I day dream about running off to Paris, spending cool afternoons on cafe-lined sidewalk and living off of bread for a month. Until that day comes, I’ll pretend that the French bread I bake is actually French 🙂

Of all the breads I make, this one is probably my favorite. It’s quick enough for weeknights, it’s a great vehicle for hard cheeses and herbs, and it’s scandalously white 🙂

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Quick French Bread

A quicker, light and chewy french baguette.

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp yeast
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 tsp salt
• oil, for coating bowl

Instructions

1. Put water, sugar, and yeast into the stand mixer bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes until frothy.
2. Add flour in three batches and knead for 5-7 minutes on medium speed with the dough hook (adding additional flour if the dough is too sticky).
3. Cover bowl and let rest for 15 minutes.
4. Sprinkle dough evenly with salt and knead on medium speed for 1 minute to incorporate salt.
5. Transfer to an oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let rise until dough has doubled (this takes ~35 minutes with my oven set to "Dough Proof").
6. Preheat oven to 425. Place broiler pan in the bottom of the oven.
7. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and punch down.
8. Divide dough in half and shape into loaves.
9. Using a razor blade or sharp knife (I have a super sharp 4" blade from that orange home improvement store that I use specifically for slicing dough), slash the top of the loaves every 2-3 inches. The blade should be sharp enough to do all the work for you - pressing down on the dough will only deflate your loaves.
10. Place into the oven. Pour 3/4 cup hot water into the broiler pan and shut the oven door.
11. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes

Yields: 2 loaves

Adapted from AllRecipes

Estimated time: 1 hour 45 minutes