Fool Proof French Bread

I can't think of anything I love baking in my kitchen more than this french bread recipe.  My house smells amazing for hours and the taste of warm bread with raw honey on it is to die for!  For a long time I avoided baking bread as it seemed so complicated.  If they had to invent a bread machine to help woman make bread it must be complicated right?!?  Then one day I looked at the loaf of bread I bought at the store and saw the list of 20+ ingredients that I couldn't pronounce and I was determined to try to make bread.

I tried many recipes - a LOT failed or my kids hated them!  But finally I found this recipe and I couldn't be happier!  5 ingredients, my kids LOVE it and on average we make 4 loafs a week.  We use this bread for grilled cheese sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly, veggie sandwiches, french toast, and garlic bread - it really is the use for everything bread!  The recipe is super simple, my daughters who are 10 and 8 help make it (you'll see Haylie "helping" in a minute!) and I have not ever had a loaf turn out bad.  The bread does not freeze well - fresh is best!  I also use this bread to make bread crumbs for my black bean burgers and for homemade chicken strips for the kids!

 Here is a list of ingredients and I will go through each step so you can see how simple this recipe is!

Ingredients
- 2 1/2 t active dry yeast
- 1 t salt
- 1 T butter (melted)
- 2 1/2 C HOT water
- 7 cups of flour (you can use any kind of flour you want, white, wheat, spelt, gluten free, bread flour.  I've tried them all and nothing hasn't turned out yet, sometimes they turn out a little more dry than other times especially the spelt.  I usually do a mix with wheat and spelt or whatever flour I happen to have in my pantry)

Here are the directions - I promise it is easy!

Heat your bowl (if you have a mixer heat up your mixer bowl if you are making this by hand heat up whatever bowl you are using)  After the bowl is hot add your 2 1/2 cups of hot water

Next add your yeast and let it sit and froth up, use a spoon to help dissolve the yeast completely.  If there are a couple of chunks it's no big deal the goal is mostly dissolved like this -

Now add in your salt, butter, and flour and mix!  If you have a mixer use your dough hook and let the mixer do the hard work for you!  Mix in your mixer on a lower speed for about 7 minutes or until the dough stops sticking to the bowl.  If you don't have a mixer this is where you just have to mix and kneed till the dough turns out nice and smooth.  It will stop sticking to the bowl when it is done.

 
Now I did mention that my daughters make this bread and though I love their help in the kitchen this recipe "somehow" ends with Haylie looking like this every time!

Thought you might enjoy the cute visual!  She really is an awesome help in the kitchen and always loves to make things fun while she works!  Love love love her silly heart!

Once the dough is mixed pour a little oil into a large bowl (it can be any kind of oil vegetable, canola, you could even use your Pam spray if you have it)  Coat the bowl and then put the entire lump of dough into the bowl and turn once so it is covered in the oil.  See it's shiny!

Cover with a tea cloth (meaning some type of towel that does not have lint - you don't want lint sticking to your bread) and let it rise for one hour.  This is probably the most tricky part - not forgetting you have bread rising!

Here is my cute tea towel my mother in law gave me at Easter and it has become my staple bread making towel!  (Thanks Sally!)

Once it has risen it should look like this!  Did I mention big bowl?!?  This dough will more than double in size!

Split the dough in half and roll out one loaf at a time.  I use my cookie sheet and roll out my bread on the cookie sheet.  It won't stick so you won't need to flour the surface or anything to special.  Once you have your cookie sheet covered -

roll your dough long ways like a snake.  Make sure as you roll you squeeze gently (you will get air pockets if you don't - learned that the hard way)  Once you have your snake you want to tuck in the ends, do this by folding the ends in on themselves.

Again cover and let rise for an hour!  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Bake for 15 minutes!  Here's our finished results!  Hope you enjoy let me know if you try it!