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!
