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| The first one took less that 5 minutes to be polished off – I kid you not! |
When I scoured the web for a good recipe, little did I know I was going to end up following a you tube demo of the least complicated recipe out there – The only thing you need to do if you are following him, is cut back on the salt!!!! either he made a mistake when he said 1tbsp instead of 1 tsp or he just likes his bread way too salty. Otherwise, the recipe was first rate – no fuss and most importantly NO oil – he saves the butter for the end.
Anyway, your search for a fabulous loaf of french bread end right here mes amies.
Ingredients
4 cups of flour (I used Pillsbury bread flour) AFP Or half and half of AFP and whole wheat – I guess you can play around with this 
1 tbsp fast acting yeast
1 cup + warm water
1tsp of salt
Preparation
Mix dry ingredients flour and salt together in a bowl.
Mix the yeast in about 1/2 cup of warm water stir it in and pour into the flour
Add 1/2 more cup of warm water and nix until the dough is coming off the sides of the bowl
Transfer on to floured counter surface
Knead for a couple of minutes until you can make a smooth ball
Place back in bowl and put a plastic grocery bag over it (or saran wrap) and allow it to rise for 2 hours
Dust the works surface with flour
After which, take the dough, knead a couple of time and cut into 2 equal halves
Roll them out long, flatten with a few karate chops creating a dent down the middle
Bring the corners together by pinching
Repeat a couple of times, it is kinda fun to do
At this time, preheat oven to 400
The pinched side becomes the bottom as you roll it over
Be sure you have the surface is lightly floured so that the balls are not sticking to them
Now take a sharp regular knife and slash a few times down the middle to give it “the look” besides other scientific reasons.
Repeat with the other ball –
Now allow them to sit for another hour or 2 depending on when you need to have it ready
It will rise again, giving that fuller look to the loaf
Turn the temp of the oven to 350
Before placing in the oven, throw about 1/2 cup of water to create a moisture in the oven.
Cook for 35 minutes or until the top is brown
Remove and serve hot with olive oil, freshly grated romano or parmesan and a hint garlic. Or just put a tsp of butter and watch it melt into the loaf as you take your first bite
This bread is incredibly soft on the inside and has an interesting and desired crusty outer shell –
Enjoy folks – the process is really simple albeit long as are the explanations just so you can get a perfect picture of it –
I back this up with a pictorial now and another Stuffed bread recipe of which there is a sneak peak on my FB page
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| First look |
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| good ole grocery bag – a new trick I learnt |
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| Doubled in size |
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| Shaped and Risen |
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| check out the steam |
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| A Freshly cut piece the room was filled with the wonderful smell of warm bread |
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| Not much kneading required to get these fab layers inside |
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| See the butter melting yo! |
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| My happy smile depicted in the cut |
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| The back of the bread |
wow….yummy n perfect bread…
wow! Looks like it will melt in the mouth!
this is inspiring cos u made it seem so delicious and easy…can i use plain maida or APF as bread flour is not available here?
wow that looks incredible….yum!! gluten be gone! haha thanks for sharing!
wow that looks incredible….yum!! gluten be gone! haha thanks for sharing!
loved the step wise clicks! gr8 recipe
Delicious bread. Quite a mouthful.
Deepa
superb awesome and perfectly baked bread.
Delicious bread
Love it,yummy and perfectly baked
Looks great! I'd love to make a bread like that. Well done!
Perfect baked bread,yummy soft texture!!
Ongoing Events at(Erivum Puliyum)-
1. The Kerala Kitchen(June'12)
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Perfectly baked loaf Priya!! Well done…would love to give it a try
Spicy Treats
Wow ! home-made French bread !!
Bookmarked it..
They have come out so perfect!! Lovely
http://shwetainthekitchen.blogspot.com/
very nice and perfect bread!
SYF&HWS – Cook With SPICES" Series
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Dish It Out – Black Beans and Bell Pepper – June 1st to 30th
Cooking with Whole Foods – Brown Rice – June 10th to Aug 10th
wow looks so professional!
Perfectly baked delicious bread..
This is a beautiful loaf of bread. The piece that is cut is so tempting.
perfect and soft bread..
perfectly baked and looks great Priya
wow perfectly made bread..
A big big fan of all kinds of bread…thanks for posting and yes, you come up with terrific recipes as always!
This step by step French Brad recipe is really great. Find some interesting Snacks recipe @ Borosil And You
We have bakeries in every corner of the street, so never thought of making these breads at home,urs came out seriously super prefect Priya.
You are baking french bread!! That looks so good!! i am jinxed with yeasted stuff, and i hope to get over it someday. soon!
Looks awesome..
I have only just started to appreciate baking so will bookmark your recipe to ty soon.
Mina
super perfect! bookmarking it as my husband is a big fan of French Bread!
Check out the event at our space Veggie/Fruit A Month-June (Blueberry)
Love the perfect shape of the bread, with the smile, the golden crust, love everything about this post.
wow this needs a bookmark and must try.
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