Pages

Monday, July 16, 2012

French Bread with Herbed Butter


Who doesn't love a fresh loaf of bread.  The smell, the chewy texture that just melts in your mouth.  Then you slather it with a good butter.  Yum!  My house has that bakery smell right now.  This bread recipe is really good and fairly easy to make.  Throw your ingredients into your stand mixer and it pretty much does all of the work.   

Ingredients:
1 package dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 TBSP granulated sugar
1 14 tsp salt
2-2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided
3/4 cup plus 2 TBSP warm water  (115-120 degrees)
1 TBSP olive oil
1 egg white

6 TBSP unsalted butter, softened
1 TBSP fresh herbs (chives, oregano, thyme) minced


Make the bread:
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, stir together yeast, sugar, salt, and 1 cup of flour.  Add the warm water and the oil.  Using the regular beater mix on medium speed for 3 minutes.


Change the beater to the dough hook.  Add flour as needed so that the dough isn't sticky and beat for another 6 minutes.  Add flour 1 TBSP at a time.


Place the dough ball on a floured surface, cover with a cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.



Punch down the dough and shape into a long narrow loaf.  Place on an oiled pan, cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.



Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Brush the loaf with egg white and with a serrated knife cut a few slits along the top of the dough.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until bread is a golden brown and smells delicious.  Move to a wire rack to cool.



Make the butter:
In a small bowl combine the butter and the herbs.


Place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.  Serve with the french bread.

No comments:

Post a Comment