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for more information about how to get started in bread-making.
Recipe for French Bread
adapted from The Joy of Cooking, 1960 edition
Act one
In a small bowl , mix:
- 1 package of Yeast in
- 1/4 cup of warm water ( 105-115 degrees Fahrenheit)
In a small bowl , mix and let cool:
- 1-1/2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup hot water (hot enough to melt the butter)
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 4 cups flour (460 grams)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
Make a hollow in the dry ingredients. Stir the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly with a sturdy long-handled spoon. Add enough flour to make a dough that forms a ball and cleans the sides of the bowl.
Lightly brush the dough with oil, cover the bowl and let the dough rise until it has doubled in size. (When you poke your finger into it, it leaves a hole.)
End of Act one.
Intermission of 45-60 minutes while the dough rises.
Scroll down to see pictures of how the mixtures look as Act 1 progresses.
The picture below shows the dough as it looks when it is ready for being kneaded down and shaped into loaves--act two.
Act two
Prepare a. cookie sheet by oiling it and sprinkling corn meal in two spaces the shape of two loaves. .
Punch down the dough, put it on a floured board, and knead it only until most of the bubbles are gone. Then divide it in half. One at a. time, press each half into a flat oblong. Then roll it up to form a loaf. With one oblong at a time, start with the far edge and roll it toward you and press it together as you roll. This will form one loaf. Stretch it or compress it as needed to fit the corn meal pattern on the cookie sheet.
Place the two loaves on the cookie sheet. Cover them with waxed paper & a towel. Let them rise until they are almost doubled in bulk.
End of Act two.
This intermission is shorter by about 15 minutes than the previous rising.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit during the latter part of the intermission.
Act three
With a good, sharp knife, make three diagonal cuts in the tops of the loaves. Place a shallow pan of hot water in the bottom of the oven.
- Bake the loaves at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
- Then turn down the heat to 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes longer.
About 5 minutes before they are done, brush the tops of the loaves with a mixture of one egg white mixed with one tablespoon of cold water. (This is to make the crust shiny. it can be omitted.) The loaves are done when they sound crusty and hollow when you tap on the crust, especially the bottom.
The loaves are done when they sound crusty and hollow when you tap on the crust, especially the bottom. You can measure the internal temperature with an instant read thermometer. It should be 195 F.