This easy homemade French bread recipe is just the thing to curb your Fall baking itch! This recipe makes great bread for sandwiches and subs and the best part? My son helped! This recipe is so easy even a kid can do it. Try it for yourself!
My son wanted to bake French baguettes for a French project, so I told him to search the internet for a recipe and we would do the project together. We settled on a very easy recipe we found at Allrecipes.
Although I have made many breads, I have to admit, I have never made a french baguette before. French Baguettes are a great bread for sandwiches and subs! This recipe doesn't require a bread machine nor any kind of special yeast. We did, however, use a KitchenAid stand mixer to combine the ingredients and help kneed the bread. If you have the time, this process can be done by hand too!
We started off by proofing our yeast with the water and the sugar. Nice and puffy!
He carefully measured out the flour...but I will be honest, I prefer to weigh the flour for yeast breads vs. measuring it, but I didn't have volume conversions so we just measured.
After combining the flour and the salt, he slowly added the yeast mixture...
And then let the dough hook do it's thing, until the dough was smooth and elastic.
Once the machine was done kneading it, he took it out and kneaded it by hand for a few minutes.
Then popped it into a greased bowl to rise. ( You see two balls of dough there because we made the recipe twice to get 4 baguettes...the bigger dough ball is the one we made first...it has already begun to rise! ) We let the dough balls rise for about an hour to an hour in a half in the covered bowl....
And then punched them down.
Shaped each dough ball into a rectangle and then cut it in half.
And he began shaping each half into a baguette.
And placed them on the prepared pans...
Where he made slits and then covered in plastic wrap to rise for another 30 minutes.
Renee Paj
Super easy recipe, using only a few ingredients, that yields 2 loaves of delicious French bread you can make at home.
Ingredients
1 cup warm water (105 degrees F - 115 degrees F)
2 tsp. dry active yeast
1 TBS. granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups bread flour (I like King Arthur brand)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 egg yolk
1 TBS water
Instructions
Begin by combining warm water, yeast and granulated sugar in a glass measure. Set aside to allow the yeast to proof for about 5 min. or so.
In a bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attached, add the flour and salt. Turn machine on to combine the two ingredients.
With machine running and dough hook attached, slowly pour in yeast water mixture. Continue to mix until all the ingredients are combined. Then let the dough hook kneed the dough until it is soft and elastic. Cover, and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in bulk. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
Punch down dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll into a 16x12 inch rectangle. Cut dough in half, creating two 8x12 inch rectangles. Roll up each half of dough tightly, beginning at 12 inch side, pounding out any air bubbles as you go. Roll gently back and forth to taper end. Place 3 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Make deep diagonal slashes across loaves every 2 inches, or make one lengthwise slash on each loaf. Lightly cover, and let rise in a warm place for 30 to 40 minutes, or until doubled.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix the egg yolk and 1 TBS of water together. Lightly brush loaves with egg mixture.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until loaves are golden brown.
I made a really tasty veggie sandwich for myself for lunch on the bread we made! ( no, he didn't take them all to school today...we kept two at home! :) I put 1 oz. of hummus on my homemade bread and topped it with sliced cukes, shredded carrots, roasted red peppers, red onion, tomato slices, and lettuce. YUM!
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One of the secrets of a great baguette is to start with a sponge (a mix of flour, water, and yeast), which gives the yeast time to mature and combine with the other ingredients, creating the mildly sour and nutty flavors and chewy texture.
Besides the obvious fact that French bread is typically longer and thinner than regular loaves, it tends to be less sweet and has a crispier crust. French bread is usually also made with very simple ingredients instead of sandwich bread, which can have many different additives.
Well it's simple, bread flour has an increased amount of protein or more gluten which results in a lighter, fluffier dough which produces a less dense finished product. All-purpose flour can be used for bread but bread flour is always better if your goal is a “fluffier” bread.
Typically, French flour for breadmaking is Type 55 or T55. The higher the number, the more of the whole grain it contains. The type number refers to the amount mineral content.
In France, bakers pay careful attention to where their flour is made and which grains are used in the milling process. The result is usually softer, heartier, and tastier bread than can be found in other parts of the world. French flour tends to be made with a lower ash content than the flour from other countries.
Sourdough bread tends to be healthier than French bread. The slower fermentation process of sourdough bread provides additional nutrients and antioxidants that aren't found in other kinds of bread, like French bread, that are made with commercial yeast.
Unless you're lucky enough to get po'boy bread from New Orleans, the best bread to use should be light and fluffy inside with a thin, crispy crust on the outside—a French baguette, French bread rolls, or hoagies rolls are common swaps.
None of these are officially defined, either legally or, for instance, in major dictionaries, any more than the baguette. French breads are also made in forms such as a miche, which is a large pan loaf, and a boule, literally ball in French, a large round loaf.
Baguette – a long, thin type of bread of French origin. The "baguette de tradition française" is made from wheat flour, water, yeast, and common salt. It may contain up to 2% broad bean flour, up to 0.5% soya flour, and up to 0.3% wheat malt flour.
Crusty French Bread also called French Baguettes. This long thin Crusty French Bread is one of my favorite bread. Crusty French Bread has crisp outer crust but soft and chewy inside. You could eat this freshly baked baguettes with soups or stews or make you own choice subs.
You can eat a baguette every day and be healthy, but the key is portion size and what you're eating with your baguette. It's important to note that baguettes are particularly high in carbohydrates and sodium, so you should choose your portion size based on your diet and overall health goals.
You can always substitute all-purpose flour for bread flour one for one in any recipe that calls for it. Your bread might not raise quite as high or have quite as much chew, if you are using all-purpose flour, but it will still be delicious and homemade and all the good things.
Consistency: Bakeries often use machines to ensure consistent kneading and proofing times. This consistency is key to producing the same soft texture batch after batch. Special Ingredients: Many bakeries use dough conditioners or enhancers, which improve the texture and extend the bread's shelf life.
The reason this can happen is: They are loaded with butter and sugar, which act as a tenderizer and preservative and make them keep well for several days. New Orleans-style French bread is the opposite. It has very little or no fat or sugar and no preservatives. French bread is fresh for a finite amount of time.
France passed a law in 1993 that establishes standards for their culinary symbol. According to law, baguettes must be made on the premises where they are sold and contain only the four base ingredients. They should never be frozen or contain additives or preservatives.
Your bland bread could be the result of rushing the process. Try a slow overnight rise in the refrigerator. Plan ahead to proof your loaf overnight. This hands-off time in the icebox will slow the fermentation process in your dough and result in a complex-flavored loaf.
Introduction: My name is Jonah Leffler, I am a determined, faithful, outstanding, inexpensive, cheerful, determined, smiling person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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