This recipe makes beautiful light French bread that everyone can enjoy. It has a lovely texture and if you happen to have some left over (not too likely) and getting a little stale, it also makes great French toast. As a matter of fact, I sometimes make a loaf just for that purpose. Using your bread machine, just set the cycle on “dough”. After it is done mixing, it is easy to finish by hand and makes one large loaf.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 tbsp olive oil --for oil-free, use applesauce
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 1/2 teas soy lecithin granules --use sunflower lecithin for soy free version
- 1 1/4 teas salt
- 3 3/4 cups white whole-wheat flour --or the 3/4 cup could be white flour
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
Instructions
- COMBINE ingredients in bread pan of bread machine. TURN to "dough" cycle and start.
- When ingredients are mixed together, the ball of dough should not be sticky. ADD additional flour if needed, just 1-2 tablespoons at a time.
- When dough cycle signals done, start bread machine to "PUNCH DOWN" dough, do not keep mixing. Turn off machine and LET DOUGH RISE again in the pan until it is double. START bread machine again and mix just until dough is "punched down" the second tiime.
- REMOVE from pan and place on lightly floured counter.
- ROLL into a log. With the palms of your hands flat, roll back and forth on the log until it is three inches thick and even the entire way.
- SPRAY cookie sheet and SPRINKLE with cornmeal.
- LAY dough log out on cookie sheet --angled from corner to corner.
- SLASH top diagonally with knife, 1/4-inch deep every three inches.
- SET small pan of hot water on oven floor.
- HEAT oven to 400°.
- PUT cookie sheet near oven vent where heat is coming out and LET DOUGH RISE until double--let it rise the full amount before putting in the oven because the high temperature will stop any additional rising very quickly. If you lightly poke the dough with your finger and it stays indented, it is ready for the oven; don't over raise or loaf will be heavy. SET your timer for 15 minutes to check if it has risen enough and keep checking often.
- BAKE for approximately 25 minutes or until golden and crusty.
Recipe Notes
If you do not have access to white whole-wheat flour, you should use about two cups regular whole-wheat and the rest unbleached white.