Herb Bread

Flour, white, 3 cups
Salt, 1.5 tsp
Sugar, 4 tsp
Active Dry Yeast, 8.75 gram(s)
Water, tap, 1 cup (8 fl oz)
Basil, 1 tbsp
Oregano, ground, 1 tbsp
Parsley, dried, 1 tbsp
Canola Oil, 3 tbsp

Reserve 1/4 cup of flour
Reserve 1 tbsp of canola oil
Reserve 1 tsp of sugar

In a cereal sized bowl, combine the yeast, 1/4 cup of flour, and 1 tsp of sugar. To this add 1/2 cup of warm water, about 90 degrees. Mix gently with a fork till everything mixes well.
Set aside for 20 minutes.
In a large bowl combine remaining ingredients.
After 20 minutes, if yeast has started to bubble, add the yeast mixture to your dry ingredients. Begin stirring with a spoon. You may need additional warm water. Dough should be slightly sticky. When dough pulls away cleanly from bowl, dump out the dough onto a floured cutting board. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle dough lightly with flour to keep it from sticking to your hands.
Clean out the bowl you used to mix the dough. Now add the reserved 1 tbsp of oil to the bowl, then put the dough back into the bowl. Roll it around to make sure the oil covers the entire ball of dough.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, or a flour dusted kitchen towel. Set it aside for 1 hour, till doubled in size.
I can usually get the dough to rise a little more quickly by placing the bowl inside a larger bowl filled halfway with warm water.
Once the dough has risen, dump out the dough onto the cutting board, using sprinkles of flour - just enough to keep it from sticking to your hands - and knead it for about 3 minutes.
I like round shaped breads, so I shape the dough into a round ball, then place it on a flour dusted cookie sheet. I then coat the dough lightly with oil, letting it rise for about another 1 1/2 hours, covered with plastic wrap. Once it has risen a second time, I gently make two small cuts with a serrated knife, across the top of the bread, like a plus sign, then I place the cookie sheet with the bread into a 400 degree oven for about thirty minutes.
If you want a really crusty top, using a spray bottle filled with tap water, give the top of the bread a couple of quick sprays about halfway through the baking process, then let it finish baking. Test bread for done-ness with a tooth pick inserted into the thickest part of the bread. If it comes out clean, it's done. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Let the bread cool completely before attempting to cut slices. I store mine in large freezer bags.
Note: Let bread cool completely before putting it into freezer bags, or you'll get moisture in the bags and then you'll have soggy bread.

Number of Servings: 16

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user RANDYW41.