French Bread - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 1/2 c. warm water
1 pkg. yeast
1 Tbsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
7 c. flour
1 egg white plus 2 Tbsp. water

Preparation

Mix warm water, yeast, salt and sugar.
Let stand 5 to 6 minutes.
Add 5 cups flour and beat well.
Add remaining flour until you can handle the dough without it being sticky.
Knead for 5 minutes.
Put in bowl and let stand dough rise until double in size.
Remove from bowl and cut into four sections.
Shape into narrow loaves (2 loaves to a cookie sheet) or into round mounds. Beat egg whites and water.
Brush top of loaves and let stand for 1 hour.
Makes three slits on top of each loaf.
Bake at 450\u00b0 for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350\u00b0 and bake for 30 minutes. Brush once during cooking process with the egg white mixture.