Lorrie's French Bread

A traditional recipe based on the long-standing French methods of bread baking. Great for loaves, baguettes, or rolls. Enjoy!

Yield: 2 regular loaves, OR 3 long baguettes, OR 24 rolls

Ingredients:

7 cups unbleached white flour
2 Tablespoons yeast
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 ½ cups warm water

Directions:

Mix the yeast, sugar, and water together. Let stand until mixture bubbles, letting you know the yeast has activated.

Add all other ingredients, the flour one cup at a time, beating as the mixture thickens into a dough.

Knead the dough for several minutes, until it becomes smooth and elastic.

Set dough aside in a greased bowl. Turning to coat all of the dough, covered with a towel and until doubled in size.

Form the dough into loaves or rolls:

• For regular 9x5 loaves, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to 1/2 inch think, then roll it up into a loaf, pinching the ends and side edges shut.
• For long baguettes, simply use your hands to roll the dough on the counter top, pulling it to elongate as you go. After placing it on a baking sheet, slash the top diagonally three times to form a lice "split" effect in the finished crust.
• For rolls, form into balls, then pull the outer edges down and push it into the center on the bottom side of the roll, to obtain a smooth and evenly round top. Elongate into oblong shapes if you prefer. You can either bake them smooth-topped, lightly slash the top to produce a "split" in the crust, or use a pair of scissors to snip the tops crossways to form four points.

Let rise until doubled in size while pre-heating oven to 400 degrees.

Baking times:

• Regular loaves: bake for 25 minutes and check for doneness. Cool covered to maintain a soft crust.
• Baguettes: bake for 20 minutes, brushing with plain water twice during baking to form a crisp crust. Cool uncovered.
• Rolls: bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven, and cool on a towel covered by a towel.

Lorrie's French Bread