Take this time to thank the people who make a difference in our lives.

Thanksgiving week is one of our favorites at Chin-MacQuoid-Fleming-Harris. The holiday season is gearing up, there’s snow on the ground, and we put all thoughts of dieting aside for a day. This is the one day a year when it’s all about food and family, so we dig in with wild abandon. We surveyed our office for favorite recipes to share with you and there was one that received a unanimous “I can’t wait to make this!” award:

Cooking is like love.  It should be entered into with abandon or not at all – Harriet Van Horne

Suzanne Harris’s no-kneading-needed French bread

Mix:
In a glass cup, mix:

• 1 packet of dry yeast
• 1/4 cup water heated to 85°

Let stand for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix:

• 1 cup of boiling water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup milk

Let cool to 85°.

Combine the milk & yeast mixtures.

In a large bowl, thoroughly combine

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup semolina flour
• 2 tsp sugar

Make a hole in the center of four mixture and pour in the milk and yeast mixture.

Stir with a spoon until thoroughly mixed.

Rise:
Cover the bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm spot.

Let it rise for about two hours or until double in size.

Once dough has risen, empty onto a floured board and punch down.

The dough will be soft and sticky.

Do not bother to knead the dough, just separate it into two equal parts.

With floured hands, roll each half into French bread shaped loaves that are not quite as long as your pan so it doesn’t rise out ends of your pan.

Grease a French bread pan with butter or cooking spray and dust with cornmeal.

Lay each loaf in the pan and gently snip ¼-inch slits diagonally across the tops with scissors.

Set pan in warm place and let the dough rise until somewhat less than double.

Bread is the king of the table and all else is merely the court  – Louis Bromfield

Bake:
Pre-heat oven to 400°

Place a glass pan on bottom rack  with 1/2 inch of boiling water in pan (the steam creates the distinctive French bread crust).

Bake the bread on upper middle rack for 15 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 350°.

Bake for about 30-35 minutes longer or until the crust is a  dark golden brown crust. If the bread browns too quickly, tent it with foil.

Beat 1 egg white with 1 tab water and brush on the crust with pastry brush  5 minutes before bread is done and sprinkle  with toasted sesame seeds.

Serve:
Serve immediately with unsalted butter sprinkled with kosher salt.

Tips:
To compensate for Park City’s high altitude, you may need to add 2 more tablespoons of flour and bake 25° hotter.
Leftovers freeze well and can be in gently reheated wrapped in foil. This is THE BEST midnight snack when all your guests have gone home!

After a good dinner, one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.
– Oscar Wilde

We at Chin-MacQuoid-Fleming-Harris wish you all the joys of a love-filled Thanksgiving. May your family and friends be near, may your food be plentiful and delicious, and may your hearts be as full as your belly!

Stay tuned for more great recipes from Chin-MacQuoid-Fleming-Harris!