Breads

French Bread
by James Diehl

• 1 package of dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 teaspoons cornmeal
• 1 1/2 cup warm water (105°F - 115°F)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.
2. Add sugar, salt, butter and 2 C flour. Beat with a spoon until thoroughly mixed. Gradually add remaining flour until dough is easy to handle.
3. Knead on a lightly floured surface for five to ten minutes or until dough is elastic and not sticky.
4. Place in a greased bowl, cover dough with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubles in size (1 to 1 1/4 hours).
5. Punch down and place on a lightly floured surface. Divide into two equal pieces.
6. Shape each piece into a long narrow loaf, about 14" long and 1 1/2" in diameter.
7. Lightly grease inside of a French Bread Pan. Sprinkle 1 tsp cornmeal in each section. Shake pan to distribute evenly.
8. Place loaves in pan. Make sure the loaves do not come any closer than 1 1/2" to ends of the pan. With a sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal 1/4" deep slashes on the top of each loaf. Do not cover! Let rise in a warm place until double in size, about 45 minutes.
9. Bake in preheated 375°F oven for 25-30 minutes. Remove from pan at once.
10. You can paint loaves with eggs whites to make crust shiny and slightly harder.
11. The French also spray water on the crust periodically during baking in order to make the crust very dry and hard!