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French Bread

breads, sourdough

1 1/2 cups warm water (105ºF)
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup sourdough starter
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
2 teaspoons salt
5 cups all-purpose flour; or 6
1 teaspoon cornmeal
water for tops of loaves

Warm a large bowl. Pour 1 1/2 cups warm water into warmed bowl. Sprinkle yeast over water. Set aside to soften 5 minutes. Blend in sourdough starter, sugar, butter or margarine, salt and 2 cups flour. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a medium-stiff dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Clean and grease bowl; set aside. Knead dough 8 to 10 minutes or until smooth. Place kneaded dough in greased bowl, turning to grease all sides. Cover with a cloth and set in a warm place - Free from drafts. Let rise 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size. Grease a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with cornmeal; set aside. Punch down dough. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Shape into two 10"x 3 1/2" loaves. Pull ends out to make them narrower than center of loaf. Or shape into 2 round loaves. Place on prepared baking sheet. Cover with a cloth and set in a warm place - Free from drafts. Let rise about 1 hour or until almost doubled in size. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Pour water 1" deep into a 12"x 7 1/2" baking pan. Place in bottom of preheating oven. Use a pastry brush to brush tops of loaves with water. Use a very sharp knife to cut diagonal slashes across tops of loaves. Bake in preheated oven 30 to 35 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped with your fingers. Remove from baking sheet. Cool on a rack.

Yield: 2 loaves

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