By Leon Nelson
I have recently returned from Japan, where my wife, Donna, and I visited our daughter, Kathy, and her family for three weeks.
We were treated daily to fresh-baked French bread that was – by far – the very best we’d ever eaten!
Now, we do have a breadmaker and regularly bake bread… but we’d NEVER experienced bread the likes of which was being baked by Kathy!
Upon our return to Redding, I immediately began tweaking Kathy’s recipe to yield predictably perfect results with our Zojirushi “Home Bakery Mini” machine.
The results were truly astounding … and I’m delighted to be able to share this amazing and tasty experience.
When I asked Donna what she liked MOST about this French bread, as compared with regular bread, she replied, “That’s simple. I agree with Kathy that it’s best for five main reasons: 1) Lower fat content – it can even be made with NO butter, 2) No sugar – Splenda or Sweet ‘n’ Low should be substituted for sugar, 3) Crunchy crust – storing the bread in a plastic bag keeps the crust soft and delightfully chewy, 4) Flavor – no spread is needed because of its standalone yummy taste, and 5) Texture – being “just right,” it can even be cut soon after it’s baked.
Kathy Nelson Tanizawa’s ‘Basic White’ French Bread
7/8 C water (110°F) 2 C bread Flour (10.3 oz = weight) 3¾ T all purpose flour (0.9oz = weight) 1 T Splenda 1 t salt 3 t dough conditioner 2 pieces butter ¼ thick x ½” W x ½” L 1 t active dry yeast Bake in Zojirushi Home Bakery Mini Breadmaker for 5 hoursKathy’s Cinnamon French Bread
To the basic recipe, add the following:
1/8 C cinnamon
1/4 C Splenda (not 1 T, as in the basic recipe)
Kathy’s Whole Wheat French Bread
Substitute:
Whole wheat bread flour for all purpose flour
For ‘3 seed’ augmentation to the basic French Bread recipe
To the recipe – 3/4 through the knead cycle – add:
1 t each poppy, sesame, flax seed
Tips for better breadmaking:
• Store bread in a gallon-size locking plastic bag to retain moisture in loaf and keep crust soft. (No need to refrigerate the bread – it won’t last long… believe me!)
• Clean breadmaker pan and paddle with water and a wooden chopstick – do NOT use metal.
• Cut slices of bread with a sharp knife, kept that way with a ceramic sharpening rod.
• Leon’s favorite bread knife is a Victorinox, Forschner #40645 – its wide blade stays sharp.
• Use a Weight Watcher’s scale to measure exact amount of flour by weight so you can keep the flour from being too compacted (and therefore too heavy), which often results if you merely use a measuring cup.
• A candy thermometer is a great tool for measuring the temperature of the water.
