Put the water, honey, sourdough starter, and yeast in the mixing bowl. I like to use my Kitchen Aid stand mixer to do this. I also use my dough hook to mix this dough.
Give this mixture a quick mix.
Add the olive oil 3 cups of flour and the salt to the mixer and add turn on thr mixer. Mix it no low/medium until all is well combined.
Continue to add 1/2 cup of flour at a time until you reach a dough that will pull away from the bowl and is soft and elastic.
You need to read the dough because many times the amount of flour will be different. If you add too much flour the loaves will be heavier.
Knead the dough for 4-5 minutes.
Once it is kneaded thoroughly, cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit in a sunny place for 30 minutes to an hour.
While it rises, preheat your oven to 400 degrees and remove the top rack in your oven. You want to bake your bread on the middle or bottom rack.
Once the dough has doubled in size, its time to split the dough into two equal pieces.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough sections into snake like shapes. Lay them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with cloth or plastic wrap and let the bread loaves rise. They should just about double in size.
You can check if your dough is proofed by poking the side of the dough. If the indent stays the dough it ready to bake. If it bounces back completely it needs to rise a bit more.
Once it has risen, use a sharp knife or razor blade to cut some diagonal slashes in the loaves, perpendicular to the length of the loaf.
Brush on the egg wash and put them in the oven for approximately 25 minutes.
Check it at around 20 minutes.
Let the top crust get nice and golden brown.
When the loaf is done baking move them to a wire rack to cool. Cut a slice to enjoy with your favorite soup or pasta!
Store in bread bags or linen bags. You can also freeze the loaves and reheat them for later use.