Crusty homemade French bread baguettes baked with a pan of water for steam.

Ingredients

Yeast mixture:

  • 1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
  • 1 pkg yeast
  • pinch sugar

Dough:

  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 2 cups flour, add up to 1 cup more to make stiff dough if needed

Steps

  1. Combine yeast mixture ingredients and let rest 5 minutes.
  2. Combine liquid and dry ingredients.
  3. Turn out and let rest 10 minutes.
  4. Knead for 8 minutes.
  5. Let rise in oil covered bowl, then punch down and shape on greased cookie sheet.
  6. Let rise.
  7. Cut small diagonal slits.
  8. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Notes

  • For whole wheat French bread, substitute 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour for all purpose flour and bake the same.
  • Diana’s Food Processor Way: Combine liquid ingredients at 110 degrees and let set for 5 minutes to proof. Add 1 cup bread flour, 1 cup all purpose flour, sugar and oil in food processor and pulse a few times. Add proofed liquid, then keep adding 1 tbsp all purpose flour at a time till stickiness gone and forms ball. Then add salt. Let set in food processor for 10 minutes for gluten to meld. Then pulse till forms into a good ball. Transfer ball to oiled bowl and rise. Punch down and form into long French loaf, slash top diagonally halfway through second rising. Preheat oven to 450 degrees with baking stone on lower shelf. Put bread loaf in oven, throw one cup of ice cubes in bottom of oven and spritz loaf with water. Turn down oven to 375 degrees. Spritz loaf every 1 minute for 5 times. Cook till internal temp 190 degrees, approximately 22-25 minutes, and turn loaf halfway through cooking. Remove, let set till a bit cool, cut and eat.