French Bread Recipe
French bread is one of my family's favorite treats. But I rarely have time to make it from scratch.This French bread recipe is wonderful, because the dough is made in the bread machine. Just dump in the ingredients and come back a few hours later to rest it, shape it and bake it.
The end product is a crusty bread machine French bread that tastes as good as you'd find in a bakery.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup water
- 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. active dry yeast
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 Tbsp. water
Preparation:
- Place water, flours, salt, and yeast in your bread machine in the order directed by the bread machine manufacturer.
- Set it on the dough cycle.
- When cycle is complete, punch dough down, cover it with a clean towel and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Divide dough in half. On a lightly-floured surface, roll each half into an 8 x 10 rectangle.
- Starting from the long end, roll up dough, jelly-roll style. Tuck ends under.
- Place dough rolls on a lightly-greased baking sheet (or one lined with parchment paper).
- Cover with a clean towel and let rest 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place a broiler pan on the lowest rack of the oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Beat egg and water together. Brush over top of dough. Make diagonal slits across dough if you like.
- Place bread on the middle oven rack and pour 1 cup of water into the broiler pan. Bake 30-35 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when lightly tapped.
