Fruit sweet and sugar free - crusty french bread

2 lg loaves

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
½ cup Egg whites
1½ cup Lukewarm water
¾ tablespoon Dry baker's yeast
2 teaspoons Salt
4 cups Unbleached white flour
¼ cup Cornmeal (for baking pan)

Directions

To prepare the dough by machine: ******************************** Combine the warm water and egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix together until a foam appears, using the dough hook attachment. With the machine on the lowest speed, stir in the yeast, salt, and 3-½ cups of the flour. Once the flour is incorporated, increase the mixer speed to medium and knead the dough for about 5-10 minutes, adding only enough additional flour to form a soft dough that comes off the sides and bottom of the bowl.

To prepare the dough by hand: ***************************** In a small bowl, stir the yeast into ¼ cup of the lukewarm water. Set the bowl aside for 5 minutes, until the yeast is bubbly. In a medium sized bowl, stir the remaining 1-¼ cups lukewarm water and the egg whites with a wire whip until the mixture becomes foamy. Stir in the activated yeast, salt and 3-½ cups of the flour to make a soft dough. Sprinkle a little flour on your work surface. Knead the dough on the work surface, adding additional flour only if necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Knead the dough for 10-15 minutes until it becomes smooth and quite elastic.

Raising the dough and forming the loaves: ***************************************** Place the well-kneaded dough into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise in a warm, draft free place until it has doubled in size. Remove the plastic from the bowl and, using your fist, gently deflat the dough by punching it down. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Line the baking pans with baking paper and sprinkle with cornmeal. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions for large loaves, or 6 equal portion for small loaves. Using a rolling pin to roll, or your hands to pat, form each portion into a rectangle 1 inch thick. Form each rectangle into a French loaf by rolling the dough toward you along its length, using your hands to smoothly shape the loaf and to taper the ends. Then roll each loaf back and forth under your hands until it is 14 inches long for the large loaves and 6 inches long for the smaller loaves. Place the shaped loaves seamside down on the prepared pans. Put the loaves in a draft free spot to rise again until they are increase half again in size.

To Bake the loaves: ******************* Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and place an empty 9 inch square pan, or its equivalent directly on the floor of a gas oven, or on the lowest shelf of an electric oven. When the loaves are ready to be baked, use a serrated knife to slash the tops of the loaves on a diagonal, about ½ to ¾ inch deep, just underneath the crust, not straight down. Use a spray bottle to spray the tops and sides of the loaves with water. Place the loaves on the middle shelf of the preheated oven. As soon as the loaves are in place, pour a couple of cups of boiling water into the empty pan. Shut the door immediately to keep in as much steam as possible. By spraying the loaves with water and steaming the oven, the crust will be crisp, golden brown and gorgeous. Bake the small loaves for approximately 20 minutes; bake the large loaves for 25-30 minutes. The breads are done when they are a rich golden brown and sound hollow thwn tapped on the bottom. Spray the loaves again with water after removing from the oven. Remove the loaves from the baking pan and cool them on a wire rack.

Submitted By JANE KNOX On 09-30-94

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