French Bread

I have made this a few times, this time I tweaked the recipe just a bit and it turned out fabulous! It has a nice crispy crust, with a soft chewy center.

The original recipe, and the picture above, are from here

Here is my version of it. I intended to get a picture to post here, but we gobbled it up too fast!

French Bread

5 to 5 1/2 cups flour
4 TBS yeast
1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp salt
2 cups warm water
1 TBS cornmeal
1 egg white

In a large mixer (kitchen aid works fine) combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, and salt.

Mix in 2 cups warm water, and beat until well blended using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Add enough flour til the sides of the bowl are clean. I put in about 5 cups total.

Once all the ingredients are incorporated, and the dough is not sticky, let it mix for about 8 minutes on low in your mixer. This will knead the dough so you dont have to do it by hand.

Remove the dough hook from your mixer and shape the dough into a ball. Place dough back into mixer bowl (greased), and turn once. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled. (I didnt have time to let it double, I just let it rise for about 30 minutes.

Punch dough down, and divide in half. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll each half into a long loaf, like french bread.

Grease a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Place loaves on the prepared baking sheet. Cover with a damp cloth. Let rise until nearly doubled, 35 to 40 minutes.
With a very sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch deep across top of each loaf. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven for 20 minutes. Brush with egg white. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until bread tests done. ( I only had to cook it an additional 7 minutes) If necessary, cover loosely with foil to prevent over browning. Remove from baking sheet, and cool on a wire rack.

This bread is so easy to make. And I priced it out and it cost me about 60 cents to make 2 large loaves. Much cheaper than the kind you pick up at the store. Although it does take some time. Not a lot of work involved, just a lot of waiting for it to rise and then bake.