French Bread

 

French Bread

French bread is a delightful homemade treat suitable for any occasion. Enjoy it as-is, transform it into sandwiches, or make savory garlic bread! Each batch improves with practice. No stand mixer? No problem! Knead by hand—just remember it's sticky. Flour your surface well and dampen your hands to avoid clinginess. Use a bench scraper for easy handling!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon cornmeal

6 cups all-purpose flour

2 ½ (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast

1 ½ teaspoons salt

2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)

1 egg white

1 tablespoon water

Directions

Grease a large baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal. Set aside.

Combine 2 cups flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir in 2 cups warm water; beat with the dough hook attachment until blended. Continue adding the remaining flour, a little at a time, until incorporated.

Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Shape into a ball, place in a greased bowl, and turn once.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Punch the dough down and divide in half.

 Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Roll each half into a large rectangle. Roll up, starting from a long side. Moisten the edge with water and seal. Taper ends.

Place loaves, seam-side down, on the prepared baking sheet.

Lightly beat egg white with 1 tablespoon water and brush over loaves.

 Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until nearly doubled 35 to 40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

 Use a sharp knife to make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts, about 1/4-inch deep, across the top of each loaf.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Brush loaves with egg white mixture.

 Continue baking until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 190 degrees F or loaves sound hollow when tapped, 15 to 20 minutes more. If necessary, cover loosely with foil to prevent over-browning.

 Remove loaves from the baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.

Elizabeth Kilbride is a Writer and Editor with forty years of experience in writing with 12 of those years in the online content sphere. Author of 5 books and a Graduate with an Associate of Arts from Phoenix University in Business Management, then a degree. Mass Communication and Cyber Analysis from Phoenix University, then on to Walden University for her master’s in criminology with emphasis on Cybercrime and Identity Theft and is currently studying for her Ph.D. degree in Criminology. Her work portfolio includes coverage of politics, current affairs, elections, history, and true crime. Elizabeth is also a gourmet cook, life coach, and avid artist in her spare time, proficient in watercolor, acrylic, oil, pen and ink, Gouche, and pastels. As a political operative having worked on over 300 campaigns during her career, Elizabeth has turned many life events into books and movie scripts while using history to weave interesting storylines. She also runs 7 blogs that range from art to life coaching, to food, to writing, Gardening, and opinion or history pieces each week. 

French Fare, Potpourri of Frugality. Kilbride