Baking my French Bread Overview of Contents • The recipe • What you need to bake the bread • STEPS: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) Measure ingredients Mix with spoon or spatula Cover and let rise Pour onto counter or tabletop Divide into 2 loaves Heat oven and let rise Cut top and bake Remove and eat warm or cool on a rack or wrapped in a towel. The Recipe The Recipe for “No Knead French Bread” There is a video in English here. https://inquiringchef.com/no-knead-french-bread/ INGREDIENTS • 4 cups / 500 grams All-purpose flour • 2 tsp kosher salt • 1 TBS sugar • 2 ¼ tsp fast acting or ‘instant’ yeast (see note) • 2 cups / 473 ml warm water (see note) INSTRUCTIONS 1) Make the dough: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, sugar, and yeast. Pour water over dry ingredients and stir until no dry spots remain. The dough will be very sticky, but just scrape down the sides as you stir. 2) First Rise (~ 45 minutes): Cover the dough with a clean dish towel and leave it on the kitchen counter to rise until doubled in size, ~ 45 minutes. (If your kitchen is on the colder side, let the dough rise for 60 minutes.) 3) Set out a large sheet pan (or 2 sheet pans). If you’d like, you can add a piece of parchment paper to the sheet pan which will make it easier to remove the bread and eliminate any chance of sticking. Dust the pan with all purpose flour (see note). 4) Shape loaves: Use a knife to slice down the center of the dough, separating it into even halves (the dough is very sticky, so don’t worry about being super precise). Dust the surface of the dough and your hands with flour. Working with one half of the dough at a time, transfer it to the prepared sheet pan and form it into 2 side-by-side baguette-shaped loaves. (If things get sticky, dust with some more flour as you work. These loaves may not look picture perfect, but they’ll taste great!) 5) Heat Oven: Preheat oven to 450 degrees F / 232 degrees C. (If you have an oven that heats up fairly fast, you can wait to start heating the oven until the dough is nearly through the second rise – see #6 below). 6) Second Rise (~45 minutes): While the oven heats up, leave the dough to rise on the sheet pan, uncovered, until nearly double in size (~45 minutes). 7) Just before baking: Use a knife or kitchen shears to cut slits in the surface of the dough. (These slits help the dough to spread out and rise as it bakes, but they’re also decorative – giving the bread some more texture and color on the surface.) 8) Bake Bread (25 minutes): Bake bread in the heated oven until the top is golden brown and crisp, about 25 minutes. (Use an instant read thermometer if you have one. The bread is done when it reaches 190 degrees F / 88 degrees C in the center.) 9) Transfer loaves immediately to a cooling rack. Allow to cool slightly and serve! NOTES ▪ Yeast – 2 ¼ tsp of Fast Acting or ‘Instant Yeast is ¼ oz packet of yeast (often sold in 3 packet sets). Be sure to get yeast labeled as Fast Acting, Instant, Quick-Rise, Bread Machine, or Rapid Rise – any of these will work. Do NOT use ‘Active Dry Yeast’ for this recipe, it needs to be dissolved in water before using. ▪ Water - Check the label on the brand of yeast you have purchased for the recommended water temperature. Water that is too hot will kill the yeast, water that is too cool will not “activate” it. Use a thermometer to check the temperature or just make sure it feels warm (but not hot) to the touch. ▪ Dusting with flour or cornmeal - The key to shaping the loaves of very sticky dough without them sticking to your hands or the pan is to dust everything lightly with either allpurpose flour or cornmeal. Either one will work. ▪ Storing bread - Sliced bread can be stored at room temperature for 2 days (it’s best warmed in the toaster after the first day) or can be frozen for up to 6 months. What you will need Sugar Step 1: Measure the Ingredients • 4 cups of flour • 2 Teaspoons of salt • 1 Tablespoon sugar • 2 ¼ teaspoons of yeast • 2 cups of water (warmed up) I use a microwave on ‘High’ for 30 seconds. Step 2: Mix all ingredients together A) Whisk together all the dry ingredients B) Make a well and then add the warm water. C) Use a spoon or a spatula to make sure all the flour is incorporated and it is an entire well ball of batter. Step 2: Mix with spoon or spatula Step 3: Cover and Let Rise Items you might need at this point: • A special French Bread Pan or a flat cookie sheet • Something to divide the dough into 2 pieces • Optional: • Parchment Paper Step 4: Pour onto Counter or Tabletop 1) Dust the surface of the table or countertop with flour. 2) Pour the dough onto the flour 3) Dust the top of the dough. 4) Divide it into 2 parts. 1 2 3 Step 5: Divide into 2 parts or loaves Shape them into the right size and shape of a French loaf of bread. Step 6: Dust the top of the loaves with flour & heat oven A) Use the leftover flour to dust the top of the bread. B) Heat the Oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit or 232 Celsius. C) Put the loaves in their baking pan on top of the stove or oven while it is heating up. This will help it rise. A B C Step 7: Cut the top of the bread before putting it into the oven. Bake for 17 minutes to 30 minutes depending upon the heat of your oven. Be sure to watch to make sure it is cooked properly. You may have to turn the pan around halfway through the baking to make sure it browns evenly. Step 8: Remove from oven and let cool • Remove from the oven when browned. • The crust will be crunchy when it first comes out of the oven. • The crust softens in the Costa Rican humidity. To reduce the amount of moisture absorbed wrap each loaf in a towel. • Otherwise put them on a cooling rack or simply on the table to let them cool. • The bread is very good sliced and toasted. • If you are keeping leftover bread, I recommend you put it into the refrigerator, so it doesn’t get moldy.
