French Bread

Trying to come up with a good recipe for good French Bread using my French Bread pan. This turned out…okay. Need to tweak a little.

French Bread

Light yet chewy yet yummy.
Prep Time3 hours
Cook Time30 minutes
Servings: 2 loaves

Equipment

  • French Bread Pan (optional)

Ingredients

  • 9 grams yeast, active or instant (1 tablespoon)
  • 540 grams warm water (2¼ cups)
  • 20 grams Baker's Sugar (Granulated Sugar) (1¾ tablespoons)
  • 25 grams olive oil (2 tablespoons)
  • 780 grams bread flour (53g vital wheat gluten & 727g all-purpose) (6½ cups + ) (see instructions)
  • 15 grams sea salt or kosher salt (light tablespoon)

Instructions

  • In a stand mixer bowl add the yeast and warm water. If using active (not instant) yeast, add a pinch of the sugar and let sit for 10-15 minutes until bubbly. If using instant (not active) yeast, continue.
  • Add the sugar and olive oil and stir to combine.
  • Add half of the flour and stir to combine. Add all the salt. Add the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time until fully incorporated. This shouldn't be a very sticky dough, so if it is add flour a tablespoon at a time until you get a soft, cohesive dough.
  • Put dough in a lightly-oiled bowl and cover with plastic.
  • In 15 minutes, stretch and fold in the bowl: using your hand or a bench scraper, gather from the far side and bring up and over and push down and back to the rear of the bowl. Turn the bowl and repeat 20+ times. Cover.
  • Do the above every 5 more times. (90 minutes total)
  • Let rest in the bowl until puffy.
  • Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled surface or a Silpat and divide in half. Press each half into a roughly 9" x 13" flat and roll up on long side. Pinch edge to seal. Put on a French Bread pan (with or without parchment) and cover with greased plastic wrap or a towel. Let rest another hour. Should be puffy.
  • Put oven rack in center, put a pan with ice cubes on the bottom, and heat oven to 375°F / 190°C. (350°F / 157°C Convection)
  • Slash the top of the loaves 3-4 times with a sharp knife. (See notes.)
  • Bake 25-30 minutes, rotating half way through, until golden brown and thermometer registers 190°F / 88°C inside loaves.
  • Optional: Brush with melted butter immediately after removing from oven.

Notes

  • Baker’s Sugar dissolves in water faster and is 1:1 for granulated sugar and costs just about the same.
  • If you don’t have a good lame / knife, you can slash the loaves right after forming and putting on the pan.  Just won’t get quite the same “pop” when baking.
  • French Bread Pan
French Bread Pan
French Bread Pan