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This recipe for French Bread is so simple that you'll want to make it again and again! No special French Bread pan is required (although I've provided the instructions for making baguette loaves). This recipe comes with illustrations. See the link at the bottom of the recipe. You'll need: Regular Flour (not Bread Flour) Yeast (not "fast-acting") Salt Water Cornmeal (optional, but I recommend it) French Bread baguette pans or cookie sheets Pastry cloth 2 Large crock or glass bowls (one for mixing the dough, one for rising the dough) Sturdy Wooden Spoon Egg Pastry Brush Cooking Thermometer Ingredients: 8 cups Regular Flour 1 tablespoon Salt 2 packages of Yeast (or the equivalent, see Jan's Tip #21: Yeast Equivalents)* 3 cups Warm Water *Or 3 teaspoons of Saf Instant Yeast Directions: In a large crock or glass bowl, measure 8 cups of Regular Flour (no need to sift). Add Salt and Yeast. Heat 3 cups of water to 110 degrees. I prefer to heat the water in the microwave using Pyrex measuring cups. You can experiment with your microwave to determine just how long it takes to heat 1 cup of water to 110 degrees. (See Jan's Tip regarding thermometers.) Add water to the flour, salt, and yeast, and mix with wooden spoon. This may take a little bit of muscle, and it is possible that you won't be able to completely "mix" all the loose flour into the dough. You'll be able to knead this in. Turn out dough onto a well-floured pastry cloth (or floured counter top). Knead well, until dough is dry. You may need to add a few tablespoons of flour, but be careful! It is possible to add too much flour. The dough only needs to be dry enough to the touch that it doesn't stick to your hands. Rise in a greased bowl for 90 minutes. Set the dough to rise in your favorite "warm spot." A warm spot should be about 85 degrees, and be a fairly constant temperature. After 90 minutes, punch down, "fold" dough to form a quarter circle, and then set to rise for 30 minutes. Shaping the Loaves: Before you begin, on a clean cookie sheet shake out a quantity of cornmeal. You are going to coat the shaped loaves with cornmeal before you set the loaves for their final rise. The addition of cornmeal helps to give the French Bread that delightful crunchy crust. Divide the dough into 2, 3, or 4 equal pieces, depending on how big a loaf you want to bake. Dividing the dough into 2 pieces will give you very large baguettes or round loaves, more than suitable for a family of 4 for one meal. Dividing the dough into 3 or 4 pieces obviously creates smaller loaves. You might want to try 3 loaves to start, and then adjust it to suit your needs the next time you make bread. To Form Baguettes If you have baguette pans (which can be purchased at better "kitchen" type stores like Crate & Barrel), you will need to shape longer, thin loaves. Start by flattening the portion of dough. With your knuckles, begin to shape the dough into a rectangle about 2/3 as long as the baguette pan. Starting with the long side of the rectangle, "roll" the dough to form a round, thin loaf. Roll this loaf in cornmeal and then lay into the baguette pan (do not grease the pan). Follow this procedure to make the remaining loaf (loaves). To Form Round Loaves You don't need to have the baguette pans to make French Bread. This dough makes up well into free-formed round loaves. Flatten a portion of dough. Using your knuckles, begin to shape the dough into a round shape. Once you have the general round shape, "knead" the shape enough to get a smooth, generally round "mound" of dough. However, the shape really doesn't matter much---this dough bakes nicely in any old shape you create! Pat the dough down into the cornmeal. Turn over, and pat down again to cover top and bottom with cornmeal. Set onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Set the loaves (either baguettes or rounds) to rise one last time for 45-60 minutes (until about double in size). Brush each loaf with egg white, then slash tops. This step is optional, but it does create a beautiful loaf of bread! Be sure that when you slash the top of each loaf you don't cut too deeply---just a light touch with a sharp knife (actually, I use a box-cutter razor that I keep only for baking). Baking Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for approximately 25 minutes (or until the bottoms of the loaves are golden brown and the loaves "thump" with a hollow sound). Remove from baguette pans or cookie sheets, let cool. Don't resist tearing a chunk from a warm loaf and either slathering it with butter or dipping it into pasta sauce, stew, or soup! Illustrations For the illustrations that accompany this recipe, go to: How to Make French Bread Print This Recipe!

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