French Bread

I have recently discovered that making your own bread isn't as hard as you might think. I've always steered clear of bread making, or anything recipe that involved using yeast, letting something rise, or proof. I was very intimidated. But after making homemade cinnamon rolls at Christmas, I realized it wasn't as hard as I had made it out to be. This week I took a stab at making my own french loaf. It turned out perfectly. It does take a little bit of time, but it was really simple, especially if you have a stand mixer and a dough hook. I made two loaves and froze one of them for a future use.

French Bread
from My kitchen cafe

Ingredients:

2 ¼ c. warm water
2 T. sugar
1 Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp oil
5 ½ -6 cups flour-stirred before measured

Directions:
Dissolve sugar and yeast in the warm water. Let this sit for a few minutes until it bubbles. Then add salt, oil and 3 cups of flour and beat well. I used my paddle attachment for this part. Add in 2 1/2 -3 more cups of flour. For the second addition of flour, I used my dough hook. The dough should clean off the sides of the bowl and not be too sticky - but be careful not to add too much flour. Knead for a few minutes with mixer.

Leave the dough in the mixer to rest for 10 minutes and then stir it down (turn on your mixer for 10 seconds) and then allow to rest another 10 minutes. Repeat for a total of 5 times. Then turn dough onto a floured surface and divide into two equal parts. Roll each part into a rectangle. You will have to roll pretty hard, it took a lot of arm muscle to get it roll out flat. Roll dough up, starting from long edge of loaf to seal. Arrange seam side down on large baking sheet that’s been sprinkled with corn meal, allowing room for both loaves. Repeat with second part of dough. With a sharp knife, cut 3 gashes at an angle on the top of each. Cover lightly; allow to rise 30 minutes. Brush entire surface with egg wash (one egg beaten slightly with 1 Tbsp of water). Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.