French Bread

Authentic French Bread

Recipe Type: Yeast Bread
Yields: 1 loaf bread
Prep time: 15 min
Rise time: 1 to 3 hours
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 4 hour


Ingredients:

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F.)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups bread flour
3 teaspoons Instant Active Dry Yeast
Cornmeal (optional for dusting pan)

Standup Mixer Recipe:

In a large bowl or in the bowl of a 5-quart stand mixer, add all the ingredients except cornmeal. Using dough hook, mix everything together into a uniform dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until elastic, about 15 minutes. NOTE: In an electric mixer, it should take about 9 minutes.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.

Dough Rising - Place the dough in a lightly-oiled large bowl. Place a damp towel over the bowl and then cover with plastic wrap (the humidity in the bowl helps in the rising process). Let rise until it doubles in volume (when you can put your finger in the dough and it leaves and indentation and doesn't spring back out) approximately 4 to 8 hours (depending on the temperature and the starter used, the rising time can vary as much as 2 hours).

Preparing the dough for baking - After dough has risen, remove from bowl, and place on a lightly-floured board. Knead in flour to feed it one more time before baking. Shape dough into a loaf shape and place on a cookie sheet that is dusted with cornmeal or use the Silicone Baking Mats I personally recommend that you use the Silicone Baking Mats as nothing sticks to them. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size, approximately 1 to 3 hours.

Baking the bread - Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. After rising, slash the bread with a bread razor or a very sharp knife making three 1/2-inch deep diagonal slashes. Brush or spray the top of the bread with cold water and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until nicely browned. A good check is to use an instant digital thermometer to test your bread. The temperature should be between 200 and 210 degrees.

When the bread is cooked, remove from oven and place the bread on a wire cooling rack to cool. Let baked loaf cool for 30 minutes before cutting (this is because the bread is still cooking while it is cooling).

Makes 1 large loaf.


CORNSTARCH GLAZE:
NOTE: This is a typical mixture that professional bakers use to get that characteristic sheen on breads. I keep this mixture in my refrigerator to use on all the breads I bake.

1/2 cup cold water
1 teaspoon cornstarch

In a small saucepan, with a small whisk, stir together water and cornstarch. Heat mixture to a gentle boil. Stir, reduce heat, until mixture thickens and is translucent. Cool.

Brush on loaf about 10 minutes before baking is finished and again 3 minutes before bread is completely done.