Place in a warm, greased bowl, turning to coat the dough in grease. Set aside to rise until double, about 1 and a half hours. Turn out on a floured surface, knead lightly, cover and let rest 10 minutes. Divide dough in half. Sprinkle a greased baking sheet lightly with the cornmeal, if you want to.
Place loaves on prepared pan.
Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Brush with cold water. Place loaves in cold oven. Set temp to 400 degrees and bake 45 - 50 minutes. For a harder crust, brush loaves with cold water 1 or 2 times more during baking.