stone in the oven to preheat and
place an empty water  pan directly below the stone.  When the loaves
have doubled, place the pans on the baking stone.  Quickly pour 1 cup
of very hot water into the water pan and  immediately shut the door.
After 1 minute, using a plant sprayer,  mist the loaves quickly 6 to 8
times then shut the oven door. Repeat  the misting procedure 1 minute
later.  continued in part 2

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Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
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Calories: 8529
Calories From Fat: 3830
Total Fat: 437.7g
Cholesterol: 653mg
Sodium: 11891.7mg
Potassium: 4801.6mg
Carbohydrates: 861.6g
Fiber: 47.4g
Sugar: 113.7g
Protein: 289g