French Bread

Once you try this homemade french bread, you won't want to go back to store bought. It is amazing!

📝 Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 Tbsp instant yeast (I use SAF brand.)
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 2 Tbsp canola oil (optional)
• 6 1/2 cups all purpose flour (approximately)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1In a large bowl, combine warm water, yeast, and sugar. Add salt, oil and 3 cups of the flour. Beat till smooth. Add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.
2. 2Cover dough and let it rise for an hour, punching it down if it reaches the top of the bowl.
3. 3Divide dough in half. To form loaves, roll each half of the dough into a rectangle about 13 inches long. Then roll it up tightly lengthwise (like you would with cinnamon rolls, just without the cinnamon). Seal the edges by pinching together tightly
4. 4Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place the loaves on the cookie sheet and let raise in a warm place for about 30 minutes.
5. 5Brush the tops of the loaves with water and make diagonal slashes on top using a sharp serrated knife.
6. 6Bake at 375° for about 25 minutes or till lightly browned. Brush tops with butter if desired.