Homemade French Bread

This is an easy recipe and turns out really crispy. The recipe makes a lot, though. More than can fit in my oven at one time so I halved the recipe, which is as follows. This recipe comes from one of my favorite food storage blogs, everydayfoodstarage.net. There are several videos that are on this blog if you have questions about making or forming the bread.

The pan of boiling water and steam in the oven is very important. Without the water and steam, the bread will not have a crunchy crust and is not as good.

French Bread 1-2 Loaves
1 T. yeast2
1/4 c. warm water
3 1/2 c. flour
1 T. sugar1 T. salt

Dissolve yeast in water. Then add sugar, salt and 1 c. flour. Beat. Add rest of flour and knead on floured board (or in standing kitchen mixer) for about 5 minutes. Let rise about 30-45 minutes. Grease 1-2 cookie sheets and sprinkle lightly with corn meal. Punch down bread and knead one minute. Divide into 2 for loaves or 6 for hoagies. Let rest 10 minutes. Roll each piece into ropes as long as the cookie sheet. Place on cookie sheet being sure there is ample space between each rope or loaf. make several evenly spaced shallow cuts diagonally in the top of each loaf; brush with water or egg wash, then brush again and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Let raise until double (about 30 minutes). Place pan of hot water on lower shelf of oven. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 for 20-30 minutes or until bread gives a hollow sound when tapped. Remove from pans and cool and wrap in plastic bags.

This recipe can be doubled to create 4 large loaves or 12 hoagie rolls.