[posted and mailed]

Glenn Jacobs > wrote in
:

> Yes, and also the French Bread Recipe. Also I would like to know why
> it is important to wigh it. When i make French Bread or most breads,
> I work flower into the dough until it has the right consistancy. And
> then, because i live where it is very dry and at high altitude I work
> a little water into the dough as i knead it. I generally use "Beard
> on Bread" as my guied for making bread.

In a way, you've answered your own question. Flour exposed to different
climates and environments will contain different amounts of moisture.
Weighing the flour takes that into account. In commercial baking
operations, virtually every ingredient is measured, which assures
consistency from batch to batch.

Here is Jeff's recipe, verbatim, which is a bit long.

The only modification I've made since having more experience with bread
baking, is reducing the yeast to 1 package and allowing for a longer
slower rise. It improves the flavor immensely. That said, I would
recommend trying it the first time with both packages of yeast.

Classic French bread, something that we rarely see in our country, is not
to be confused with the soft-center, thin-crusted lightweight "French
bread" that we buy at the supermarket. Bread that is loved by the
Parisians Is much heavier and made with a very hard wheat flour. So, in
order to get that kind of bread, you must weigh your ingredients, and you
need to seek out hard wheat flour. The best that I know of comes from
Montana. Even the French love hard Montana wheat flour. It produces a
crust that you will not believe. If you cannot find a hard wheat flour,
use a good unbleached white. If you can find a hard wheat flour, blend it
half and half with the unbleached white.

2 packages dry yeast
2½ cups tepid water
2 pounds and 3 ounces hard wheat
flour mixed with unbleached
white flour, or just unbleached
white flour-mix them half and half
1 teaspoon salt dissolved in 1 teaspoon
water
Cornmeal (optional)

Dissolve the yeast in the water. (Tepid: not hot, not cool, but barely
warm.) Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir to dissolve.
Using a small paper sack on your scale, weigh out a total of 2 pounds and
3 ounces of flour. (If you can't get hard wheat flour, use a good
unbleached white.)
Make a sponge of the water and yeast, together with 4 cups of the
weighed-out flour. Whip for 10 minutes with an electric mixer. It will
pull away from the side of the mixing bowl.
Add the salted water. Add the remaining flour and knead for 5 minutes in
a good machine, or 15 minutes by hand.
Place on Formica counter, or on a piece of plastic wrap, and cover with a
large metal bowl. Let rise for 2 hours. Punch down, and let rise for
another 1½ hours.
Punch down again, and mold into 3 or 4 loaves. Let the loaves rise. I use
an extra oven with a pan of hot water in the bottom. This allows for
steam heat, perfect for raising dough. Place the loaves on a greased
baking sheet before letting them rise; you may wish to place cornmeal on
the greased baking sheet.
Preheat the oven to 450°. When the loaves have risen to double in
original bulk, place them in the upper one-third of the oven. IMPORTANT:
Place a pan of hot water on the bottom shelf. This will assure you of a
great crust.
Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, or until the bread is nicely
browned and the loaves sound hollow when you thump their bottoms with
your finger.
If you wish an old-world look to your bread, simply dust the loaves with
flour before the final rising. You can use an egg and water glaze, but I
am convinced that you will get a much better crust if you simply use
flour.
This bread is so rich that you need not put butter on it. The French
rarely eat butter on bread. And if you wish to eliminate both salt and
butter, simply cut down on the amount of the salt in the recipe. It is
tasty without.

MAKES 3 OR 4 LOAVES.

--
Wayne in Phoenix

If there's a nit to pick, some nitwit will pick it.