Buns- For Meatball Sandwiches, or Saucy Sandwiches

In my quest to avoid store- bought bread, I needed to find a bread recipe that was quick to make and perfect for saucy sandwiches.  I wanted a crusty baguette-type bread, but that took forever to make.  After a google search I found a recipe that would have bread ready in less than an hour.  Perfect!  This bread came out pretty good, with a good hearty crust. I made them with a mixture of bread flour whole wheat flour and all purpose flour and I made them into buns instead of loaves.  Overall this was successful and I would make them again!

Quick French Bread

adapted from Keep Home Simple

2 1/2 Cups Warm Water

2 tbsp Yeast

2 tbsp Sugar

1 tsp Salt

3 tbsp Oil

5 1/2 -6 Cups Flour (2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 cup of bread flour, 1 1/2 cups AP flour)

Add yeast and then sprinkle the sugar over the 2 1/2 cups of water.  Let it sit for about five minutes until you see the yeast get all bubbly on top.

Stir in the salt, oil, and flour.

Then:  Knead the dough for a few minutes until it is smooth.  Cover your bowl with a warm wet towel and let the dough sit for about 15 minutes.

**Tip - put a bowl of water in your microwave and turn your microwave on for two minutes.  Then take the bowl of water out and set your bowl of bread dough in the warm microwave for the 15 minutes.  This moist, warm environment makes the bread rise a lot faster.

I formed the dough into 4 buns, but I really should have done about 6 or 8 because they were way too big! Allow the loaves to sit for a few minutes while you preheat your oven to 375. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.  My buns stuck to the pan, so sprinkle the pan with cornmeal or make sure the buns have enough flour. Maybe grease the pan too. Other than the sticking, they were pretty good! Check out my recipe for meatballs to go with them!

 Cross Section