French Bread From Recipezaar

[cycler]

I baked the French bread from recipezaar and it was really great right out of the oven - the crust was a real crust and it tasted like real bread but the next day - not so great (although it did taste like real freshly baked French bread does the next day which is also not so great).

Since I am alone the recipe is too much to eat at once (and there are 3 egg whites so it isn't really possible to cut the recipe) and I don't want to freeze it so I was wondering if it is ok after it is shaped to freeze the dough.

I always did it when I baked "real" bread years ago - I'd let the dough double in size then I'd punch it down and shape it and before letting it double in size the second time I'd wrap it and freeze it and when I was ready to bake the next one I'd just take it out and let it sit for a couple of hours.

I'd love to be able to divide this into portions that I'd bake each day.

Thanks!

[myst]

I freeze my buns. Ok, that didn't come out right. I mix up the dough, place the buns on the pan, and pop them into the freezer. When they're frozen, I put them in a plastic bag. I'll take two or three out, place them on a pan and then put them in a cold oven before I go to bed. They thaw and rise overnight. When I get up in the morning, they're ready to bake. Turn the oven on, and 20 minutes later I have fresh hot buns. I have also taken them out and let them thaw and rise during the day - takes 2-3 hours - and then baked them.

You could try it with mini-loaves if you didn't want to do buns.

myst

[purple]

I freeze my buns. Ok, that didn't come out right. I mix up the dough, place the buns on the pan, and pop them into the freezer. When they're frozen, I put them in a plastic bag. I'll take two or three out, place them on a pan and then put them in a cold oven before I go to bed. They thaw and rise overnight. When I get up in the morning, they're ready to bake. Turn the oven on, and 20 minutes later I have fresh hot buns. I have also taken them out and let them thaw and rise during the day - takes 2-3 hours - and then baked them.

You could try it with mini-loaves if you didn't want to do buns.

myst

Great tip...I used to do that with Rhodes frozen bread doughs. I forgot all about it...Thanks!