I have made my own bread for many years. It started off as a way for me to relieve stress in my life when things were not as good as they are today. Punching down those rolls of dough just felt so good when I needed to get out some frustration.Turns out that I just really enjoyed the process, the patience I learned and, of course, eating the final product.
Unless you have a really good neighborhood bakery where the loaves are made from scratch, nothing you’re going to get at the store will compare to the bread you make in your own kitchen.
When my friend Shari sent over some homemade “Fine Elderberry Jelly” last week I had to bake some bread just for the occasion…you can’t put homemade jelly on store bought bread. It just wouldn’t be right.
(By the way, Shari has promised to act as a guest host one day and put up her recipe for this fine elderberry jelly on this blog. I can’t wait)
The bread has to fit the accompaniment so I wanted a soft bread. I settled on this recipe because it would go well with both the jelly as well as with a bit of cheese I had in mind for lunch with the last of the fresh grapes.
A crispier crusted bread will go better with apples and pears and some softer, spreadable cheeses.
This is not a fast recipe (did I mention that bread making has taught me patience?) but it is worth the several hours it takes before you can slice into it. Make it the night before if you want it for breakfast! Begin after breakfast to have it in time for lunch or dinner.
Soft-Crusted French Bread
1 cup hot water1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dry yeast
6 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 eggs
- Grease two 9" x 5" loaf pans and set them aside.
- Combine hot water and cool milk, add yeast and sugar and allow yeast to bubble up – this is known as blooming. (if you’ve never made bread before, watch this – it’s really cool to see it work its magic.) Whisk the flour and salt together.
- Once yeast has bloomed, add in a couple cups of the flour/salt mixture, the eggs, and the butter, and stir to combine. Gradually add in more flour until the dough is stiff and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise until doubled in bulk (about an hour)
- Punch dough down, re-shape into a ball, and place back in bowl, covered, to rise again until nearly doubled in size (another hour).
- Punch dough down and divide into two pieces. Shape into balls and let them rest for a few minutes to allow the gluten to relax.
- Press each ball down into an oblong shape about the length of your baking pan and then roll tightly into a small baguette shape and seal the edges together. Fold the ends under a bit and place in the pan, seam side down. Repeat with the other ball of dough.
- Cover the pans with a kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise (30-45 minutes) until it is well above the edge of the pan (a good inch or so).
- While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Bake the loaves about 30 minutes or so or until they’re golden brown. Tap the bottom of a loaf if you're not sure. If it sounds hollow, the bread is done. If it doesn't, bake another 5 minutes or so.
- When the bread comes out, allow it to cool at least half an hour before slicing. If you want a soft crust, brush the tops of the loaves with melted butter and cover for half an hour while cooling. The butter will soak in and keep the crust from getting crispy.
