Granini's French Bread

Granini's French Bread

(makes 2 loaves)

Trust me. Make two Loaves.

2 cups + 4 Tablespoons warm water

4 ½ teaspoons yeast (or 2 packages)

2 teaspoons brown sugar

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

4 teaspoons salt

6 cups flour, divided

Hi there.

Sorry for the terrible lack of posting. It's been a bit rough over here. But I have a tiny reprieve, and I had a minute, so I thought I'd post my newest favorite recipe. Plus I'm going to make the bread tonight, so it seemed like the right time to post the recipe!

I snagged the recipe off of Pinterest, but when I went back to grab the reference, the post had been stolen! Snagged off of Pinterest; commandeered and stolen and reposted by someone else claiming the recipe was their's. It's not. I was aghast. Shame on them.

The original recipe came from TheMamasGirls, but their website is officially down, and I can't give you a link to their website, but let me just say, thank you to these lovely folks for such an AMAZING recipe with incredibly easy directions. May they have a wonderful day today, and each and every time I use this recipe (and anyone else uses it) as my way of saying thank you to them. 

And may all their lights be green on their way home.

The first time I made this recipe, we were all stunned at how well it turned out. French bread is something that requires negotiation and preferences. This is not a recipe for baguettes, which are thinner and longer, and have a nice crispy crust on the outside and a chewy crust on the inside with a lovely soft middle. I have a recipe for those on this website somewhere...

This French bread is the kind you use to make garlic bread. Or to slather with salted butter and eat while hot. Or cold. Or to make a small sandwich with. Or a grilled sammie. Or with which to make french toast in the morning should you have leftovers. hahahaha. As if you'll have leftovers.

Some people like a hard crust. Some people like a soft crust. I was looking for a loaf that would cut beautifully, that could be easily sliced, that would have a lovely, white middle; a bread that could be used for garlic bread to accompany my fav lasagna, as well as something I could serve alongside of soup. Sometimes cheesy biscuits and homemade rolls just aren't quite what you're looking for when it comes to a nice bread accompaniment. This loaf was so unbelievably amazing that we snarfed down the entire thing, and I completely forgot to take a picture.

When it was time to make the loaves a second time, the recipe had been snagged off of Pinterest, commandeered and stolen and I was aghast. See above.

So here's my scribbled notes from what I remember of this amazing recipe. I will come back and add in a picture and my fine-tuned notes as soon as I make it again tonight. Trust me, this one's worth it!!

(Here's the recipe for one loaf:)

French Bread (single loaf)

(Again, why are you making only one loaf? You should make two. Trust me.)

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons warm water

2 ¼ teaspoons yeast (or 1 package)

1 teaspoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

3 cups flour, divided
and for the top before baking:
1 egg + 1 Tablespoon milk

French Bread (makes 2 loaves)

Trust me. Make two Loaves.

2 cups + 4 Tablespoons warm water

4 ½ teaspoons yeast (or 2 packages)

2 teaspoons brown sugar

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

4 teaspoons salt

6 cups flour, divided
and for the top before baking:
1 egg + 1 Tablespoon milk

Pour the warm water into a large bowl and sprinkle the yeast over the water. Add the brown sugar and the oil. Allow the mixture to set until it turns bubbly and foamy (about 5 minutes).

Add all the salt (AND STIR REALLY WELL), and half of the flour and stir. Wait 10 minutes.

Add ½ a cup of flour and stir. Wait ten minutes.

Continue this process of adding ½ cup of flour and waiting 10 minutes until all the flour has been incorporated.

Knead the dough for 5 full minutes, until it is lovely and not sticky and feels just about perfect.

Shape the dough into two loaves (or one -- you fool! why did you only make one?!?). Put parchment paper on a cookie sheet and put each of the two loaves onto the parchment paper.

Slice the top of the bread in three generous slashes to allow the bread to grow without ripping the dough.

Place the loaves in a slightly warm oven (or proof the bread) for ½ an hour.

Bring the bread out of the oven and heat the oven to 375℉.

Whisk an egg with 1 tablespoon of milk. With a pastry brush, brush the top of the loaves of bread until they're fully covered. This will allow your bread to have a soft, but firm, crust. Chewy, not crunchy. Perfect for garlic bread. Or eating. With butter. Vats and vats of salted butter. Mmmmmm.

After the oven is hot, place the bread in the middle of the rack 

and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!!

(Garlic Bread helpful hints:)

If you're going to make garlic bread, as soon as the bread has cooled enough to handle it, or even the next day -- if you have bread left, hahahaha, which you won't, warm up a stick of unsalted butter in the microwave until it's nice and soft but not completely melted. Crush 2 or 3 cloves of garlic. Sprinkle in some parmesan cheese and some basil or oregano. Stir. Slice your bread into even slices. Give the two heels to your favorite kids. Evenly divide the garlic butter between your slices. Put the butter smothered bread onto some tin foil and cover completely. Pop the bread in the oven at 350℉ for 30 minutes or so. I usually pop the bread into the oven around the same time that I pop my lasagna in the oven. If my lasagna is going to cook for longer, I wait until the 30 minute mark so that they come out at the same time. If my lasagna is going to be baking for less time, then I pop them both in at the same time. You get the idea.

If you're in a big hurry, you can slice your bread in half length wise, rather than in traditional slices, smother the bread with garlic butter, and broil it in the oven. That works too. :)

Should have let it bake about 5 more minutes. It was ever so slightly underdone. Well, alas, something to fix for the next time I make it. Which, to be honest, will probably be later this week. Because... YUM.

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I not only bake and cook, I write murder mysteries too!

Both books are available in paperback and kindle versions

Diamonds for Diamond 
(Book 1 in the Jack Diamond Mystery series)
and
No One Noticed

(Book 2 in the Jack Diamond Mystery Series)

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