Quick French Bread

The ingredients are basic and simple too. Here they are:

• 2 1/2 Cups Warm Water
• 2 T. Yeast
• 2 T. Sugar
• 1 t. Salt-(I used 2 tsp)
• 3 T. Oil
• 5 1/2 -6 Cups Flour

First: Add yeast and then sprinkle the sugar over the 2 1/2 cups of water. Let it sit for about five minutes until you see the yeast get all bubbly on top.

Next: Stir in the salt, oil, and flour.

Then: Knead the dough for a few minutes until it is smooth and pulls away from the bowl like this...

Then cover your bowl with a warm wet towel and let the dough sit for about 15 minutes.
**Update: Tip - put a bowl of water in your microwave and turn your microwave on for two minutes. Then take the bowl of water out and set your bowl of bread dough in the warm microwave for the 15 minutes. This moist, warm envirmonment makes the bread rise a lot faster.

After 15 minutes the bread dough looks like this!

Next, divide the dough into two long loaves (rolling like a jelly roll and tucking in the ends). Place both loaves side by side on a greased cookie sheet. Then take a knife and slash the tops of each loaf diagonally. Allow the loaves to sit for a few minutes while you preheat your oven to 375.(  I baked at 400, for 25 min. and threw ice cubes on the bottom of the oven to create steam, for  a nicer crust) Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.

Yum! It's soft in the middle and slightly crunchy on the outside.

{...and in real life it turned out a lot more brown than it shows in the picture below.}

**Optional: For an extra cruchy crust, mix together one egg white with 1 T. cold water and brush on cooked bread and cook for another 3 minutes.