In a medium bowl, mix well together the ingredients for the starter with a fork. Cover and let it sit overnight on the countertop (about 8 hours or so). By next morning it will have bubbled up and settled a bit.

The next morning knead by hand or use a kitchen machine. I put all the starter, yeast, 1 cup water, the flour, salt and cumin seeds in the food processor bowl. Knead, adding a little more water or flour (as the case may be) if necessary, till a soft and elastic dough is formed. Form into a ball and place in a well-oiled bowl, turning it to coat uniformly.

Cover and let it rise for about 2 hours or until it has doubled in volume. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured countertop and lightly knead. Divide the dough into 5 equal portions. Of these, divide 4 into half each. You will have 1 larger piece of dough and 8 smaller ones.

Roll each of the smaller pieces into “ropes” about 7” long. Start shaping the “Sun”. Place the ropes in a circle like spokes of a wheel on a large, parchment lined baking sheet, to make the “rays”. Space them equally apart, leaving a small gap in the centre. Curl the ends around. Roll the remaining larger piece of dough into about 18” long rope. Coil into a spiral and place in the centre of the sun "rays". Cover loosely and let rise in a warm place for around 30 minutes.

Brush the top of the dough with milk and sprinkle with cumin seeds. Bake at 210C (410F) for about 25 to 30 minutes till done and golden brown in colour. The loaf should sound hollow when tapped. Let it cool on a rack.