Classic And Crusty French Bread Recipes

CRUSTY FRENCH LOAF

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, oil, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat until blended. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down; return to bowl. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. , Preheat oven to 375°. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into a 16x2-1/2-in. loaf with tapered ends. Sprinkle cornmeal over a greased baking sheet; place loaf on baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 25 minutes. , Beat egg white and cold water; brush over dough. With a sharp knife, make diagonal slashes 2 in. apart across top of loaf. Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.

CRUSTY FRENCH BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• In the bowl of a mixer (or by hand), whisk together 1 3/4 cups warm water and 1/2 tsp molasses until dissolved.
• In a large glass or plastic bowl, whisk together 2 1/3 cups bread flour, 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 1/4 tsp yeast and 2 tsp salt. Add water mixture to flour mixture and mix until you have a single mass of dough. Using a dough hook or clean hands, knead dough 4 minutes. Dough should be soft and feel sticky to the touch but should not stick to clean and dry finger tips. If your dough is too sticky after kneading, add more flour a tablespoon at a time.
• Cover dough loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temp (69-75˚F) for 4 hours. Every hour while it rests (3 times total), with a wet hand, punch the dough down and fold it over onto itself a few times (a wet hand will keep the dough from sticking to you without adding any unnecessary flour).
• After rising a total of 4 hours, draw dough edges into the center, turn over and place in a large well-floured bowl, sprinkle the dough with flour, cover with a tea towel and let rise 1 1/2 hours at room temp.
• Meanwhile, place a pizza stone or inverted baking sheet in the center of your oven. Place a cast iron pan on the bottom rack and preheat with both in the oven to 500˚F (for safety, don't use glass baking dishes at those high temps).
• Sprinkle the back of a baking sheet generously with fine semolina flour and invert your risen dough over the top of the semolina. Score the top of the dough several times. Slide dough onto preheated baking stone with the help of a spatula if needed and add 1 cup of ice cubes into the preheated cast iron pan below (making sure not to drip on any glass oven surfaces). Bake at 500˚F for 10 minutes then reduce temperature to 400˚F and continue baking 30-35 minutes, or until top is golden brown. Turn oven off, crack door open with a wooden spoon and leave bread in the oven another 10 minutes. Remove bread to a wire rack to cool and let it rest at least 15 minutes before cutting into it.

CLASSIC AND CRUSTY FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, sugar, and salt. Stir until dissolved.
• Mix in the bread flour, a little at a time, until a soft dough is formed.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead it for about 8 minutes.
• Put the dough in a greased bowl and flip the dough over so that all of the dough is lightly greased, including the dough top . Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 1 hour or until double in size.
• Punch down the dough .
• Give the dough a quick 2-minute knead.
• Divide the dough into 2 equal halves. Shape each half into a long loaf.
• Place the loaves on a lightly greased baking sheet. Make about 5 diagonal slits, 3/4 inch deep, into the top of each loaf.
• Cover loaves with a clean towel or greased plastic wrap and let them rise for 45 minutes or until double in size. Heat the oven to 400 F.
• If you'd like, brush the loaves with the beaten egg white for a shiny crust, and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds. Bake at 400 F for 5 minutes.
• Remove the loaves from the oven and use a mister or spray bottle to lightly spray the tops of the loaves with cold water. Turn the oven down to 350 F and bake the loaves for another 25 minutes or until done.
• Remove the loaves from the baking sheet and let them cool on a rack.

GOLD MEDAL® CLASSIC FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• In large bowl, mix 2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast. Add warm water and oil. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in enough remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to make dough easy to handle (dough will be soft).
• On lightly floured surface, knead dough about 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Grease large bowl with shortening or spray with cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover and let rise in warm place 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours or until dough has doubled in size. (Rising time is longer than times for traditional breads, which gives the typical French bread texture.) Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
• Grease large cookie sheet with shortening or spray with cooking spray; sprinkle with cornmeal. Gently push fist into dough to deflate; divide in half. On lightly floured surface, roll each half into 15 x 8-inch rectangle. Roll dough up tightly, beginning at 15-inch side, to form a loaf. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Roll gently back and forth to taper ends. Place both loaves on cookie sheet.
• Cut 1/4-inch-deep slashes across tops of loaves at 2-inch intervals with sharp knife. Brush loaves with cold water. Let rise uncovered in warm place about 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.
• Heat oven to 375°F. In small bowl, mix egg white and 1 tablespoon cold water; brush over loaves. Sprinkle with poppy or sesame seed. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack; cool.

CHEF RICK'S CLASSIC FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• In an standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the flour, salt and honey. Whip until combined.
• Add the yeast and the water to a small bowl and allow it to sit for 15 minutes. Add the yeast water to the flour mixture and beat until well mixed. Put the mixing bowl in a warm place, cover and let rise until doubled in size. Punch the dough down and divide it into 6 equal parts. Form into 6 (6-inch) loaves, cover and allow them to double in size.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. arrange the loaves on a baking sheet and bake until light brown.
• Enjoy!