Crusty French Bread

By Addie

I love to treat guests to these golden brown, crusty loaves. Don't hesitate to try this recipe even if you are not an accomplished bread baker, there's no kneading required!

Ingredients

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1-1/2 cups warm water (110° to 115°), divided
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon shortening, melted
• 4 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
• Cornmeal

Preparation

Step 1

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup water. Add the sugar, salt, shortening, remaining water and 3-1/2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Do not knead. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled.

2. Turn onto a floured surface. Divide in half; let rest for 10 minutes. Roll each half into a 10-in. x 8-in. rectangle. Roll up from a long side; pinch to seal. Place seam side down on greased baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal. Sprinkle the tops with cornmeal. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

3. With a very sharp knife, make five diagonal cuts across the top of each loaf. Bake at 400° for 20-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pans to wire rack to cool. Yield: 2 loaves (10 slices each).
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REVIEWS -

i am not great at breads, so I loved this recipe with no kneading. It was fairly easy to whip up these loaves and they tasted great.

Super-easy and surprisingly good texture. As far as the melted butter goes, I just substitute oil and avoid the whole temperature problem altogether.

I substitute up to 3 cups of white whole wheat flour and it comes out nicely wheaty!




I absolutely LOVE this bread. I lost the magazine issue with this recipe and thank goodness Reiman Publications has this wonderful website where I found the recipe again.

This bread was fabulous, with a crunchy outside, soft inside, and really great flavor! I did have to knead the dough ten times or so in order to get it to form a ball.