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Tuesday, December 18, 2007

For You, Pollywoggy




Here's the recipe to the French bread rolls I made a few posts ago:






French Bread:






In large bowl, combine:






2c. flour (see NOTE below)



6 3/4 t. yeast



2 1/2 t. salt



3 T sugar






Add 2 cups warm water, blend well.






Add 4 cups flour (as much as you can), and knead 8-10 minutes.






Grease bowl, cover, and let rise till double. Punch down, divide in half. Turn onto floured surface, cover, and let rest 10 minutes. Roll each half into a large rectangle (if you're making two loaves), otherwise make one loaf and eight rolls, or 16 rolls. If making loaves, from the rectangle, roll up starting on the long side. Moisten edge with water to seal, and taper the ends. Grease a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with cornmeal (about 1T). Place loaves on pan, brush on egg-white mixture (one egg white with 1 T water.) Cover with damp cloth (I use saran wrap), and let rise till double (35-40min, depending on how warm your house is.) With a sharp knife, cut slits 1/4" deep. Place a dish of ice cubes (or water) in oven to add steam to your oven. Bake at 375*F for 20 minutes. Brush again with egg mixture. Bake additional 15-20 minutes, or until done. If necessary, cover with foil (loosely) to prevent over browning.






If you're making rolls, baking time will be shorter. Just keep an eye out.




NOTE: Usually when I bake breads, I add gluten to the flour. It helps give a higher rise, better shape and texture, and extends freshness (although mine breads are usually gone within a day or two.) I use Hodgson Mills Vital Wheat Gluten. I do this instead of buying bread flour, so I can buy a big bag of flour that can be used to various recipes, and when I make bread, I just add this to make my own bread flour.














I really like the crust on these. Seems so artisan...


2 comments:

Polliwog said...

Wow, those look great!! I don't have any gluten on hand, but I have some bread flour. Maybe I could mix it with my AP? On those other rolls I made that didn't turn out crusty, I think it's because the recipe called for 1/2 cup water for 1 egg white. I used less than that, but I was trying to stay true to the recipe, so it was still too much. I broke down and bought a sourdough baguette tonight. I can't make sourdough here in the winter, it's too cold for a starter. So I'll make this recipe in a couple of days when we finish that one. Thank you so much! I really appreciate it.

Mother Bliss said...

Most recipes just call for regular all-purpose flour, every now and then you see bread flour as an ingredient. But I need all the help I can get, so I use the gluten. I don't think it's necessary, but since I'm spending the time into homemade bread, might as well go all the way! Hope your rolls turn out good.