French Bread

Add yeast, water, salt, and 4 Tbsp. flour to large bowl and stir (I use a whisk). Set a timer for 15 minutes and wait for the mixture to bubble and rise. Stir in 4 c flour little by little until ball results. You can use a mixer; I use my whisk.

Place a thin dusting of flour on pastry board, then add dough. Knead for 10 minutes by folding dough in half, pressing down, turning dough around 90 degrees, and repeating until silky smooth. Keep adding flour to the board so dough doesn’t stick. Kneading activates glutens in the flour, so the more the better!

Put dough in large bowl, cover with clean dish towel, and set in warm place with no drafts. After one or two hours, dough doubles in size.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour dough onto lightly floured board (to keep it from sticking). Don’t add additional flour or knead. Cut in half. Form each half into a long loaf. Spray Pam on cookie sheet or French loaf pan and wipe off excess with paper towel. Cut each loaf diagonally several times across the top. Cover again with dish towel and let rise while oven preheats, about 20 minutes.

Brush loaves with melted butter (to make the crusts shine), then bake for 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Let cool for 15 or 30 minutes before cutting.

Dough can also be formed into one large loaf (use loaf pan); 16 dinner rolls (cookie sheet); or pizza dough. Use butter or Pam; score rolls or loaf; and brush with butter. Use half white flour and half whole wheat flour for wheat bread.