My First Try at French Bread

This past weekend I decided to try my hand at French bread.  For some reason it seemed like it would be difficult, and I had always just stuck with making basic white bread or whole wheat. 

 

I was inspired to try it because of this flour I purchased at Nora Mill Granary:

It is high gluten, so it would be good for French bread.  (I hoped!)

 

 

I usually use my Kitchen Aid mixer to knead my dough, but this recipe called for kneading the dough by hand for 8-10 minutes.  (What a workout.  If you ever need to get out your frustrations in a constructive way...make homemade bread~!)

I had leftover flour...I should not have put all 6 cups in.  Maybe just 5, then worked in more as needed.



The final product! I have to say...it was yummy! I divided the loaves in half so they would fit on my pan. It would have been neat to have some of those gorgeous long loaves...but I just don't have a pan that big!

I found out that making French bread is a lot easier than I thought. I think I'll switch to this during the warmer months. It is less "heavy" than the traditional bread I usually make. Perfect with pasta or salad!