First Challenge…. Done And Done!!!

This is my first month with the Daring Bakers. It took me a while to get up the courage to join. And I have been waiting with anticipation for my very first challenge. Finally, February came along and the challenge was announced. And wouldn’t you know it!?!… French BREAD!!

You see I am one of those very rare folks that hates bread. I mean really…. HATE!! It reminds me of that glue that you make in kindergarten out of flour and water – YUK! I wrap my hamburgers in lettuce…. and pick the croûtons out of my salad. Sorry, that is just me. What can I say; I am 1 in a million! But there was no way that I was going to sit out my very first challenge!!! NO WAY! Besides, my husband and daughter both LOVE fresh french bread. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it! So, I went full speed ahead!

This particular recipe for French Bread came from Julia Child’s and was a whopping 15 pages long! Pure craziness… and totally intimidating. I use to watch Julia when I was little. She was always so full of life, and funny. She had the “Oh Well” kind of personality that I loved. She was very down to earth and always stayed true to who she was. My favorite Julia Child’s moment was when I saw her on Oprah, and Oprah surprised Julia with her FAVORITE food. And I was SHOCKED to find out that it was McDonalds french fries! I LOVED that. She had tasted every gourmet food on the face of the planet, yet she preferred good old fashioned McDonalds!

The recipe itself could not have been more simple. Flour, salt, yeast, and water. That is it. Nothing more. I started kneading dough at around 7:30 am and finally put it in the oven at 8:00 pm. Lots and lots of kneading was envolved… and then lots and lots of waiting for it to rise. Then you deflate… and then you let it rise again. Then you shape, and let it rise again. Basically a whole lot of risein’ goin’ on! I was able to follow the instructions perfectly all until I got to the shaping part of the instructions. I really wish that it would have come with a diagram. I found comfort in the memory of Julia and how she herself wasn’t perfect, and would just make due. So that is exactly what I did.

Once my dough finally made it into the oven. I sat right next to it the entire time with a spray bottle and gave the dough a little spritz every 3 minutes. I also had a broiling pan with about 1/4″ of water sitting in it to create steam. When my bread was done it was a beautiful golden brown color. I could not have been more proud. I had made 2 loaves 1 for my family to dig into right away (I knew there was no way to keep them away), and another to actually allow to sit the full 2 hours as instructed. When the bread first came out of the oven the crust was very hard, yet the inside was very soft. I thought for sure that I had messed it up. As it turns out that after 2 hours the crust softens! It was the wierdest thing ever.

I roasted some garlic and preparred some olive oil with rosemary, thyme, basil, and chili peppers to dip the bread in. I liked the garlic and oil part of the deal… the bread I thought was OK. My husband and daughter LOVED it! So, I am going to declare this mission a complete success!

For those of you who have a day to kill and are interested in making this bread here you can get it here