This French Bread Recipe

So, I love Pinterest.  Especially the food category.

And one day, I happened upon this French Bread recipe.  So a few months back, I decided to try it.  I had all the ingredients on hand (very basic ingredients, so that was easy), and I was craving some delicious home-made bread. 

This did NOT disappoint!  The very first time I ate it, I ate almost half a loaf of bread by myself when it was warm out of the oven (I think my sweetie was on swing-shift at the time...).

These are the reasons I love this recipe and am grateful to have found it (aside from its deliciousness, which is reason enough to make it):

1.  The ingredients are simple.
2.  It's easy to make.  Yes, it takes time with the dough having to rise and such...  But, really, once  you get this dough made, the work is done.
3.  It makes a lot of bread.  I usually let mine rise to quite large loaves, too. 
4.  It freezes phenomenally well.  Because it makes so much, I usually cut the loaves in half and freeze 3 of the 4 halves (we usually eat one half fresh).  Today, I froze the two large loaves and we ate the whole small loaf.  I love that I can do the work once and eat bread with soups or pastas for 3 more meals later on by just defrosting a loaf.
5.  I love bread.  Especially yeast bread.  And I'm really loving making home-made bread.  And this one is a winner.

Here's the recipe (and the blog address from where it originally comes):

 

2 1/2 c. warm water
2 Tbls. yeast
3 Tbls. sugar
2 Tbls. white vinegar
1 Tbls. salt
1/3 c. oil (I use Canola)
6-7 c. flour

Mix first 4 ingredients in a large bowl and let sit 3 to 5 minutes until a little bubbly and frothy.

Add salt and oil, stir. Add flour one cup at a time until dough is soft, but firm enough to mold into loaves. Put in greased bowl in the oven with a pot of boiling water (boiling water will help keep dough moist). Allow to rise to top of bowl (about 45 minutes) and punch down. Allow to rise again. Do this 2 to 5 times (as you have time available).

Empty dough out onto a greased surface and separate into two equal parts. Form into rectangular/french bread loaves and slash each loaf on top 3 to 5 times. Allow to rise 30 minutes or until they reach the size you want. Brush with beaten egg. Bake 25 to 30 minutes at 375.

Recipe makes 2 large loaves or 3 medium sized loaves.

Recipe from dealstomeals.blogspot.com

And here are a couple of notes as to how it's worked out for me:

1.  I usually use about 7 cups of flour, but usually end up adding the last cup by hand while kneading on the counter.
2.  I usually bake 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of my loaves.  When I have 2 large loaves, it's 25 minutes.  Today I had 2 large plus one little and I did the little loaf for only 20 or 22 minutes.
3.  I sprinkle cornmeal on a cookie sheet and place the dough loaves on that...  Mostly just for funsies.
4.  I once tried it with wheat (only about 1/4 of it wheat), and it didn't turn out as delicious.  So I don't do that anymore.