French Bread

This is a good recipe for making easy French Bread.


Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of instant rise yeast to 2 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of sugar.


Add a total of 5 cups of flour adding one at a time. After adding the second cup of flour, mix in 1 tablespoon of salt. I add my salt later so it does not hinder the yeast. After the 5th cup of flour is mixed in, kneed for about 5 minutes.


Cover the dough and let it rise until double in bulk.


Turn it out and cut it in half.


Shape it into baguettes and place in pans or on cookie sheets dusted with cornmeal.


Brush each loaf with a mixture of 1 egg white and 1 tablespoon of water.

Slash each of the loaves along the top with a serrated knife.


I learned this lesson the hard way once when I did not slash my loaves and they exploded.


Place these in a cold oven and set it at 400 degrees. Bake for 35-45 minutes. If they get too dark place foil over them. If using a pan, slide them out about half way through baking so they will be very crisp.


The bottom and sides should be golden. Let them cool on racks.


Comments

Texan said…
This looks easier than the recipe I have! Thanks, I will give it a try!
Wonderful! I'm bookmarking because I've been wanting a good French bread tutorial. Thank you!
brokenteepee said…
I'm thinking of baking bread today. It's snowing, it's cold...soup for dinner. Bread would be just right
I can't wait to make these! It was on my "to do list" today, but that doesn't always work out. They are beautiful and so easy.
AkasaWolfSong said…
This is the easiest recipe I've gleaned thus far...I will definitely be using this one. :)

A Big Thank You!
ladyinblue3 said…
Please tell me about the mixer in this post - it has intrigued me! I must know more about this fascinating looking mixer.
Barbara F. said…
Your tutorials are always clear and concise. You actually make it look easy. I would like to try this some time. xo
jaz@octoberfarm said…
recently i have had a lot of inquiries about my mixer. it is called a magic mill mixer and is made in sweden. they are pretty expensive but well worth it. i have had mine for over ten years. i use it on average 5 times a week. it is a work horse! i highly recommend it to anyone thinking of buying one.
Anonymous said…
Love that kind of bread :-)

So Your mixer is made over here, an Electrolux? I´ve been looking at one myself, my old one is slowly dying :-) Yes they do cost a lot but they are worth it!

Have a great day!
Christer.
Anonymous said…
mmmm, I thought i smelled bread baking!!!
Whatcha got planned for these babies???
Nellie said…
It has been years since I have baked French bread, yet the memories are strong!:-) This is good motivation for me to try it again!
Wizardess said…
Yum! I made my first no-knead rye loaf the other day. I have a new sourdough starter: Frith the Second. He's in a nifty little pottery dish that helps me remember him.

Also, I'd like to invite you & your readers to my Tarot give-away:
http://gooutbeneaththenakednight.blogspot.com
It's a bit Valentine-ish!
Anonymous said…
I like easy, and this looks delicious!
Barb said…
We are getting s snow storm tomorrow. I made soup today. The bread would be great with it!
Poppy said…
Gorgeous bread and very interesting pans! I've not seen any like them before. Beautiful blog, by the way!
Anonymous said…
I've never made bread in my life. Always too intimidated to even try. It looks easy, but I'm pretty sure it would be hard for me. Oh dear Lord, give me the guts to try!!!
TARYTERRE said…
When my daughters were babies, baking bread was one of my simple joys. Now not so much. I hate having to clean up after myself. But I can smell that French Bread of yours and it's delightful.
Sharon Lovejoy said…
A good neighbor-friend from Maine is in Santa Barbara today and we're going to visit her for a few hours. I am printing this recipe and taking it because Beth said she ruined four batches of bread last week and "just can't bake bread." We'll see.

I can barely keep up with this small city lot and am amazed by what you do with TWO ACRES. Yikes.

Tanagers are fabulous. What a lucky thing to have on your property.

Hey, I was told that a FABULOUS store called Terrain is opening up in Westport. Heard anything about it?

Love to you and Teddy,

S
SharleneT said…
Where was this recipe when I was deep into bread-baking?!? Love it for the simplicity. Didn't realize not slashing the top would cause an explosion. THANK YOU for sharing that. Come visit when you can.
trump said…
I love French bread and i really enjoy making a garlic bread out of it when I'm eating something Italian. I hope to see you folks this Thursday when i post my Witness location tour from the film that stared Harrison Ford in 1985. Richard
LindaG said…
It exploded?
I never heard of that before.
Thanks for the heads up, and the recipe!