Thursday, July 19, 2012

Crusty Good Home Baked French Bread


Since the oven was already hot, and I hadn’t any side dish ideas yet for dinner, I decided to whip up a loaf of French bread.  Also, we ran out of bread, and I didn’t want to go to Walmart again so soon.  So, here’s an easy recipe for a 12 inch loaf…of delightful, crispy crust, soft inside French bread.



Ingredients:
2 C flour
1 t salt
1/2 t white vinegar
1 tsp active dry yeast
3/4 C + 1 T warm water
1/2 T olive oil, and 1 tsp or so for the baking pan

Method:
Ready for the oven
  • Dissolve yeast in water, let it do its thing for about 5 minutes, give it a stir 
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, vinegar, 1/2 T olive oil
  • Oil pan with remaining oil
  • With a hardy hand mixer, add the yeast/water to the bowl until it is mixed
  • Kneed for one minute to work it evenly
  • Place back in bowl and let rise for 30 minutes
  • Remove from bowl, shape into a 12” loaf, and place on oiled pan
  • Let rise again for 30 minutes
  • Place a water bath (any oven safe vessel filled about half full of water) on a lower rack of the oven
  • Preheat to 450
  • Use a sharp knife to cut 3 slashes onto the top of the loaf
  • Spritz loaf lightly with water, flick it off your finger tips if need be!
  • Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown
  • Spritz again right after removing from the oven.



This is a nice crusty bread, ready for a hearty meal!


No comments:

Post a Comment