Laura and I have a semi-obsession with bread. We seriously cannot get enough. We love to get french bread from the store and use it for so many meals. French toast, garlic bread, sub sandwiches, and when it's warm and fresh, it's good just eating as a snack with a little butter. In the past month we've noticed that the price of french bread has gone up almost 50%. That got me thinking about how hard it would be to make my own. So I looked around, did some research, and tried my hand at making some. They actually turned out really good. The first batch was a little bland, but I tweaked the recipe and added my own twists and now we have a really good french bread recipe. I hope you all enjoy it!French Bread (Baguettes)
2 cups warm water
2 1/2 pkgs yeast
2 Tbls sugar
5-6 cups bread flour
3 tsp salt
1 egg yoke
1 tsp. water
Proof the yeast by mixing the warm water, sugar, yeast and let sit for 5 minutes. In a mixer with a bread hook add the yeast mixture with the flour and the salt, adding the flour
in cup by cup. Dough is ready when it is not sticky anymore. Knead the dough for a few minutes and then place in a greased bowl and cover to rise for 30 minutes. When doubled in size, punch dough down and roll out into a big rectangle. Cut the rectangle in two. Take the long side and start rolling as if you were making cinnamon rolls . Shape the sides to taper the ends. Place the two rolls on a greased pan. Take a knife and cut 3 or 4 diagonal slits in the top the dough. Cover with a towel and let rise for 30-40 minutes. Mix the egg yoke and 1 tsp of water to make a egg wash. Paint the egg wash all over the loaves and place in an oven preheated to 375 degrees.
Cook for 20-30 minutes or until the crust is a light golden brown.TIP: A tip that I learned while researching is that if you want french bread with a really crisp crust you can spray the sides of the oven walls with water (watch out for the electric element on the bottom) every minute for the first 8 minutes of baking. I've never tried it because we like a soft crust, but if it works, let us know.
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