Sunday, December 25, 2011

Brot - In search of a crusty French loaf

I wanted to make a crusty french bread ala those books I read , so I used this recipe.

Here are the photos I took at the different stages. I skipped out on the first step, because I wasn't sure it would be successful, but it turned out not too bad, though it was more crumbly than crusty. For crusty I had to toast them in my frying pan (I had forgotten the microwave oven again)

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, oil, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat until blended. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough.
 
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down; return to bowl. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. 
Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into a loaf 16 in. long x 2-1/2 in. wide with tapered ends. Sprinkle a greased baking sheet with cornmeal; place loaf on baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 25 minutes. 
 
Beat egg white and cold water; brush over dough. With a sharp knife, make diagonal slashes 2 in. apart across top of loaf. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool. 
Updated!!! I gave Mutter 3 slices, asking her to try. She told me later that she steamed it for lunch because she found the bread to be quite hard... winz. But that is the whole point.

No comments:

Post a Comment