Though this recipe is not a traditional Southern food, it certainly has its place in the Southern kitchen. As much as biscuits are adored, having a change of pace is needed. So many Southern dishes scream for a good loaf of crusty country bread.

I adore this bread and have been making it for over 25 years. It is easy, tastes fabulous and freezes wonderfully. It has a thick crunchy crust with a light flavorfull taste inside. The bread has substance to it, and will quickly become your favorite. Can’t eat all 4 loaves in a day or two-then just wrap in foil once cool till you are ready to have another loaf. All you have to do is take a loaf out of freezer when ready to eat. Heat the bread in a 375 degree oven on foil that has been opened for 10-15 minutes or for extra crunchy bread take the bread off the foil and heat for the last 5 minutes directly on the rack. You do not need to defrost the bread.

This is not fussy bread, so don’t be nervous or timid when making it. Don’t get fancy and fret over the directions. They are longer just so that you get the hang of it. After making this a few times, you won’t even need a recipe. My dad makes this once a week and throws it all into his KitchenAid without thinking about what he is doing.

The addition of corn meal is new, as I only tried this once last week. That being said, I am hooked using cornmeal in this recipe. Organic is wonderful though expensive. Opting to give organic yeast a try along with organic bread flour was ever bit worth the money.

If you give this recipe a try, do yourself a favor and make sure that you have on hand-some fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced Vidalia onion, fresh rosemary and a good olive oil. I pulled off a chunk of dough from one the large loaves and made a mini pizza to have for lunch. I quickly rolled the dough, topped with cheese, sliced onions and rosemary. Followed this with olive oil drizzled on top and popped it into the 425 preheated oven. Ten minutes or so later, an incredible lunch was ready.

Crusty Country French Bread

2 envelops dry yeast (organic if can)

2/3 cup warm water (105 -115 degrees)

7 ½ to 8 cups bread flour (organic flour if you can)

½ cup stone ground cornmeal (if you don’t want to use it, add ½ cup more flour)

4 tsp. sugar

4 tsp. kosher or sea salt

2 ½ cups warm water (120-130 degrees)

1 egg white (for wash)

Light grease a large bowl with olive oil-set aside

Stir yeast into water, sprinkle ½ teaspoon of sugar on top of mixture, let stand 5-7 minutes. Combine with 7 cups of flour, salt and remaining sugar. Add water to mixture and stir till combined. Add remaining flour as needed and knead till smooth, about 8 minutes.

Put in bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with saran and a warm tea towel and set aside to rise in a draft free place doubled. Punch down and let rise again, giving the dough a quick kneading.

Punch down and break the dough off using your hands into 4 pieces. Shape into baguettes, tucking the sides and end down if needed. That way you will have a smooth top.  Put the dough into oiled pans. Take a pair of kitchen scissors and give the dough a few good cuts on the diagonal across the top. Beat your egg white and brush the tops of the baguettes.

Cover with the saran and a warm wet tea towel and let set till it rises in the pan.

Bake in a preheated oven (425 degrees) and bake for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake another 5-10 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow after giving it a good tap on the bottom of a loaf. 

Remove from pans and cool on a wired rack.

Alternate version- you can make this dough in a food processer (with dough blade) or a large kitchen aid (with dough hook) as well. It is a lot of flour so making a mess is easy. Though by all means if you do not want to fool with kneading go ahead and use your kitchen machine.