2013 Association of Connecticut Fairs Adult Baking Contest recipe.  Please consult the Premium Book/List of a fair in your area for information and rules for entering your French Herb Bread entry in the 2013 contest.

Adapted from a recipe from KingArthurFlour.com

FRENCH HERB BREAD

INGREDIENTS:

1¼ cups lukewarm water

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk

½ cup dried potato flakes

2 tablespoons Herbes de Provence

1 teaspoon salt

1 ½  teaspoons instant yeast

DIRECTIONS:

1) Combine all of the ingredients and mix and knead until smooth, adding additional water or flour as needed.
2) Cover the dough and let it rise for 1 hour.
3) Shape the entire piece of dough into a log and place in a lightly greased 9” X 5” loaf pan.
4) Cover and let rise until the dough has crowned about 1inch over the rim of the pan, 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the warmth of the kitchen.  Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
5) Bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes.  Tent the bread lightly with foil if it appears to be browning too quickly.
6) Remove the bread from the oven, turn it out of the pan and cool on rack.

Yield:  1 large loaf.  Submit on foil-covered cardboard. 

Judging Criteria

Overall appearance - 25 points

Following Directions - 10 points

Texture - 15 points

Aroma - 10 points

Flavor - 40 points

TOTAL: 100 points