French Bread

This would be my first attempt at artisan bread, a work of art that you then devour. My husband gave me a book called Crust and Crumb filled with techniques that require additional time and effort to yield amazing loaves of bread. This bread is retarded overnight to develop more complex flavors and textures. The best compliment I got was from my husband that he would marry me just to get this bread.

French Bread
1 3/4 cups flour
1 3/4 cups bread flour
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. brown sugar
3/4 tsp. instant yeast
1 1/3 cups cool water
Cooking spray

Combine dry ingredients. Add water, and mix with a spoon until flour is gathered and dough forms a ball. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface, and knead vigorously about 10 minutes until dough is soft and pliable but not sticky. If necessary, add tiny amounts of flour or water while kneading to obtain proper texture. Once kneaded, dough should be able to be stretched apart gently to form a see-through windowpane without breaking.

Place dough in large clean bowl, and mist with cooking spray. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit 30 minutes. It should just begin swelling.

Knead dough 30 seconds, shape into ball and place in bowl again. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise 90 minutes or until doubled in size.

Divide dough into two loaves and shape gently into batards, being careful not to force the dough. Place each loaf on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper dusted with cornmeal. Mist loaves with cooking spray, and place pans inside large plastic bags, making sure the bags are loose but sealed to prevent drying. Place loaves in refrigerator overnight.

Remove dough from refrigerator the next day. Loaves should be 50 to 75 percent larger than the day prior. If not, let the dough sit at room temperature two to three hours to finish rising. If completely risen, let sit one hour to take off the chill.

Preheat oven to 475ºF. Place empty cast iron skillet on bottom rack of oven. Fill water bottle to spritz loaves. Remove loaves from plastic 15 minutes prior to baking to allow surface of dough to dry slightly. Just prior to baking, score the loaves with two diagonal cuts. Place loaves in oven, and quickly pour 1 cup hot tap water into cast iron pan. Quickly spritz the oven and loaves, avoiding the oven light.

After two minutes, spray the oven and loaves again. Repeat after one minute. Reduce heat to 450ºF. Wait 10 minutes to check bread and rotate loaves if necessary. When bread has developed a rich, golden color (approximately 25 minutes), turn off the oven and leave bread inside for additional 5 to 10 minutes until it seems on the verge of overbrowning. Let bread cool on rack completely (60 to 90 minutes) before slicing.