Yummy French Breads

This is where I get the majority of my favorite recipes, unless I'm blog surfing in the middle of the night. There are so many gals out there with fantastic blogs devoted just to cooking with terrific recipes, they are my true inspiration. When I'm in a hurry and can't find just the recipe I need in one of my THREE HUGE recipe binders (I don't even waste my time going through one of my 30 cookbooks) this is where I turn!
My singing friend Sarah, mother of three adorable children and wife to a handsome hunk (we affectionally call them Barbie and Ken...yep, they are that cute,) is requesting my french bread recipe. Yikes! I add a bit of this from one recipe and a bit of that from another (all are similar I know, but one calls for lemon juice, one calls for baking powder...sometimes I get a wee bit creative and often have cooking disasters. Remember it's my Twin that has the chemistry brains, I have....well, I have....um, I have the Blog! Yeah!)
So here's a good looking french bread recipe from allrecipes.com that I will try myself tomorrow. Monday has been designated my bread making day...we'll see if I succeed over the next few weeks in forming a bread making day habit.
Just a few things I do differently: rather than using egg to brush on my bread I use a spray bottle of water to mist my oven. When the bread is baking I open the oven door and mist the walls and bread with a few squirts of water mist. If you do this a couple of times while baking the crust will be crustier leaving the inside tender and moist.
Next, I have an instant read thermometer I bought at the dollar store to check the internal temperature of my bread. I poke that thermometer into the side of the bread to about the middle of the loaf. When the temperature reads 195 degrees to 200 degrees I know my bread is done in the middle. I have had too many loaves of soggy in the inside bread going strictly by the time listed in the recipe. When the timer goes off, then I start checking with my thermometer!
Also I have a mixer to do my kneading for me, before I place the dough in a big bowl to rise again. I can knead it once or twice to shape and pound out some air bubbles, but that's my limit. I'm saving my arms and hands for when the power is out and I HAVE to hand knead my bread. There is a great little oven at Walmart that runs on propane that I've meant to buy for the last two years. Think I may have to check it out again as I have to have bread to live. A nice hot loaf of bread, fragrance and taste wise, makes all right with the world. (It's a childhood memory, what can I say? However, I have switched to 100% whole wheat flour so I don't feel too guilty...did I mention lots of real butter? I cook with powdered butter, powdered milk and powdered eggs, keeping the real stuff for direct to the table usage.)

French Country Bread (This one I'm going to go start right now!)
SUBMITTED BY: Stephen Carroll
"A simple European style country bread. Just enough whole wheat to give it some flavor but not
too much that it's heavy. I use an overnight starter to give it extra flavor."
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
DIRECTIONS
The night before baking the bread prepare this starter: In a medium sized non-metal mixing bowl dissolve 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast in 1 cup warm water. Add 1 1/2 cup bread flour and mix well. Cover and let sit overnight at room temperature.
The next day: In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the 2 teaspoons yeast in the 2 cups warm water. Add the starter mixture, the whole wheat flour, 3 cups bread flour and the salt; stir until well combined. Add the remaining bread flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and form into loaves. Place the loaves into the prepared pans. Cover the loaves with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

Crusty French Bread
SUBMITTED BY: Deanna Naivar
"A delicate texture makes this bread absolutely wonderful. I sometimes use the dough to make breadsticks, which I brush with melted butter and sprinkle with garlic powder."

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees to 115 degrees)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
Cornmeal
1 egg white
1 teaspoon cold water
DIRECTIONS
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, oil, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat until blended. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down; return to bowl. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into a loaf 16 in. long x 2-1/2 in. wide with tapered ends. Sprinkle a greased baking sheet with cornmeal; place loaf on baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 25 minutes.
Beat egg white and cold water; brush over dough. With a sharp knife, make diagonal slashes 2 in. apart across top of loaf. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.

French Bread Rolls to Die For
SUBMITTED BY: JOCATLIN
"Easy to make French bread rolls. Dough can be made in mixer, bread maker, or by hand. Loaves or rolls can be brushed before baking with a glaze of 1 beaten egg white mixed with 1 tablespoon water if desired."
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups bread flour
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces, and form into round balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheets at least 2 inches apart. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.