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Gros Pain (large French bread) takes several minutes to prepare.

Gros Pain (large French bread) takes 75 minutes to cook.

Gros Pain (large French bread) makes 16 servings.

The ingredients for Gros Pain (large French bread) are:

1 pound room temperature water (about 2 cups)
1-1/2 pound bread flour (about 4-1/2 cups)
2-1/4 tsp. regular yeast (1 packet)
1 tsp. salt

a few T. coarse cornmeal
a spritzer bottle filled with clean tap water

Here is how you make Gros Pain (large French bread):

Mix water and yeast and stir to dissolve. Combine flour and salt in stand mixer and stir to mix. Add yeast and water and (using dough hook) stir on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, till dough is formed and holds together well. It will be a very wet dough.Grease a large glass or metal bowl well. Turn dough out of mixing bowl into prepared rising bowl. Cover dough with greased plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place for the first rise. Let rise about 3-4 hours, till doubled in bulk. Once risen, deflate by gently pulling the outer edges of the dough toward the center. Work your way around the bowl a couple times. The dough should be moist and heavy but not really sticky. If it is sticky, sprinkle in a few tablespoons of flour (one at a time) as you knead in the bowl. Once you have deflated the dough and the new ball is nicely even and taut, re-cover the bowl with the greased plastic wrap and pop the dough into the fridge overnight. (You can let it rise on the counter for another 2-3 hours instead, too). When second rising is complete, prepare oven and baking sheet. Preheat oven to 425F and line a 9X13" baking sheet (rimmed is best) with parchment. Sprinkle parchment with cornmeal (so loaf doesn't stick). Loosen the edges of the dough from the sides of the bowl (just an inch or so down the side, don't work the dough at all) and invert the dough bowl over the center of the prepared baking sheet. Let dough plop out onto the cornmeal. It will be a very flat, disc-shaped puddle of dough, and that's exactly what you want!If desired, sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and slash with a sharp knife. Make sure your oven is completely up to temperature, then quickly slide the loaf into the oven and squirt 5-6 sprays of water into the interior of your oven (be careful not to drown the bread...aim for the back and sides mostly). Then shut the door and DO NOT OPEN it. The water will create steam which will create a nice thick crust. After 5 minutes, open the oven and spritz with water again (working as fast as you can), then shut the door and DO NOT OPEN it. (You can skip this step if you like, but you'll have a thin crust on your bread, more like a sandwich loaf). After the first 15 minutes of total baking time, reduce the oven temperature to 400F and continue baking for 1 hour. Remove finished loaf from pan and cool on wire rack. Serving Size: Number of Servings: 16Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user DAMIENDUCKS.

The nutritional information for Gros Pain (large French bread) is:

• Servings Per Recipe: 16
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 157.7

• Total Fat: 0.0 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 146.5 mg
• Total Carbs: 31.5 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1.6 g
• Protein: 5.8 g