How to Make Your Own Delicious Homemade French Bread
Ingredients
- cups •3 unbleached all-purpose flour
- tablespoon •1 brown sugar
- teaspoons •1 1/2 salt
- cups •1 1/8 warm water This really means..warmer than warm but not hot., about 110 degrees
- tablespoons •1 1/2 Olive Oil
- teaspoons •1 1/2 active dry yeast
- •1 egg
- tablespoon •1 water
- t •cornmeal to sprinkle on pan so dough doesn’ stick
Instructions
- First put Water, brown sugar and yeast in a large bowl. Let the yeast proof (this means to get bubbly) If your yeast is fresh this only takes about 5-10 min
- Then add Salt, Olive Oil and Flour and mix with a spoon
- After that is mixed up really good..turn it out onto a clean floured surface. I just use my counter. Then you are ready to knead. Kneading just means mixing more with your hands and making sure that the yeast and everything is evenly distributed. Kneading will also determine the texture of your bread
- All you do is Squoosh the dough together and then start fold it in half toward you..then push down in the middle away from you. Turn about a third of the way and do again and again. I usually Knead for about 5 min or less. You know that the dough is ready when it no longer sticks to the counter and it feels nice and pliable..just like play dough
- Sprinkle cornmeal onto your baking sheet. Cornmeal works great at keeping dough from sticking to pans. That’s bakeries often use.
- Shape dough into a loaf. Now with a pastry brush..brush water all over the loaf. Let is rise until doubled in size..about 50 min.
- After you’ve let the dough raise, brush with egg wash (thoroughly mixed egg) Cut 4 slits in the top about 1/4 inch deep
- Cook at 375 Degrees for about 20 – 25 minutes. With A Bowl of Water in Oven (this makes crust crisp)….Until golden brown
- After the bread comes out of the oven, let it rest and cool for about 1/2 hour before cutting
Notes
If you want to have the REALLY CRUSTY BREAD, make earlier in the day and then about 5 minutes before dinner pop into the oven again. It will make a really nice crust. Even if you used a bread machine for this recipe .. you can still pop in oven right before a meal and have the same results. It becomes more like an Artisan Bread.
~You can easily double or triple this recipe.
~Bake up several loaves and freeze! Wrap up really good for freshness.
~You can also top with cheeses, sesame seeds, garlic oil
~Also makes great Garlic Bread!
~You can also make the bread with Whole Wheat Flour. You can do 1/2 and 1/2, 3/4 and 1/4 or all Whole Wheat. If you do ALL Whole Wheat you may need to use just a smidge more water
