Love is in the Air
Love is the air or, at least the SMELL of love is in the air!
Nothing smells more like love and comfort than the aroma of fresh bread and we have a wonderful, easy, foolproof recipe for French bread. If you have not had a love affair with yeast, but, in fact, have had what a psychologist would call “an avoidance issue”, now is your chance for some therapeutic intervention. This recipe has all the makings of a great love story: it’s warm, inviting, and oh so steamy! Whether you are cooking tomorrow or not, try this bread. You will LOVE it and will be loved every time you make it. We guarantee it.
Ingredients
2 cups of warm water
1 packet of yeast
2 Tablespoons of white sugar
1 Tablespoon of salt
Approximately 4 cups of flour*
4 cups of ice
Start by pre-heating your oven to 425 degrees
Next, mix together in a bowl
2 cups of warm water – water should be the temperature in which you would bathe your child – no hotter, no colder
1 packet of yeast
2 Tablespoons white sugar
Put the bowl on top of the oven for 10 minutes to allow this yeast mixture to “proof”. The yeast mixture will become foamy within the 10 minutes. This is “proof” that the yeast is good and is active.
In a large bowl or the bowl of your Kitchen Aid mixer place 4 cups of flour and 1 Tablespoon of salt. Stir to mix the salt into the flour. If you are using the mixer, use the dough hook attachment and add the yeast mixture to the flour.
Knead until the dough pulls completely away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough remains sticky, you will need to add a bit more flour. Do this about a Tablespoon of flour at a time until the dough is smooth and appears elastic or looks a bit like taffy. Then continue kneading for about 5 minutes.
If you are not using a mixer and doing it by hand, mix flour and yeast together, turn out onto a floured work surface and knead the dough by hand adding additional flour a Tablespoon at a time as needed. Once the dough has reached the “taffy” consistency, continue kneading for about 5 minutes.
The longer you knead, either by hand or in the Kitchen Aide, the softer the consistency of the baked bread will be. In other words, you can’t over knead this, but 5- 10 minutes is a good amount of time for kneading.
For this celebration, we have made the bread in the shape of a heart. On a piece of parchment paper draw a heart the size you want your loaf to be. Then divide the dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope. Use one dough “rope” to follow the outline of the heart. Use the second to fill in the center. This will make 2 hearts.
If you are not making the bread into a heart shape, cut the dough into four pieces. Roll each piece into a thin rope. Twist two of the ropes together to form one loaf and repeat with the second two to form your second loaf.
Transfer the loaves to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Allow the bread to sit for 30 minutes in a warm, draft free spot in your kitchen. The top of the stove works well if you happen to have a stove and oven that are one unit and not a wall oven. As they sit the loaves will begin to rise a bit.
Now for the steamy part!
Fill a large bowl with 4 cups of ice cubes. Open the oven door and pour the ice onto the bottom of the oven. Put your bread onto the middle shelf of the oven and shut the door quickly. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN FOR 15 MINUTES. Bake until golden brown – 15-18 minutes.
If you can manage it, allow the bread to rest 5 minutes before slicing or tearing off a piece and slathering it with butter.
Now that says LOVE!
*You can use either bread flour or all purpose flour. They each make the bread turn out slightly different. Try it both ways to see which one you prefer.
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Comments are closed.
This sounds like a foolproof bread recipe even I can do!
It is yummy, it really is! I know that you and Matt will love it.
And Matt will love it Allison….I guarantee it 🙂
I love, love, love this site!
And we love that you love it Karen 🙂
ohhh, nothing says love like homemade bread!
How right you are, Bettye!
Homemade bread and butter…..or some delicious brie…..that could be a whole meal 🙂
This is so much easier than I would have expected French Bread to be! I can’t wait to make this for Jason & Devon. They will be in heaven. Also, do you prefer the bread flour or AP flour option?
Just wait….they will be so happy if Jason and Devon are anything like the guys in my house…and the girls too for that matter. The hardest thing is waiting a few minutes after it comes out of the oven because the whole house smell so good. Just have the butter out and soft and it will be a happy day! IF I have bread flour on hand that is what I use but often I don’t have it and decide about an hour before dinner that I’m going to make this so i just use the AP flour and I’ve never had a complaint yet. Let us know what they think.
Hello again ladies —
First of all, I need to say that I avoid almost NOTHING in life, particularly in the food department (don’t we all love to eat!) so the “avoidance” department has avoided my waistline, to say the least.
Secondly, NOTHING in the kitchen is “fullproof” with me. I could use my own live-in chef. Maybe a French Canadian chef by the name of Donny!
I’d love to taste this French bread. I wish you could send some over the Internet.
I love your Chums Daily Lift posts. You ladies encourage me to try harder. I just haven’t been able to get started yet. If you hear a big explosion, it’s probably my kitchen going through my roof!
Here’s to YOUR kitchen!
Richard Horner
Hi Robin, I am just curious about the role of ice cubes. What exactly does it help with?
Great question Annie. I didn’t come up with the idea of using ice cubes but it sure has been a good addition to the method of cooking this bread. As far as I can tell, the steam that is created from the ice cubes not only keeps the bread moist as it cooks, but it also gives it a lovely, very even crust. Let us know how it works for you, if you decide to try it.
Seriously…right onto the floor of the oven? I have put in cookie sheets with water, and misted, but you can just throw the ice cubes in there?
Yes, that’s right, Bonnie. Just pop the ice right in the bottom of your oven and it will do its work. Remember not to open the oven door until the bread is done. Enjoy!