French Bread

By JDARK

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
• Scant 1 1/2 cups water

Details

Level of difficulty Average
Cost Average budget

Preparation

Step 1

Place the flour in the container of a food processor fitted with a steal blade. Add the salt and yeast and process for 5 seconds. With the machine running, pour most of the water through the food tunnel. Process about 30 seconds. The dough should be in a defined, but shaggy ball; still sticky; you would not want to knead it by hand. If the dough is too dry, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time and process for 5 to 10 seconds after each addition. If the dough is too wet, add another tablespoon of flour and process briefly.

Step 2

Dump the lump of dough into a large bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or towel. Let sit for 2 to 3 hours, at room temperature. If you would like to let the dough rise for a longer time, to develop more flavor, refrigerate for up to 12 hours, bring it back to room temperature before proceeding.

Step 3

Sprinkle a very small amount of flour onto a counter, cut the dough into 3 or 4 equal pieces and shape each into a ball, sprinkling with a little more flour if necessary. Cover with a towel and let rest 20 to 30 minutes.

Step 4

Spread a large, heavy piece of canvas or cotton on a counter and sprinkle it very lightly with flour.

Step 5

Press each dough ball flat, then fold it over onto itself twice, seal the resulting seam and, using your hand, roll the dough into a long snake. Do not use too much flour or the dough will slide all over the counter and you will not be able to roll it. Place the load, seam side up, in a fold of the cloth. When all the loaves are formed, cover with a cloth and let rise for 1 to 2 hours at room temperature, the loaves will be about 1 1/2 times their original size.

Step 6

About 30 minutes before you're ready to bake, heat the over to 450 degrees. When you are ready to bake, sprinkle each loaf very lightly with flour and slash the top several times with a razor blade. If the dough has risen on the cloth, slide it onto floured baking sheets. Spray the inside of the oven to create steam; then put the loaves in the oven.

Step 7

After 5 minutes, spray again. Bake 25 to 35 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the internal temperature is at least 210 degrees. Remove, spray with a bit of water if you would like a shinier crust, and cool on a wire rack.