French Bread
The smell of yeasted dough, filling the home and calling all to the kitchen, there's nothing quite like it. Follow along and let's make our own bread, from scratch. Often, many of us get caught up in the rat race, forgetting some of the simpler things in life that can bring us a lot of joy. So let’s bring back joy to our lives, one fresh loaf at a time.
French Bread
Yield: 3 loaves
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 15 MinInactive time: 35 MinTotal time: 1 H & 5 M
Ingredients
- 14oz Water
- ¾oz Active Dry Yeast, by weight
- 24oz All-Purpose Flour, by weight
- ½oz Salt, sea or kosher, by weight
- Any preferred spices - I use garlic, onion, parsley, thyme
- 1T Olive Oil
- 1T Coarse Salt, for loaves garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 100°F.
- To a small bowl add and dilute yeast with some of the water.
- To a large bowl add flour, sea/kosher salt, any spices or seasonings, and remaining water. Making sure yeast is fully diluted, add yeast mix to flour mix, stir with your fingers to mix and combine. Once combined and forms a ball, pour dough onto cold hard surface and knead the dough to activate the binding process.
- Oil or grease same large bowl, gently place dough ball into bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and bake at 85-100°F for 20 minutes for first proofing. If your oven cannot go as low as 100°F, simply place the wrapped bowl on the counter, covered by a warm rag or towel, and let sit for at least one hour. Remove, let cool enough to handle (approx. 3-5 minutes) and divide dough equally into three pieces. Knead and roll dough to form loaves, place crease side down on large parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 100°F for 15 minutes. If your oven cannot go low enough, again simply place on the counter, covered by a warm rag or towel, and let rest for at least 30 minutes. Remove and let cool enough to handle.
- Preheat oven to 400-450°F, depending on elevation. See baking notes below.
- Make small slits in the loaves using scissors or sharp blade, lightly brush loaf tops with oil and sprinkle with coarse salt, bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown and makes signature hollow thump sound when firmly tapped. Higher elevation equals higher temperature with less cooking time. Lower elevation equals lower temperature with more cooking time. I live at moderate (4k) elevation, so I split the difference - I bake at 450°F for 15-20 minutes. Let cool enough to handle, slice at a diagonal for serving.
- Store in a bread box or sealed bag/container at room temperature, up to 5 days ---or--- Freeze to store, up to 2 months.
