French Bread

I found this recipe online and seemed something that would go along nicely with a variety of meals from pastas to meatloaf so I thought I would give it a try. I liked how it looks just like one of the artisan loafs which you can buy from the bakeries. I recently saw loafs at my grocery store where my homemade loafs looked superior. Made me put a smile on my face.

Below are the only ingredients in the bread. Contrary to many people's believe, yeast doesn't require additional sugar to be added to the loaf. The required ingredients are bread flour, yeast, salt, and corn meal (optional).

Add all ingredients into a bowl, except the corn meal. Knead into a uniform, springy dough. This can be accomplished using a stand mixer or by hand. With a KitchenAid mixer be sure not to go faster than the 2nd speed.

Here is a picture of the dough halfway through kneading. At this point you can knead by hand or let the machine do the work.

Just another shot of the dough being mixed and you can see, barely, the dough and how it is much smoother looking than before. At this stage it is done kneading.

This is the dough removed from the mixer and has a nice smooth texture which springs back when poked. At this stage the kneading is complete.

Next, the bowl needs to be lightly oiled and the dough placed inside of it. The entire surface of the dough ball should be lightly oiled. You can just roll the dough ball around in the bowl to accomplish this.

I always place my covered dough in the oven to allow it to rise nicely without being disturbed. I sometimes slightly warm the oven if the kitchen is cold.

Remove the dough once it has doubled in size in the bowl and form into a rough final shape.

Lightly flour the baking pan with corn meal. This will help prevent the dough from sticking during the cooking process.

Place the dough on the floured part of the pan. Note that the dough needed to be slightly elongated after this picture was taken. I wanted a final loaf that was long and skinny. However, any shape you desire is fine.

Cover the bread and allow to rise again before baking. I also do this second rising in the oven just like the first one.

Once the bread has risen, take a sharp knife and cut 3 - 1/2" cuts across the loaf. These cuts will give the loaf that characteristic look of an artisan loaf. Note that the knife has to be very sharp for this to work. Before I do this I always quickly sharpen by knife to ensure nice cuts.

Next the bread is brushed with a cornstarch glaze. This is made by heating a 1/2 cup of water and a teaspoon of cornstarch until it thickens and turns translucent. The mixer will start to boil, where the heat is reduced then the mixture will thicken and turn transparent. A little less than half of the mixture should be used now. Half will be used later, when the bread has approximately 3 minutes left of baking remaining. The bread is then baked at 400F for 20 - 25 minutes.

Here is the loaf after being removed from the oven having those nice artisan looking slits in the bread. The cornstarch glaze gives it a nice glossy finish on the loaf.

A quick pictures of the bottom of the loaf with a small amount of the corn meal suck to it.

I really enjoyed eating this bread for a few dinners now. It has a very soft tasty inside with a nice hard crust that is just perfect. It was especially delicious eating it after it cooled after 30 minutes or so. This dough is definitively easy enough to make for any dinner given you have enough prep and rising time.

Recipe

1 cup of 110F Water
1.5 teaspoons of salt
3 cups of bread flour
1 package of dry yeast
corn meal for dusting.

Combine all ingredients except cornmeal into mixer bowl. Using dough hook, mix everything into a uniform dough. Add extra water if dough needs it. Place in oiled bowl and allow to double in size. Shape dough into final shape and place on a cookie sheet that is light floured with cornmeal. Slice 3 - 1/2" diagonal slashes. Brush with cornstartch glaze once risen and bake at 400F for 20-25 mintues. Brush with glaze when a few minutes of baking remain.