French Bread

I found myself in a pickle on Sunday when I realized I forgot to buy french bread the night before. Ironically, when I checked my e-mail Sunday morning I had a recipe for french bread from a gal in my ward. Loved it, and will never buy french bread again! Enjoy!

French Bread

2½ cup warm water

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons dry yeast

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons oil

6 cups flour

1 egg, beaten

In a large mixing bowl, (I used my new handy dandy kitchen aid) combine water, sugar, and yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in salt, oil, and 3 cups of the flour. Stir vigorously. Add remaining 3 cups of flour slowly as needed and mix well. Let rest in bowl 5 minutes. Stir down. Repeat this process 2 more times.

Place dough onto a floured board. Knead only enough to coat dough with flour so it can be handled; divide in half. Flatten out into rectangle, roll up from long side. Moisten seam with small amount of water and pinch to seal. Arrange both loaves lengthwise on a large, well-greased cookie sheet. (the gal who sent this to me uses parchment paper - I didn't have any and really didn't need it - you can decide) Place seam side down. Spray top with cooking spray and let rise about 20 -25 minutes.

Use a very sharp knife to gently make 3 diagonal gashes in the top of each loaf. Then put into oven.

Bake at 375˚ for 23 to 25 minutes. Cool on racks and cover with a towel (this keeps the crust soft). Serve warm.