Renee’s Famous Soft French Bread

By martha-2

Ingredients

• Bread Ingredients:
•  2 1/2 Cups of warm water
•  1 Tbsp. of rapid rising dry yeast
•  1/2 Cup of sugar
•  2 tsp. of salt
•  About 6 Cups of all purpose flour

Preparation

Step 1

Bread Directions:
 Mix the warm water, yeast, and sugar together in a large mixing bowl, until nearly disolved
 Mix in the salt and then 5 of the 6 cups of flour
 If the dough is still sticky, add the remaining cup of flour. If it is still too sticky, add another ½ cup of flour
 Mix until it forms a ball, and then cover with a cloth or plastic wrap
 Let the dough ball rise in the bowl until it doubles in size (1-2 hours)
 Divide the risen dough in half
 Roll out each ball into a large rectangle (the length of your baking sheet)
 Starting at a long edge, roll each rectangle, until your dough is shaped like a jelly roll
 Place both loaves on the baking sheet, with spacing on each side
 Cover and let rise until the loaves become as large as you prefer
 Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes, until it just starts to turn golden
 Immediately rub the top of the bread with butter, to give it a shine