Soft French bread

Soft French Bread



Cook time
25 mins
Total time
25 mins

Soft and delicious French bread goes great with any meal, but is good enough to eat on its own!
Author: Stephanie @ SixFiguresUnder.com
Serves: 2 loaves
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons Yeast
3 Tablespoons Sugar
½ Cup Hot Water
2 Cups Hot Water
1 Tablespoon Salt
5 Tablespoons Oil
6+ Cups Flour, divided
Butter
Instructions
In a small bowl, mix together yeast, sugar and ½ cup hot water. Let sit.
In a large bowl, mix 2 cups hot water, salt, oil, and 3 cups of flour.
Add yeast mixture. Mix until incorporated.
Add in 3 more cups of flour and mix until dough pulls away from sides and forms a ball. You may have to add ½ cup more flour. You want the dough so that it isn't too sticky to touch.
When dough is a nice consistency, move to a floured surface. Knead 30 times.
Set a timer for 10 minutes. When it beeps, come back and knead the dough 20 times. Set the timer again and repeat 4 more times for a total of 5 kneading sessions.
Divide the dough in half. Take the first half of the dough and roll it out into a rectangle. The length of the rectangle should be approximately the length you want your bread. It takes some persistence to get the dough rolled out, as it likes to stretch then shrink back. It will have lots of air bubbles in it that you will be rolling out. Try going from the middle out to each corner. You might have to get out your muscles and show it who's boss. In time you'll end up with a nice-looking rectangle.
Starting on a long side, roll the dough up to form the loaf. Tuck the ends under and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Using a serrated knife (I use a steak knife), cut three or four diagonal slashes on the top. Cut deep enough that it goes through a couple layers of dough.
Form second loaf the same way.
If you want you can brush with egg whites.
Allow loaves to rise for 30 minutes.
Turn the oven to 375 degrees. Bake loaves for 25-30 minutes or until they're just passing golden brown.
After removing from oven, use a stick of butter to coat the top and sides of the loaf