Best Ever French Bread

Crusty on the outside, moist and delicious on the inside, this easy recipe has what it takes to make beautiful loaves that will impress, every time!

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Yields: 2 Loaves

Ingredients

• 2  cups warm water
• 2  tablespoons  yeast (2 packets)
• 2  teaspoons salt
• 1  teaspoon sugar
• 4 1⁄2-5  cups bread flour

Directions

1. Dissolve the yeast in the water, add salt and sugar.
2. Add flour until it forms a soft dough(not sticky!)
3. Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes, until it's smooth and elastic. ( I use the dough hook on my kitchenaid mixer for about 4 minutes, then knead by hand for 4 minutes.)
4. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Place dough inside, turning once to coat.
5. Cover and let rise one hour, until doubled.
6. Punch dough down, and cut in half.
7. Form into 2 12'' loaves. (In the pics, I did one long loaf, and two small rounds)
8. Cover with damp dishcloth. Let rise for 30 minutes in a warm place, I set mine on the stove on top of my pre-heating oven.
9. Cut dough with diagonal marks, about 4 down the length of the loaf.
10. Bake at 450 degrees F. for about 15 mins -- If you want really crusty loaves, I pour about 1/4 cup of water into the oven just before I close the door--my improvised steaming method :-).