French bread handed down to me by my sister, Wendy CM Morris-Yummy!!
Dry Ingredients: Mix two cups of all purpose flour with five tsp of rapid rise yeast and two teaspoons of salt.
Wet Ingredients: Heat two cups of water (just a bit hotter than lukewarm)
Add 3 tbls of butter and stir until the butter is dissolved (you can use olive oil if you don’t want to use butter)
Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Add enough flour until the dough is not too sticky.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead the dough for a bit, then let it rest for 20 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, I use a baking stone and put it in the oven while it preheats.
Punch it down, knead it again and form your desired loaf.
I normally make three different ropes and then braid the dough. Let it rise for another 20-30 minutes.
Put oatmeal or cornmeal on your baking stone, move the loaf to the backing stone and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Take it out and put it on a cooking rack.
Have your butter ready!! It is a wonderful bread to have with soups or a pasta dish, enjoy!!!!