Monday, January 26, 2009

French Bread


Not a dessert in any sense but I wouldn't be doing myself a justice if I don't post my favorite bread here (its a big hit with my kids too).

Ingredients : (For 1 pound bread machine)
Water - 3/4 cup
Bread flour - 2 Cups
Salt - 1/2 Tsp
Active dry yeast - 1 Tsp
Flour to sprinkle
Slightly beaten egg white - 1
Water - 1 Tbsp

Procedure :
1) Add the first 4 ingredients according to Manufacturer's directions. Select dough setting
2) When Cycle is complete, remove dough from machine. Let rest 10 minutes
3) On a lightly floured surface, roll dough in 15x10-inch rectangle.
4) Roll up jelly style, starting from 1 end of the long sides; seal well. Pinch and pull ends to taper.
5) Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet sprinkled with flour.
6) Combine egg white and water; brush some of it over top of loaf.
7) Cover and let rise nearly double (35-45 minutes). With a very sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch deep across the top of loaf
8) Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes
9) Brush again with the remaining egg white and water mixture. Continue baking for 12-15 minutes till bread sounds holloew when tapped with your fingers
10) Remove from baking sheet and cool.

I use this for garlic bread. I slit the bread in half, brush with some olive oil or butter. I sprinkle grated garlic and dried oregano. I put it back in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Goes superb with Pasta. This is the picture of how we love to eat this.

1 comment:

  1. French bread looks great...

    You have a good collection here...all mouthwatering recipes. I love sweets!

    ReplyDelete