Yet Another Bread Post

My husband has been really wanting some French bread lately. So today I needed to bake some bread for dinner, and decided to look up a recipe.
After posting a picture of my bread on Facebook I was asked what is the difference between what American's call French bread, and what American's call Italian bread.
I googled it! There were lots of different answers. Some stating there were no differences, some stating there were. As far as my recipes go, my Italian bread recipe has a wetter dough, and also adds sugar to help with the rising. The French bread recipe that I used only used yeast, flour, salt and water. I was surprised how quickly it rose!

While there is most likely no real answer, and the French and Italian's are shaking their heads over what we call their bread, I was very pleased with this "French" bread. It had a crisp crust and a nice dense inside. It accompanied our Salad Nicoise quite well!

French Bread

Ingredients

6 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water

Directions

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast and salt. Stir in 2 cups warm water, and beat until well blended using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
On a lightly floured surface, knead in enough flour to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. Knead for about 8 to 10 minutes total. Shape into a ball. Place dough in a greased bowl, and turn once. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled.
Punch dough down, and divide in half. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover, and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll each half into large rectangle. Roll up, starting from a long side. Moisten edge with water and seal. Taper ends.
Grease a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Place loaves, seam side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Lightly beat the egg white with 1 tablespoon of water, and brush on. Cover with a damp cloth. Let rise until nearly doubled, 35 to 40 minutes.
With a very sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch deep across top of each loaf. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven for 20 minutes. Brush again with egg white mixture. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until bread tests done. If necessary, cover loosely with foil to prevent over browning. Remove from baking sheet, and cool on a wire rack.