Saturday, January 7, 2012

Really Good French Bread

Nothing says "winter dinner" like a nice pot of homemade soup and some french bread. When it's dark by 5:30pm and been cold and raining all day, nothing welcomes daddy home like the aroma of fresh bread coming out of the oven.

I'm sure that if it was winter here then my husband, who works outside all day (rain or shine) would appreciate that supper.

Except it's more like June here rather than January.

Case in point: December's average rainfall: 13.7 inches. This December's rainfall: 2.4 inches.

So instead we've been having crab salads for dinner with french bread. Because while it still may be sunny and late spring like, it is still crab season in these parts!

~ French Bread~

1 1/4 c warm water
2 tsp sugar
3 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1 tsp salt
1 egg + 1 Tb water
cornmeal for dusting


Place first 5 ingredients in bread maker and set on dough setting.


Read to your kids, spend some time in the Word, fold a couple loads of laundry, whatever, for the next 1.5 hours.


When cycle is done, divide dough into 2 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 8x10" rectangle with a rolling pin. Roll up dough jelly roll style, pinching seams and placing loaves seam side down on cornmeal dusted baking sheet.


Cover and allow to rise for 20 minutes.


Whisk egg and water together and brush over the tops of the loaves. Slice 4 slashes in the tops of each loaf.


Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh wow, that looks amazing. I love fresh made bread. I don't have a breadmaker though...wonder if I can do it without?

Unknown said...

That sounds wonderful! Looks amazing. :) We are seeing very little "winter" here too, though we've had more rain than you have. We did wake up to a bit of a dusting this AM, but it was gone long before sunrise. We had fresh crab here (given to us by my son's girlfriend's family) just the other day....seemed odd, but sure was tasty! :)

Happy "winter"...if we ever see any!

Mountain Home Quilts said...

Anita,
Yes, by all means, you can do it without the bread machine. I just "cheat" since I have one and it allows for me to get other things done.
Just dissolve the yeast in the water, add the rest of the ingredients, mix, knead, and allow to rise for 1 hour. Then follow the rest of the instructions in the post. :)

Sandra @ Thistle Cove Farm said...

Last week it was zero with mighty winds; today it's 40's...crazy weather.
The bread looks delicious!

Unknown said...

I'm in my kitchen right now and determined to have this recipe turn out as nice as it did when you made it!!

Erin @ Why Not Sew? Quilts said...

I'll have to give this a try Heather! It looks delicious. I made bread today with a bag of seven different grains we ran through our grain mill. It was really yummy. Do you think I could use a whole grain flour for French bread or would it be too heavy/dense?

Mountain Home Quilts said...

Erin,
I'm sure you could! I would suggest using Hard White Whole Wheat as a start. :)

Barefoot Quilter said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sharon said...

Hi Heather :)

Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I gave it a try this evening and it was wonderful. It has replaced our former French Bread Recipe.

Have a blessed evening!
Sharon

Amanda said...

THANKS!
I'm making spaghetti tomorrow for dinner and can't wait to try this!!!

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