No Fail French Bread

Two of my friends had their babies on Sunday--what are the chances? So, tomorrow, I'm taking them both meals. They will be getting Jenny's Pasta Florentine and Stephanie's No Fail French Bread, along with some salad. Jenny made me the pasta recipe when I had Jon three years ago and it's been a favorite ever since. It takes a little longer than most of my recipes, but it makes a lot--two 8x8's, one to eat and one to freeze. I'll post that recipe tomorrow. For now, here's the yummy French bread recipe. Enjoy!

No Fail French Bread
prep time: 10 minutes (then stirring every 10 minutes for another 40 minutes) bake time: 20-25 minutes

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:
½ cup warm water
4 ½ tsp yeast
2 cups of HOT water
1 Tbsp salt
3 Tbsp sugar
1/3 cup oil
6 cups flour (I use half whole wheat and half regular)

1. Sprinkle yeast over warm water in a small bowl or measuring cup
2. In a large bowl, combine hot water, salt, sugar and oil. Let stand until warm.
3. Add yeast mixture and 3 cups of flour. Beat until smooth.
4. Add remaining flour to form soft, stirrable dough. (add a little more if it's too sticky--sometimes the humidity in the air can affect this)
5. Cover the dough with a towel and let it rest for ten minutes. Stir again. Repeat this step 5 times.
6. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead enough to make dough workable for easy handling.
7. Divide dough in half and use hands to form into an oblong loaf shape. Fold in sides, push through the middle and seal seam.
8. Arrange side by side on a large cookie sheet
9. Brush with beaten egg white. Slash diagonally 3 or 4 times.
10. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes.

This recipe is from my friend Stephanie Ross :)