OLIVE OIL FRENCH BREAD
I have been making this bread for years. It is easy and tastes wonderful and never goes bad. Works great for rolls or French bread. I have made this for such a long time I just add things--like Rachael Rae, difference is I can bake!
I have been making this bread for years. It is easy and tastes wonderful and never goes bad. Works great for rolls or French bread. I have made this for such a long time I just add things--like Rachael Rae, difference is I can bake!
- Carbohydrate 42.906293335561 g
- Cholesterol 231.300000040171 mg
- Fat 146.014133436384 g
- Fiber 8.33200010299682 g
- Protein 20.24886666831 g
- Saturated Fat 23.8804533532557 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Recipe (635g)
- Sodium 7363.87205250109 mg
- Sugar 34.5742932325642 g
- Trans Fat 5.36842666974523 g
- Calories 1519 calories
Step-by-step
- In a mixer bowl add the water and yeast along with the salt and sugar.
- give this a quick whisk to make sure it is blending well.
- Cover this with a cloth of plastic wrap and leave for about 10 minutes.
- Check and if this has risen--add 2 cups of flour to this and with a dough hook beat this until mixed.
- Add in the olive oil.
- Slowly add in enough remaining flour that when mixed the dough pulls up and away from the sides of the bowl.
- I remove this from the bowl and place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, three times the size of the dough mass and cover.
- Put this in a very warm area, about 75-80 degrees.
- Let this rise until double in size, about 1.5 hours, and punch down.
- Place back in bowl and let rise back up.
- Remove after one hour and it has doubled back in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Shape the dough into whatever you like, long loaf, round loaf, dinner rolls.
- Put a sprinkling of cornmeal on the bottom of a pizza pan or pizza stone.
- Place the bread on top.
- Brush the top with beaten egg mixture and sprinkle with the sesame seeds and cover and let rise about half hour.
- Bake in the lower part of the oven and bake for about 35 to 45 minutes or until the loaf is hard when tapped.
- Remove and let cool slightly and enjoy.
Baking bread without butter or lard was once a necessity dictated by geography and religious fasting calendars across the Mediterranean basin, where liquid fats reigned supreme. Olive oil imparts a distinct tenderness to the crumb while promoting a softer crust than solid fats produce, making it an enduring choice for hearth bakers. Water maintained at precisely 110 degrees activates the rapid rise yeast efficiently without damaging the microorganisms during the initial ten-minute hydration phase. Substituting plant-based oils for dairy fats changes the structural integrity of the dough slightly, yet bread flour provides the necessary high protein content to support elasticity and trap carbon dioxide gas during the double-rise process. Bakers working without a stand mixer can knead this dough by hand on an un-floured wooden board, though incorporating the half-cup of oil requires patience as the fat initially separates from the wet mass. Cornmeal dusted on the baking surface prevents sticking while encouraging a crisp bottom crust during the thirty-five to forty-five minute bake time in the lower oven rack. Tapping the bottom of the baked loaf produces a hollow sound, indicating proper interior moisture evaporation and complete starch gelatinization. Cooling the bread on a wire rack allows residual steam to escape rather than softening the sesame seed crust.
