Whole Wheat Country Bread w/ Olives

I love the olive and garlic breads some restaurants serve - the kind with whole chunks of fruit in them - and finally decided to try my hand at one using a recipe adapted from a Sur La Table recipe.
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I am usually not a fan of black pepper, but I was surprised by how much I liked the extra spice it gave the bread. This does beautifully toasted and it's fast becoming a family favorite with some salted butter spread on top.

Batch 1:

• 1 cup (8 ounces) warm water (110° to 115°F)
• 1 cup (8 ounces) whole milk (same temperature as water)
• 2 tablespoons (.87 ounces) granulated sugar
• 2¼ teaspoons (.25 ounces) active dry yeast

Batch 2:

• 1/2 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
• 3 tablespoons (1.5 ounces) unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 2/3 cup yellow onions, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted, drained, roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups (8 ounces) whole wheat flour
• 2 cups (8.5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

Remainder:

• 1.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp finely ground yellow cornmeal
• Olive oil, for greasing the bowl

1. Whisk the ingredients of Batch 1 together in a stand mixer bowl and let stand for 5-10 minutes. If the yeast clumps up, simply whisk again.
2. Add the ingredients of Batch 2 into the stand mixer and use a spoon or spatula to hand mix until ingredients start to come together. Switch to a dough hook and mix for about 2-3 minutes, adding AP flour as necessary to make workable dough. You may need to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally at the beginning.
3. Remove the dough hook and cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10-15 minutes.
4. Reattach dough hook and mix for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with AP flour as necessary.
5. Lightly oil another bowl and turn dough into it, rolling the dough gently to cover it evenly with oil. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it double in size (about 1.5 hours).
6. On a lightly floured surface, divide dough in half and shape into round loaves. Sprinkle a baking sheet with the remaining cornmeal and place loaves on it seam-side down. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise again until barely doubled (about 45 minutes).
7. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 F. Bake the bread until it is well-browned and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, about 45-50 minutes. Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool.