French Bread
Originally known as baguette and french stick or french bread in English got its name from the dough defined by French law. French bread differentiates itself from rest of the bread in its shape, length, crisp crust and slits. Even within France you will find different varieties of French Bread, slightly thicker version known as ‘pain’ and thinner version known as ‘ficelle’. That is my history knowledge of french bread with the help of wikipedia and other online resources. Well no matter what its history is we are all familiar with the bread that has crispy crust and soft white center. This is one of my favorite loaf after whole wheat bread.
I remember my student days when I had this big stick like bread sticking out of my bag and during lunch time all I needed was a bowl of hummous or some dipping sauce, Yummy !!! My nose gave me the first introduction to the french bread. I was doing my grocery shopping and the smell of this fresh bread took me to bakery. The stick like bread, just out of oven, I had to try and one bite was all I needed to fall in love with French bread.
Well nothing changed much since then I still love to eat it with Hummous on my lazy days. But now instead of buying, I try to make my own french bread and turn them into brochette (with fresh tomato and basil), croutons etc. This is one of the bread you can do so much with, but if you are up to having true french experience just cut it into half, then slit it open and spread the chocolate spread and dip it in hot chocolate. That would be my ultimate wish come true.
I also found some of this online tips for baking french bread.
Enjoy your French Bread the way you want and don’t forget to share the experience.
Ingredients:
- 24 oz. Water
- 7 g SAF Yeast
- 3g Sugar
- 21 oz Bread Flour
- 12 g Salt
- 26 oz Bread Flour
Method:
- In a Bosch Mixer, Mix water, yeast, sugar, and half of the 21 oz. bread flour using the “M” switch until incorporated.
- Turn to speed 1 and add salt.
- Slowly add remaining 26 oz. bread flour until the bread pulls away from the bowl sides. Note: You may need more or less flour.
- Remove dough from bowl and place in a well greased, stainless steel bowl. Let it rise for 30-45 minutes until dough has doubled in size.
- Fold and let it raise for another 30 minutes.
- Remove dough from bowl and cut the dough into a desired weight for bread.
- Let it rest for 15-25 minutes.
- Shape and let it rise for 30-45 minutes.
- Bake at 429 for about 20 minutes, depending on weight. Note: 20 minutes = 1lb loaf.
June 11th, 2010 at 5:39 pm
I really need to start baking more bread. There is just nothing better than freshly baked bread.
June 11th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
Yea!!!! Finally! A foodie friend who also makes her own french bread. Yours looks great and crusty.
Thanks for such a delightful insight into your student days. A fun post and a great read.
Ciao, Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
PS – Is there a reason the bread flour is listed twice?
June 11th, 2010 at 10:46 pm
I’m a bread addicted if there was an AA for that I would be there, giving my testimony. And baguette is by far my favorite. Hum,hum,hum….Will definitely going to try that. Have a nice weekend.
June 12th, 2010 at 7:26 am
Your bread looks perfect. I wish I could find the time to do some bread baking. It is so good when it’s homemade!
June 12th, 2010 at 8:35 pm
Thank you. I know bread making is lot of work but the smell of homemade bread itself is worth the effort.
June 12th, 2010 at 8:39 pm
Thank you Anna. Let me know how your experience goes. Have a great weekend.
June 12th, 2010 at 8:46 pm
Thank you Pam for the comment. That is so true, nothing is better than freshly baked bread.
June 14th, 2010 at 7:38 am
Such a staple recipe, everyone must make french bread at least once! Your loaves look lovely.
June 14th, 2010 at 11:14 am
Thank you Devaki for the PS. I was too high on my allergy medication I forgot to specify that on method. Well it did take lot of work and after many trial and error that was the best one.
June 14th, 2010 at 11:15 am
Thank you Hannah.
June 14th, 2010 at 11:10 pm
great post, I should bake more, your loaves are beautiful
sweetlife
June 15th, 2010 at 7:49 am
Thank you Sweetlife, It took lot of time but the result was a reward.
June 15th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
I love the smell of bread baking…it might be better than the bread itself…almost
June 15th, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Hi Sarah,
Welcome to the blog and thank you for the comment. You are right sometimes the smell is so much better than the bread itself. And for me the greatest reward for baking is the smell.
June 19th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
I adore french bread…I could be happy with a loaf of bread, a wedge of cheese and a basket of fresh berries. So so good!
June 19th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
You described the perfect meal, specially in summer that sounds just perfect.
June 11th, 2011 at 7:50 am
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