Warm delicious french bread from your very own oven… What more could you ask for? Except maybe a knife & some butter… MMMMMMMM

The ingredient list is super short & simple. This is seriously one of the easiest bread recipes I’ve ever made; and it comes out perfect every time. The key is to make sure the water temperature is EXACTLY 110 degrees. To do this, fill the glass measuring cup to the 2-cup mark & heat it in the microwave. Microwaves vary greatly from one to another, so you may have to adjust the temp up or down to get it right. Use a digital thermometer to check it. If the water is too hot, add ice cubes, one at a time & stir till they dissolve, then test the temp again. (If you end up with more than 2 cups of water after adding ice cubes, pour out the excess to make sure you’re back to the 2-cup mark.) If the water is too hot when the yeast is added, it won’t “proof”.

This is what the yeast/sugar/water should look like after 10 minutes of proofing in 110 degrees. It’s okay if the foam exceeds the 2-cup mark. That just means that your bread will be light & airy.

While the yeast is proofing, measure out 3 cups of flour, the oil & the salt to the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached. Once the yeast water is ready, pour it into the bowl with the flour, and be sure that all the foamy goodness comes out. You may have to use a spatula to get all the foam off the sides of the measuring cup. Mix for a couple minutes on low to make a sticky dough. Now turn off the mixer to add the last 2 cups of flour (otherwise it will poof out all over the counter). Turn the mixer on the lowest setting to mix everything together. Once all the flour is mostly incorporated, turn the mixer to the #4 setting & set a timer for 10 minutes.

The dough should be acting elastic, with everything pulled off the sides of the bowl & the very bottom of the dough sticking to the bottom of the bowl. Just before the dough is finished kneading, get out a large bowl for the dough to rest in & add a little olive oil to the bottom. Using your fingers, spread the oil all around the inside of the bowl, making sure all the sides are covered. Now when the dough is done, use that same oil-fingered hand to get the dough out of the mixer & off the hook.

The dough should feel & look smooth & elastic but not sticky enough to stick to your skin. Drop it into the bowl & turn to make sure all sides are lightly coated with oil. Cover and let it rise about an hour to double in size.

Punch it down. Literally, punch right in the center of the dough. You want to make a good-sized fist hole. Now separate the dough into two loaves.

Use a pastry cutter (or a really sharp knife) to make french bread indentations in the tops of the loaves. Cover to let rise again.

Now the fat loaves are ready to bake. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 for 30-35 minutes or until the tops are golden brown & the loaves sound hollow when you tap on them.

This is the BEST time to slice off the ends & slather them with butter & devour them so you can make sure the bread is not poison to your family. 🙂