French bread 101

Harrison and I set out to make some french bread for dinner this afternoon. We used a recipe featured on La Fuji Mama's blog. I've been wanting to make a good french bread recipe for some time now, but I've been apprehensive. I feel pretty comfortable with my whole wheat loaves I've been making for the last 5 years, but French bread? That's new territory... And after all that worry, I have to say it was some of the easiest bread I have ever made! With Harrison (who else!) as my helper,  I mixed all the ingredients in the Bosch and let it raise for an hour, punching it down (or turning my machine on for 3 seconds) every 20 minutes or so. then we dumped it out on the counter and went to town.

Make sure you have plenty of flour on your hands and counter, this dough is sticky!!

Oops, not enough flour...

Harrison making sure it isn't sticky anymore... it was perfect!

Shaped and ready to be slashed, make sure to use a sharp knife, I didn't and my slashes were on the sloppy side.

See? Sloppy slashes.

Let it raise for 30 minutes while your oven is preheating to 400 degrees. Notice the 2 "baby" loaves.... Maya made one, Harrison made the other. Don't forget the egg white wash! It makes the loaves so shiny and and professional looking.

Bake at 400 for 25 minutes, let cool before you cut. If you can help it! This recipe was absolutely delicious, the bread tasted even better than in looks, if you can believe it. I sliced one and stuck it in the freezer. I think it will be made into french toast casserole over general Conference weekend. YUM.

So... what are you waiting for? Head on over to La Fuji Mama and get that recipe! You won't regret it!