Oh, What is that Sweet Tantalizing Aroma?

You would not believe the wonderful aroma that is coming from my kitchen, filling the house and noses of all who live here. There is nothing better than the smell of freshly made bread baking. Yes, I have finally made a yeast bread from scratch. Scratch I say! I don't ever remember making a yeast bread from scratch. I've made breads but none you had to let rise and rest. But I've made use of my day off thanks to a Crusty Bread recipe I found over at Jaay's website Culinarily Obsessed. I've stayed away from breads because I thought they were time consuming and hard to make. But I am striking another culinary mystery off my list. Granted there are hard recipes out there. My mom-in-law makes a Hungarian bread recipe her grandmother brought over from the old country that is time consuming with a lot of steps involved. One, I might try now that this one came out so great. This is not a hard recipe. After gathering all my ingredients, it took less than 10 minutes to mix everything together. It had to rise for one hour and then you divide the dough and let it rest another 10 minutes. I rolled mine out by hand for a more rustic look and placed on a greased baking sheet where it baked for exactly 20 minutes. I had probably 15 minutes of my time in the mixing and rolling. And then 1 1/2 hours for the bread to do its thing. And it's fantastic. Better than any store bought bread we've had. Drumroll please... Now don't scoff. See the world through new eyes. Remember the last thing that excited you in cooking. That's what keeps me in the kitchen. It's exciting to create something from scratch and actually be able to eat it. And when Ron proclaims it's a keeper, I know I have accomplished great things. And isn't that what life is all about...doing something that makes you feel great? Now for the recipe. Crusty French Bread Yields two 8 inch long loaves 1 pkg (1/4 oz) active dry yeast 1 1/2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees), divided 1 Tbsp sugar 2 tsp salt 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted 4 cups all-purpose flour cornmeal In mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Add sugar, salt, melted butter, and remaining 1 cup warm water; stir until dissolved. Add flour and stir until smooth (do not knead). (I used my Kitchen-Aid stand mixer and the dough hook attachment and stopped when the dough formed a ball and pulled away from the bowl). Cover and let rise in a warm draft free place for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Turn onto a floured surface. Divide dough in half; let rest for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roll each half into a 10" x 8" rectangle. Roll up from a long side; pinch to seal seam. Place seam side down on greased baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. If desired sprinkle top of loaves with cornmeal. Bake until golden brown and loaves sound hollow when tapped on. (Mine baked for 20 minutes.) Eat and enjoy. Print-Friendly Recipe: Crusty Bread I think it will make excellent garlic bread and Jaay likes to make Paninis with it. I'm ready to bake more bread. Does anyone out there have great bread recipes to share? I would appreciate some new ones to add to my breadbox. Happy Baking! Felicia