French Bread

So who would have ever thought that French Bread could be so easy to make and also that it is way cheaper than buying a loaf at the store. So I know a lot of us don't have time for the bread to raise and such especially those of you that work during the week but believe me you need to try this out. You will have a hard time ever buying store bought again. This recipe makes two big loaves so you can always freeze one and use it on a day when you don't have time to make it.

French Bread

2 1/2 cups warm water

2 T. yeast

3 T. sugar

2 T. white vinegar

Mix these ingredients and let them sit until bubbly and the yeast is activated:

then add:

1 T. salt

1/3 cup oil(i used olive oil)

6 cups flour(a little less or more depending on the feel of the dough you want a soft dough but not sticky)

Knead the dough for 2-5 Minutes. Then place in the same bowl you mixed it up in, cover it and let it raise to the top of the bowl then punch it down, cover and repeat this process 2-5 times. The more times you let it raise and punch it down the better the bread will turn out. No need to do it more than 5 times though. Next put the dough on a greased countertop and divide in half. Roll each half into a loaf and place on greased and sprinkled with cornmeal cookie sheet. Slash the tops of the bread diagonally 3-5 times and cover and let raise for 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 375. Place bread in the oven on top rack placed in the middle of the oven and place a shallow dish with water in it on the rack below the bread(this helps the bread get that crisp crust) Bake for 30 minutes, 10 minutes before the bake time is up brush the bread with ice water(this also helps get that really crispy crust) Enjoy one loaf warm right out of the oven and freeze the other one for later use!!!

Knead