Wednesday, November 2, 2011

French Bread

  • 2 tsp. active dry yeast
  • 1 Tbs. sugar
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 1 1/2 c. warm water (115 deg.)
  • 2 Tbs. butter flavored shortening, melted
  • 4 c. bread flour
  • 4 tbs. cornmeal
 Put warm water, sugar and yeast in mixing bowl let stand 5 min. until yeast bubbles.  If this does not happen your yeast could be old or your water was to hot and you killed your yeast.  Add melted shortening (not hot) salt and 2 cups of the flour.  Mix on med for 2 min then add remaining flour mix until it all comes together and no longer sticks to the bowl.  Place dough on floured surface and knead until smooth about 2 min.  Place in greased bowl and cover with tea towel.   Let rise for 1 hr.  punch down dough and place on clean surface, cut in half.  Flatten dough into a rectangle and roll up tightly into loaf shape.  Pinch the edges on the bottom together.(see photo)Turn over and place on pan dusted with cornmeal.  Let rise for 1 more hr.  Place a small pan of water in oven on lower race.  The steam will make your bread crispier.  Bake @ 375 for 25 min or until golden brown.

Makes 2 Loaves

Click here for Tutorial
Click here for French Toast

6 comments:

  1. Just wanted to let you know that I made these breads today and they were AWESOME!!! Thanks so much for making it simple with the tutorial - I never though I could make French Bread!

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  2. Making this now...and the recipe directions say to add the salt, but the ingred list doesn't include an amount. I'm going to go w/ 1 1/2 t, which is what another recipe calls for. *fingers crossed* Thanks for sharing the recipe!

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    Replies
    1. Sooooooo sorry I didn't catch that mistake thanks...its 2 tsp...

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    2. Thanks! It's good even w/ less salt, but a little plain - I'm guessing that little bit of salt would make a difference. The texture of the bread is fantastic, though.

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  3. Have you ever tried this with either lard or whole wheat flower. It's so pretty, but we try to eat a little less processed.

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    Replies
    1. Try my Honey Wheat recipe and sub the shortening for butter or veg oil. It still has white flour... I haven't been able to make a 100% loaf that was edible yet. You'll find the recipe in my recipe box(on the tabs under the header). Thanks for stoppin by.......

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