after reading through that recipe, I decided there was too much I didn't like about it, so I did this instead:

Sponge:
1 C. AP Flour
1/2 C. rye flour
3 t. yeast
3 t. organic sugar
1 C. warm (100°) water

Dough:
1/2 C. rye flour
1/2 C. pumpernickel flour
1 C. whole wheat flour
2 C. AP flour
1 t. yeast
1 egg
3 tbsp butter, melted
--
1.5 C. chopped walnuts
1 C. dried cranberries
--
1/4 c. cornmeal
2 tbsp molasses
2 tbsp instant coffee
1 tbsp raw honey
1 C boiling water
--
extra warm water and flour as needed

Make the bread:

First: I made the sponge by mixing all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. I then added the warm water and whisked it all up until most of the lumps were gone. I let it sit in a warm place uncovered for about an hour and a half.

Second: I put the cornmeal, molasses, coffee, and honey in a medium mixing bowl. I poured the boiling water on it, and mixed it well with a whisk. I then let it cool to about 100° F. When you can put your (CLEAN!)finger in and not get burned, it's about the right temp.

Meanwhile: In the bowl of my mixer with dough hook I put all the dry ingredients together. I gave it a quick spin to combine it all.

Next: My sponge was looking really good. A big foamy yeasty mess. I scraped that into the dry stuff in the mixer, then added the cornmeal/molasses soup, the butter, and egg. Threw in the cranberries and walnuts, and fired it up.

Mix all of that using the dough hook. I started slow, at about 2, and gradually increased the speed. I ended up adding a little extra water, and then about an extra 1/4 C. of flour (whole wheat or AP) and continued to mix for 5-8 minutes. The dough came away from the sides a little, and off the hook easily. Covered with plastic wrap and a towel and set aside for 2 hours. It had doubled in bulk when we got back to it.

On my bread board (a 20"x20" stone tile that I got from a hardware store for $6) I threw down some flour, and then punched the dough down and turned it out. I kneaded it for about 5 minutes, and then shaped it into 2 large loaves. In total I had about 4 pounds of dough. I put the loaves on pieces of parchment paper, and covered them with a towel to rest for half an hour.

After the dough took a 30 minute nap, I turned the oven on to 425°F. I put a pan of water on the floor of the oven, and positioned my racks at 1/3 and 2/3 of the way up with pizza stones (actually 16" diameter terra cotta planter trays that I got from another hardware store for cheap). My oven is old and slow sometimes, so it took about 15 minutes to get to temp. At that point I sprinkled flour over the tops of my loaves, and transfered them to the stones in the oven.

I let them bake for 20 minutes, then opened the oven up and swapped the bottom loaf for the top, and baked for another 25 minutes. When they sound hollow on the bottom when tapped with a wooden spoon, they're done.

For a recipe that I completely made up on the fly, these turned out fantastically well. I'm totally going to make these again, even if it's not Thanksgiving.