Homemade French Bread

This is a Martha Stewart recipe that we have made since I was a little girl. My sister and I used to call it “bubblegum bread” because my mother would let use pull off chewy, sticky fingerfuls of dough while it was rising. This is the well-loved recipe I use:

French Bread

7 cups white flour
2 packages yeast
4 1/4 t. salt
3 c. hot water

Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 c. of the hot water. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Add water and mix well. Add the yeast and mix fully into dough.

Turn the dough on a floured board and knead until the dough is elastic. Put the dough in a bowl, add a little olive oil if desired, and cover with a towel. Leave the bowl someplace warm, like the top of the stove, and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.

Punch the dough down in the bowl. Cover again and let rise until doubled in bulk, another 45 minutes. Punch it down once again and turn it onto a floured board. Knead and shape. You can make 6 baguettes, 36 rolls, or two braided loaves. The braided loaves are my favorite — they look so pretty once baked.