French Bread

M. Diehl was my high-school French teacher and several times a year, he would sell his beloved bread and cream puffs.

 Favorite French Vegetarian yields2 loaves

• 1 package of dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 teaspoons cornmeal
• 1½ cups warm water (105°F - 115°F)
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• 4¼ cups all-purpose flour

1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.
2. Add sugar, salt, butter and 2 C flour. Beat with a spoon until thoroughly mixed. Gradually add remaining flour until dough is easy to handle.
3. Knead on a lightly floured surface for five to ten minutes or until dough is elastic and not sticky.
4. Place in a greased bowl, cover dough with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubles in size (1 to 1¼ hours).
5. Punch down and place on a lightly floured surface. Divide into two equal pieces.
6. Shape each piece into a long narrow loaf, about 14” long and 1½” in diameter.
7. Lightly grease inside of a French Bread Pan. Sprinkle 1 tsp cornmeal in each section. Shake pan to distribute evenly.
8. Place loaves in pan. Make sure the loaves do not come any closer than 1½” to ends of the pan. With a sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal ¼” deep slashes on the top of each loaf. Do not cover! Let rise in a warm place until double in size, about 45 minutes.
9. Bake in preheated 375°F oven for 25-30 minutes. Remove from pan at once.

Tips

• You can paint loaves with eggs whites to make the crust shiny and slightly harder.
• You can spray water on the crust periodically during baking in order to make the crust very dry and hard!