French Loaves

Name: French Loaves
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 2 loaves (12 slices each).
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons active dry yeast; 2 cups warm water (110° to 115°); 2 teaspoons salt; 1 teaspoon sugar; 4-1/2 to 5 cups bread flour; 1 teaspoon cornmeal

My kids love to help me make this delicious bread recipe. It's quite easy, and they enjoy the fact that they can be eating fresh bread in less than two hours! —Denise Boutin, Grand Isle, Vermont

Ingredients

2 tablespoons active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (110° to 115°)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
4-1/2 to 5 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon cornmeal

Directions

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add salt, sugar and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Shape into 12-in.-long loaves.
Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450°. Sprinkle with cornmeal. With a sharp knife, make four shallow slashes across the top of each loaf. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Nutrition Facts

1 slice: 79 calories, 0 fat (0 saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 197mg sodium, 17g carbohydrate (0 sugars, 1g fiber), 3g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1 starch.

Originally published as French Baguettes in Taste of Home February/March 2010

Reviews

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Average Rating:

Markus16

Feb 29, 2016

Love this bread! Easy, and freezes wonderfully.
eyeliketodothat

Jan 7, 2014

I make one like this have for years but i use little less flour. About 3 1/2 to 4 and kneading is the key to this bread or it will be very dense. I suggest the first knead should be 10- 15 min and on the second knead #3 direction kneaded for 10-15 min and see if that makes a difference otherwise a great bread.
heatherbether80

Mar 29, 2011

My first time making bread loaf from scratch and it came out Perfect!..Great tasting bread which we used to make delicious garlic bread this past weekend. Easy and Fool proof enough for a first timer...I would recommend this to anyone!
aug2295

Jan 15, 2011

Nice taste but a little dense, even for French bread.
terri0307

Nov 15, 2010

Have made this recipe several times!! I love how easy it is...homemade bread that taste great!
Athena_Wiley

Oct 28, 2010

Perfect every time.
mama cj

Oct 17, 2010

It was so easy and quick to make. The texture was perfect!
baskets92

Sep 25, 2010

Forget to rate it with stars!!!!
baskets92

Sep 25, 2010

I have made these french loaves a half a dozen times and they are WONDERFUL! Very easy and quick for homemade bread! Made it tonight ~ we had friends over for dinner and they all raved over it!
jkrasnitski

May 12, 2010

My husband loves bread with most of his dinners so I decided to try my hand at making it myself. This recipe is easy and delicious. I, too, ended up with very wide loaves the first time. Now I actually cut the dough into 1/4s and make 4 smaller loaves. They freeze really well. Have also tried to add various herbs and turns out yummy too! A real keeper for sure!