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Dough for French Bread
Place in a bowl a half pint lukewarm water or the same quantity lukewarm milk, a half ounce salt, and dissolve for a minute. Uncover bowl, pour water on sponge, thoroughly knead the whole well together for six minutes, add little by little the remaining pound of flour, briskly and constantly kneading meanwhile. The kneading operation after the flour has been added should continue for twenty-five to thirty minutes. Lift up dough with the hands and knock it as hard as you can against bottom of vessel ten different times, immediately cover vessel with dry cloth, put in warm place of same temperature as before (80 degrees) and allow to rise for two and a half hours again. TO SHAPE THE FRENCH LOAF (JOCKO) Remove cloth from vessel, transfer dough to a lightly floured table and cut in two even pieces. With the hands roll and press out each piece in ball shape for four minutes, shift them to corner of table, cover with a dry cloth and let rest for ten minutes, being careful to avoid draughts. Then neatly roll out one piece with hands evenly to four inches and let rest for two minutes, then roll it out round to seventeen inches long.
Have a board eighteen inches square. Arrange over it a piece of dry duck cloth the length of board, and eight inches wide, and flute cloth on both sides two and a half inches high and three inches wide. Carefully lay the loaf-shape dough in section or "bed," cover it with a dry cloth or a lightly buttered piece of paper, and place in a temperature of 80 degrees to rise for one hour. It should rise to double its size by that time.
TO SHAPE THE RING (COURONNE) Carefully roll out the other piece of dough evenly with hands to eight inches, let rest for two minutes, then roll it out round to twenty-two inches long and sprinkle a little cornmeal flour over surface to prevent sticking to pan. With an ordinary rolling-pin, twenty-four inches long by half an inch in diameter, briskly press down dough in centre from end to end to depth of half the dough, leaving one-half intact, then carefully turn pin three or four times. Take up pin and firmly join both ends, giving it a pretty ring shape. Have a lightly buttered tin pan, carefully place ring in pan, split side down, cover with a dry cloth or piece of buttered paper, and also lay in a place of 80 degrees temperature to rise for one hour.
TO BAKE THE FRENCH LOAF (JOCKO) Shortly before time for baking bread be very careful to see oven is at proper degree of heat. A very simple way to determine whether the heat is right or not is to place a piece of white paper in oven, close door, and after a lapse of five minutes open door and remove paper. If it is a dark-brown colour the temperature is right, if it burns it is too hot and should be cooled a little, and if it is only a light brown colour it should be made hotter. Remove covering from French loaf. Have a low-edged baking pan large enough to easily hold loaf placed alongside the board, then carefully turn over loaf into pan by means of the cloth without touching the dough with the hands. If loaf is not in exactly straight position in pan use a piece of pasteboard to straighten it, then with a small, keen knife make four or five rapid diagonal half-inch-deep incisions at equal distances on top.
TO BAKE THE RING (COURONNE) Have a pie plate or round roasting pan large enough to easily hold ring, remove cloth from ring, gently and carefully turn it upside down (split side up) in the pan and immediately place both in oven to bake for about an hour, or until a nice golden colour. Avoid opening oven door until twenty minutes after bread has been set in oven. After baking for thirty minutes turn bread over; if bottom is white, that is, if it has not attained a good colour, turn upside down and leave in that position for balance of time, then remove and serve.
FRENCH ROLLS AND FLUTTES (CALLED "PISTOLETS") Prepare same amount of sponge and dough exactly the same as for French loaf and ring (Nos. 3282 and 3283). When the "ready" dough is transferred and rolled out on floured table cut it in twenty-four equal parts instead of two. Roll out with hands into ball shape, cover with a dry cloth and let rest for four minutes, being careful to avoid draughts.