A nice starter for a romantic dinner.

Ingredients

* 1 envelope active dry yeast
* 2 C. warm water
* 4 1/2 C. unbleached all-purpose flour
* 1/2 C. whole wheat flour
* 2 tsp. salt
* 2 tsp. olive oil
* 1 C. shredded pecorino toscano
* 1 C. chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions

In a medium bowl, sprinkle the yeast over 1 C. water. Let stand until yeast is creamy. Should take 2 minutes. Stir until yeast dissolves. In a large bowl, stir together 4 C. all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour and salt. Add yeast mixture, 1 C. warm water and oil. Stir until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, 10 minutes.

Oil the inside of a large bowl. Add dough, turning it once to oil the top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk. Should take 1 1/2 hours. Oil a large baking sheet. Flatten the dough to remove air bubbles. Scatter cheese and nuts on top and knead to distribute the ingredients. Divide the dough in two and shape each piece into a round loaf. Put the loaves a couple inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using a sharp knife, make 3 diagonal slashes on the surface of each loaf. Bake until golden brown, about 40-45 minutes. Slide the loaves onto a rack to cool. Serve.

Yield 2 loaves.

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