This recipe is actually the first recipe I ever made all by myself.
I was an 8th grader and at my junior high school, we had a Home Economics class.
We learned to sew, cook, and other basic running-a-home jobs . . . I LOVED it. I felt as though I had found my calling in life. 🙂
One of my assignments was to make this bread and bring a piece of it to the teacher. I came home and worked so hard . . . it looked a little lumpy, but it tasted just the way it needed to. I have since made this many times and it’s still one of my favorites- mostly because it’s so simple.
I was at my mom’s house a couple weeks ago and found this recipe tucked away in her “recipe drawer”. It still had the homework due date on it (December 10, 1998) and is getting hard to read because it’s been used so many times. If you have never attempted to make bread before, this is a great place to start!
Serves: 14
This is the first made-from-scratch bread I ever learned - and it's still one of my favorites!
25 minPrep Time
30 minCook Time
55 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 2 1/2 cups very warm water (I just use the hot water from my kitchen sink)
- 2 tablespoons dry active yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon oil (vegetable oil or olive oil work great)
- 6 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together water, yeast, and sugar until the yeast is completely dissolved. Add in salt, oil, and flour. Stir with a large wooden spoon or mixer until it becomes too difficult, then knead for two minutes on a floured surface.
- Spray a large bowl with non-stick cooking spray and place dough in the bowl. Cover with a dish towel and let it raise until it doubles in size (I usually place the bread in my kitchen window sill where there is sunlight and it's a little warmer. I have found that on cooler days - like in the winter time - it sometimes take a little longer to double in size).
- Dump dough out onto a floured surface. Cut in half and shape into a smooth, worm-like shape (or a bread loaf shape . . . ha ha!). If you want to get fancy and make your bread look the way that it does in the picture, use a sharp knife and slice about 1/3 of the way down into the bread, opening up little cracks about 2" apart. The cracks will separate more as they rise and bake.
- Place dough loaves on a greased cookie sheet and let rise again until doubled (about 25-30 minutes). Bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when tapped.
- Remove bread from oven and rub butter on top.
- Makes two loaves of french bread.
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