| roselake |
Posted - Feb 02 2009 : 08:27:18 AM
I want to share my recipe for french bread with everyone. It's very easy and quick since you don't need to let it rise twice. I use unbleached sapphire flour, but you can use whatever flour you have on hand as long as it isn't a pastry flour.
I hope you enjoy it. All my friends love it and it makes a nice bread to give as a gift with a pot of soup or stew.
Quick and Easy French Bread
7-7 1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 T. yeast
2 T. sugar
2 t. salt
1 T. oil
cornmeal
1egg white/ 1 T. water
Combine 3 c. flour & yeast in a bowl. Add 2 1/2 c. very warm water, sugar, salt & oil. (I always add the egg yolk too if I don’t need it for another recipe.) Beat at low speed for 1/2 min. & 3 min. on med. speed. Add remaining flour a cup at a time while you can still mix it in the mixer, and then knead by hand till smooth. (I use my Bosch Mixer and add everything all at once and mix about 8 minutes)
Grease baking sheet and sprinkle with corn meal or cream of wheat. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a rectangle then roll up lengthwise so you end up with a long French loaf, pinch edges and ends. Place each loaf on the baking sheet, seam side down. Let rise about 45 min. Mix egg white and water together then brush on loaves. Make several little short diagonal cuts across the tops.
Bake at 350 for about 20 min, switch bread around so insides of loaves are on outside and bake another 5 minutes.
Both loaves will fit on one large baking sheet.
This bread is wonderful and a real time saver since it doesn’t require two risings.
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