French Bread

Preparation Time: 3.5-4 hours

Yield: One really tastey loaf

This is a combination of French Bread and a braided loaf but it's an easy and satisying recipe to prepare, although it's a Sunday afternoon project.

Heat to almost boiling, 1/2 cup milk

Add to it 1 cup boiling water. Let it cool to 85-100 ° F

Disolve 1 tablespoon yeast in 1/4 cup 85-100 ° F water

Let yeast rest for 10 min then add to water and milk mixture.

Add 1.5 tblsp of melted shortning or butter

Add 1 tblsp sugar

In large mixing bowl, combine:

4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar.

Make a hole in the center of the flour and pour in liquid ingredients.

Stir together but Do Not kneed the dough.

Cover bowl with a damp cloth and set in a warm place to rise for TWO hours.

Turn dough out onto floured board or counter and punch down the dough.

Roll the dough under your hands to create a long tube of dough, about 2 or 2 1/2 feet long. Bring the two ends of the dough together, to create a long U . Braid the dough by crossing the bottom piece over the top piece until you get to the ends of the dough. Pinch them together and plump up that end of the dough.

Place the dough on a greased baking sheet and let it rise until it begins to flatten instead of growing. Usually that's about 1/2 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 ° F

On bottom rack, place pan filled with 1/2 inch of boiling water.

Place bread into oven, on middle rack

Bake for 15 minutes.

Reduce temperature to 350 ° F

Bake for another 25 minutes.

Remove from over, glaze the bread with a mixture made of

1 beaten egg white

1 tablespoon of cold water

and return to oven for 5 minutes.

Let bread cool and enjoy!

Makes amazing toast when cut thickly, either in the toaster oven

or as real French Toast.

© WRinehart2005 All rights reserved.

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