Crusty French Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 cups very warm water
• 1 packet yeast
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3-4 cups flour

 Directions:


Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk together the warm water, yeast, and sugar.
Set the bowl on top of your preheating oven for ten minutes.
Stir in the salt and add the flour a half-cup at a time, until the dough becomes soft but not sticky.  Knead the dough until elastic.
Cut the dough into four even pieces.
Roll each of them into four long, thin ropes.
Twist together two of the ropes to form one loaf.
Twist the other two ropes together to form a second loaf.
Transfer both onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
You can now bake the loaf right away (if you’re in a hurry) or allow it to rise for an additional 15-30 minutes on top of your warm oven.

Tip: Fill a large bowl with 3-4 cups of ice.  Open your hot oven and place the baking sheet with the baguettes inside, then toss the ice cubes on the bottom of the oven and quickly shut the door.  Do NOT open your oven for 15 minutes.  Bake until golden brown, about 15-18 minutes. 


Lisa C. . . . .

Bruchetta

Ingredients

• 6 or 7 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs) diced
  
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped.
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1 baguette French bread or similar Italian bread sliced
  
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Method

1. Make sure there is a top rack in place in your oven. Turn on the oven to 450°F to preheat.
2. While the oven is heating, chop up the tomatoes finely. Put tomatoes, garlic, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Slice the baguette on a diagonal about 1/2 inch thick slices. Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry brush. and sprinkle the other 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic.
4. Place on a cooking sheet, . You will want to toast them in the top rack in your oven, so you may need to do these in batches depending on the size of your oven. Once the oven has reached 450°F, place a tray of bread slices in the oven on the top rack. Toast for 5-6 minutes, until the bread just begins to turn golden brown.
5. Align the bread on a serving platter, olive oil side up. Either place the tomato topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for people to serve themselves over the bread, or place some topping on each slice of bread and serve. If you top each slice with the tomatoes, do it right before serving or the bread may get soggy.

****** Alternatively, you can toast the bread without coating it in olive oil first. Toast on a griddle for 1 minute on each side. Take a sharp knife and score each slice 3 times. Rub some garlic in the slices and drizzle half a teaspoon of olive oil on each slice. This is the more traditional method of making bruschetta.