French Bread

Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 2 hrs Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons yeast
• 3/4 cup lukewarm water
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 1/2-3 cups whole wheat hot roll mix, whole-wheat hot roll mix
• 1 -2 teaspoon cornmeal
• sesame seeds, if desired (optional)
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Recipe

• 1 in a large bowl, stir the yeast into lukewarm water and allow to rest for 5 minutes; stir in beaten egg.
• 2 add 2 1/2 cups of whole-wheat hot roll mix until blended; let rest 2 minutes.
• 3 stir in enough of the remaining mix to make a soft dough; knead until smooth, 7 to 10 minutes.
• 4 clean and oil bowl, place dough in bowl, turning to oil all sides.
• 5 cover with a damp towel and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
• 6 grease a baking sheet, sprinkle with cornmeal and set aside.
• 7 punch down the dough and on a lightly floured surface roll into a 10 inch x 3 inch rectangle.
• 8 roll up firmly jelly-roll fashion, starting with one long side; pinch to seal edges.
• 9 place the rolled loaf on prepared baking sheet, seam-side down.
• 10 make 5 diagonal slashes across top of loaf; brush with water.
• 11 let rise until almost doubled in bulk.
• 12 preheat oven to 375 degrees; brush loaf with water again and sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.
• 13 place a baking pan on lower shelf of oven, pour 1 inch warm water in pan, place the loaf on center rack and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.
• 14 brush with melted butter; cool on wire rack.