French Bread

I haven't made bread in many years. But I was flipping through this cookbook I have on Sunday evening and saw this really easy French Bread Recipe. So, in between doing dishes and cleaning the house on Monday, I decided to try it and see what happens..

Well I'm here to tell you.. very easy, tasted great. I hope I can reproduce the same results again in the near future..

Here is the Recipe.

Makes 2 loaves

1 tbsp Active Dry Yeast (I used 1 package)

16 fl oz lukewarm water

1 tbsp salt

1 lb 14oz - 2 lb 8oz plain flour

semolina (corn meal) or flour for sprinkling.

1. Combine the yeast and water, stir, and leave for 15minutes to dissolve. Stir in Salt

2. Add the flour, 5 oz at a time. Beat in with a wooden spoon, adding just enough flour to obtain a smooth dough. Alternateively, use an electric mixer with a dough hook. ( I started out beating it by hand, but ended up using my electric mixer, worked much better)

3. Tranfer to a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.

4. Shape into a ball, place in a greased bowl and cover with a plastic bag. Leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in volumn (2-4 hours). (well I had to go out and ended up leaving mine for about 5 hours in total time)

5. Transfer to a lighlty floured board and shape into 2 long loaves. Place on a baking sheet sprinkled with semolina or flour and let rise for 5 minutes.

6. Score the tops in several places with a very sharp knife. Brush with water and place in a cold oven. Set a pan of boailing water on the bottom of the oven and set the oven to 400F. Bake until crusty and golden, about 40min. Cool on a rack.