Mixing the bread dough: Blend the water and cottage cheese together until smooth. In a 4-quart mixing bowl combine water/cottage cheese mixer, starter, egg whites, nine-grain flour, and vital wheat gluten together. You will have a rough, sticky dough. Allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes. Add salt to the dough. Mix well. Cover and allow it to rise for 30-45 minutes. Remove lid and gently pick up one side of the dough, fold it in half. Repeat with all four sides of dough. Cover and allow to rise for another hour. Repeat 2 more times for a total of 4 folding times. The timing does not need to be exact on the minute. The dough should have risen before you do the next set of stretch and folds.

Refrigerating ferment:  Allow the dough to ferment for a total of 4 1/2 hours at room temperature.This is counting from the time you mix it. Shaping: stretch your dough in to a rectangle. Fold both sides into the center, overlapping. Fold the dough in 3rd to make a round ball. Pull the dough towards you to stretch the surface, turn and repeat 2 more times. Flour a brotform with brown rice flour. Place bread dough into brotform. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Room temperature ferment: Allow the dough to ferment at room temperature for 6 hours. Counting from the time you mixed it until you shape it to be baked. Shaping: stretch your dough in to a rectangle. Fold both sides into the center, overlapping. Fold the dough in 3rd to make a round ball. Pull the dough towards you to stretch the surface, turn and repeat 2 more times. Flour a brotform with brown rice flour. Place bread dough into brotform. Cover and allow to ferment**.

Baking: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. When the oven is preheated, dump the loaf onto a piece of parchment paper. Place the loaf in the baker. Cover baker with lid. Set the timer for 6 minutes. When the baking time is up, remove the baker from the oven. Score the loaf. Cover and return the baker to the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the baker lid. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Bake for an extra 12 minutes or until the bread has an internal temp of 200 degrees. Remove clay baker from oven. Remove loaf to a wire rack to cool. 12-14 slices

**How to test your bread dough to know if it is ready to bake…gently press your finger into the dough. If it slowly springs back to its original shape it is ready to bake. If it springs back too quickly it is under-proofed and needs more rising time. If it doesn’t spring bake at all –it is over-proofed and should be baked as quickly as possible.

THM approved sourdough items need a 7 hours room temp ferment OR 24 hour fridge ferment. You can combine room and fridge temp, also. 1 hour room temp equals 3.5 hours in the fridge.

Fermenting tip: Over the winter, when my house is cool, I ferment the starter in my microwave. I let the door open enough so that the light stays on. That little bit of warmth helps the starter to ferment better.