Home Made French Bread

Hmmm…French bread slathered in butter! What more could you ask for? This isn’t an easy job but it sure is worth it. I’m not sure if you are familiar with Paul Hollywood but his baking skills are brilliant and the way he explains recipes is second to none. I have to be honest that I used his french baguette recipe for this but I made fatter loaves instead of the traditional thin loaf. You can find his baguette recipe here

I have always struggled to make that light airy texture you find in so many artisan loaves and I have to say that after reading through oh so many recipes from Paul I have finally got the hang of it. Come closer and I’ll let you in on the secret…Start with a pretty wet dough and resist knocking the dough down once risen. Yup, that’s it. Handle it with extreme care and work it as little as possible to keep all those precious air bubbles in the dough. The result, a light airy texture just like that baguette you buy from your corner baker. Yum!

I’m going to give you the recipe below but feel free to follow the instructions on Paul’s website. The one big difference is that instead of making four baguettes I split the dough in two and made two larger fatter loaves. Just remember that the dough is going to be really sticky so you need to use olive oil to form the loaves and on the surface you are working on. You also need a really sharp knife to divide the dough and to score the dough once you have formed it. And I mean razor blade sharp!

It has taken me many tries to get the perfect loaf and all I have to say is don’t give up, you will have many failed loaves before you get that perfect loaf but trust me once you get it it’s infectious and you will gladly do it over and over again.

Home Made French Bread

(9 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)
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4.3 from 9 reviews

A delicious crunchy french bread you can enjoy plain with butter or with your favourite toppings.

• Prep Time: 3 hours
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 3 hours 25 minutes
• Yield: 2 loaves
• Category: Baking

Ingredients

• 500g bread flour
• 1 1/2 tsp table salt
• 10g instant yeast
• 350ml (approx) water
• Oil for work surface and your hands

Instructions

1. Add the flour, salt and yeast to your mixer bowl (don’t add the salt directly on to your yeast as it will affect the rising ability of the yeast.
2. Turn on your mixer and slowly add the water. It will look pretty wet but that is what you need.
3. Knead the dough in the mixer for a good 5 minutes.
4. Once well kneaded turn the dough out into a oiled container and cover.
5. Let rise for an hour.
6. Get a baking tray ready with parchment paper or a silicone mat and preheat your oven to 220 degrees C (425 F).
7. Add a roasting tray to the bottom of your oven (you will see why later).
8. Oil your work surface and your hands.
9. Turn the dough out on to the work surface and divide the dough into two with a very sharp oiled knife.
10. Take one half and gently shape it into a oval shape. Don’t press too hard and be very gentle when rolling it. You want to work from the inside out while rolling. Any seam you see or create should end up underneath.
11. Once you are happy with the shape of your loaf (remember this is your loaf so you shape it as you wish) transfer it to your baking tray.
12. Do the same to the other half of your dough.
13. Cover and prove your loaves for another hour. Maybe make yourself a Mojito
14. After an hour use a fine sieve filled with flour and sprinkle each loaf liberally with flour
15. With your razor sharp knife make a score down the side of the loaf
16. Place your loaves into the centre of your pre-heated oven and add 2 cups of water to the roasting tray you placed in the oven earlier.
17. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until your loaves are golden and crusty.
18. Once done, remove and set aside to cool completely before cutting.

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