French Bread

We all have phobias; mine is baking, especially from scratch. My dad was an excellent baker. He had the patience with baking. I would not have asked him to repair anything or put a bike or a lawn mower together...wasn't a pretty picture. But if you wanted the best bread, biscuits, cookies or cakes, he was you man. He even made his own sourdough starter from scratch! In my twisted thought process, since he could bake and I have his DNA, should I be able to bake? Not so fast, it's not that easy, but I need to overcome my fear. I got really brave when I found a french bread recipe at BHG.com and decided I would change it. I change it and it came out really food to my surprise and relief. The homegirlz and A.J. scarfed down one loaf as soon as it was cool enough to handle.

French Bread -

Add 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons salt, 2 packages of fast-acting yeast to a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add 2 cups of warm water (120 - 130 degrees F) to the bowl and mix on low for about thirty seconds. Add 1 tablespoon real butter and mix on low for 3 minutes while slowly adding 3 more cups of all-purpose flour. Remove from mixing bowl and turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes. If dough is sticky, sprinkle flour and knead until dough isn't sticky. Roll into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl, turning dough ball to coat the outside of dough with oil. Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes, until dough has doubled in size. Punch dough down (a great release, if you know what I mean) and turn onto a lightly floured surface and divide in half. Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes. While dough is resting, prepare a baking sheet by spraying with non-stick cooking spray and dusting it with corn meal. Roll each piece into a 10 x 13 rectangle. Roll the rectangle, starting from the long side into a loaf, pinching the ends and placing the fold side down onto a prepared baking sheet. in a small bowl mix one egg white with a splash of water and brush on the top, sides and end of bread and let loaves rest for 35 minutes.

Make four 1/4 inch deep diagonal slices in each loaf and bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. At 20 minutes, brush each loaf again with egg-white wash and bake for 10 more minutes.

Ok, go make some bread, I have to go and scarf some bread before A.J. and the homegirlz eat it all!