Garlic Parmesan French Bread

Tonight, I made the cheesy vegetable chowder that Jess made last week.  It was a hit!  Steve ate all of his and the rest of mine once I got full. I followed Jess's recipe exactly, except for a glug of white wine I added in.  It made a big 'ole vat that will make for a few lunches this week!

I stumbled upon a french bread recipe this week that sounded easy and yummy - it seemed perfect to go with the soup.  I have never made french bread before, so I thought I'd give it a go.  The main difference I noticed right off the bat is that there was no sugar for the yeast to eat.  So I afraid the whole time that it wouldn't fluff up and the yeast would starve to death.  Luckily, that didn't happen and it turned out GREAT!  I will definitely (definitely!!) be making this again!  The fun part is that you can do all sorts of add-ins.  You can just have it plain, or you could make parmesan, cinnamon sugar, herb, cheddar, garlic, or whatever french bread.  The possibilities are endless!  Since we were having it with soup, I decided to make it garlic parmesan.  Here's how I did it:

• 5-6 cups all-purpose or bread flour
• 5 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt 
• 2 cups warm water 
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon water

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast and salt. Stir in 2 cups warm water and melted butter, and beat until well blended using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

On a lightly floured surface, knead in enough flour to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. Knead for about 8 to 10 minutes total. (Or knead in your mixer with the dough hook for 8 minutes on low-medium speed.) Shape into a ball. Place dough in a greased bowl, and turn once. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 30 minutes to 1 hour).

Punch dough down, and divide in half. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover, and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll each half into large rectangle. [This is where you can add in whatever you'd like inside your bread. I added butter, garlic salt, and parmesan cheese.]   

Roll up, starting from a long side. Moisten edge with water and seal. Taper ends.

Grease a large baking sheet. Place loaves, seam side down, on the prepared baking sheet. With a very sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch deep across top of each loaf. Lightly beat the egg white with 1 tablespoon of water, and brush on. Cover with a damp cloth. Let rise until nearly doubled, 35 to 40 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 375º  F oven for 20 minutes. Brush again with egg white mixture. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until bread tests done. If necessary, cover loosely with foil to prevent over browning. Remove from baking sheet, and cool on a wire rack.

You'll notice that the recipe makes 2 loaves and I only have one.  I froze the dough from the other loaf and that will be our pizza crust on Friday!  I had thought about saving it for the weekend and making a cinnamon sugar loaf for breakfast, but decided the pizza crust was more pressing.

Wm hated the soup and hated the bread.  He LOVES when I make homemade bread and was doing the Dance of Joy as it was baking.  But, when he ate it he made a face and goes, "are there onions in this?" I was like, "well, garlic," and Wm was all, "I'm done."  So he had a peanut butter sandwich along with some of the veggies that went into the soup.  I've found if I deconstruct the meals we are eating, Wm will eat a lot of it - just not touching.  And never, under any circumstance, soup.  Or onions. Or cauliflower. Or peas. Or bananas. Or.....